Minecraft controls this LED array

A standard query requested by new makers is “what’s the distinction between a microcontroller improvement board and a single-board pc?” Or, in additional frequent phrases, “what’s the distinction between an Arduino and a Raspberry Pi?” There are various technical variations, however individuals are actually asking about why you’ll use one over the opposite. The reply, normally, is that you just use an Arduino to deal with low-level management of sensors, motors, and so forth, and you employ a Raspberry Pi for computing processor-intensive duties. If, nevertheless, you want each, then MrDemonFrog’s Minecraft-controlled LED array illustrates how to take action.

MrDemonFrog’s mission is easy. The {hardware} consists of an Arduino Uno board and 4 LEDs: pink, blue, inexperienced, and amber. These LEDs gentle up relying on what the participant seems to be at inside Minecraft. MrDemonFrog constructed a particular map to show this. It has 4 enormous partitions in these main colours. If the participant seems to be on the pink wall, then the pink LED illuminates. The identical is true for the opposite colours.

This mission is attention-grabbing as a result of it reveals how customers can mix the ability of a pc (together with a Raspberry Pi) with Arduino’s potential to interface with {hardware} elements. MrDemonFrog makes use of a Python script and OpenCV to detect the colour in entrance of the Minecraft participant. As soon as it determines the colour, it sends a command to the Arduino by way of the Serial communications port. As a substitute of the Arduino making selections by itself, as you in all probability skilled in newbie tutorials, it offloads that decision-making to the pc and easily acts as an interface for the low-level {hardware} (the LEDs).