UCL Discovery
UCL home » Library Services » Electronic resources » UCL Discovery

Digital LED Pixels: Instructions for use and a characterization of their properties

Jones, PR; Garcia, SE; Nardini, M; (2016) Digital LED Pixels: Instructions for use and a characterization of their properties. Behavior Research Methods , 48 (4) pp. 1266-1284. 10.3758/s13428-015-0653-5. Green open access

[thumbnail of Article]
Preview
Text (Article)
Jones_art%3A10.3758%2Fs13428-015-0653-5(VoR).pdf - Published Version

Download (4MB) | Preview
[thumbnail of Supplementary material]
Preview
Text (Supplementary material)
Digital LED Pixels: Instructions for use and a characterization of their properties.pdf - Published Version

Download (4MB) | Preview

Abstract

This article details how to control light emitting diodes (LEDs) using an ordinary desktop computer. By combining digitally addressable LEDs with an off-the-shelf microcontroller (Arduino), multiple LEDs can be controlled independently and with a high degree of temporal, chromatic, and luminance precision. The proposed solution is safe (can be powered by a 5-V battery), tested (has been used in published research), inexpensive (∼ $60 + $2 per LED), highly interoperable (can be controlled by any type of computer/operating system via a USB or Bluetooth connection), requires no prior knowledge of electrical engineering (components simply require plugging together), and uses widely available components for which established help forums already exist. Matlab code is provided, including a ‘minimal working example’ of use suitable for use by beginners. Properties of the recommended LEDs are also characterized, including their response time, luminance profile, and color gamut. Based on these, it is shown that the LEDs are highly stable in terms of both luminance and chromaticity, and do not suffer from issues of warm-up, chromatic shift, and slow response times associated with traditional CRT and LCD monitor technology.

Type: Article
Title: Digital LED Pixels: Instructions for use and a characterization of their properties
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.3758/s13428-015-0653-5
Publisher version: http://doi.org/10.3758/s13428-015-0653-5
Language: English
Additional information: Copyright © The Author(s) 2015. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made.
Keywords: Light emitting diode, Arduino, Luminance, Timing, Color gamut
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > Institute of Ophthalmology
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1499068
Downloads since deposit
121Downloads
Download activity - last month
Download activity - last 12 months
Downloads by country - last 12 months

Archive Staff Only

View Item View Item