LARP Tech… Go!

Though I am not an avid LARPer, save the occasional 24 hour Zombie Nerf gun game, I have been working with a friend to add a bit of Tech into the weapons and artifacts that are commonly used. You may have seen the War Hammer project, but we wanted to try and make some more basic options that just add lighting and some feedback.

This was a good first application for the LEDiva™ chip that I have been designing. It is low power, easy to install, requires no programming, supports many colors as well as modes, has built-in hit detection using a vibration sensor, and rather inexpensive.
So here is a rundown of the hardware:
1 LEDiva™ LED driver
The chip uses an ATtiny 85 in conjunction with a vibration sensor and two buttons to send signals to any WS2812B, NeoPixel, LED. Power is supplied by using a standard JST connection from a standard or Lithium Ion rechargeable battery. The LEDiva™ runs on 5v to 3V power.

1 Rechargeable 1200mAh Lithium Ion battery

1 USB Charger for the Lithium Ion battery

64 WS2812B, NeoPixel, LEDs from Adafruit

1 Molex locking connector – 3 pin female for the LEDs

I have split the main LEDiva™ code up for this chip so that it has only a handful of game related modes along with what we are calling the Rave Mode. The main mode glows dim until the sensor detects a hit and it lights up brighter.

One of the most important features added was the Brightness setting. By pressing and holding one of the buttons while turning on the ax, you can make the LEDs brighter or dimmer. This setting stays the same until you change it again.

This was a test drive, but once I have everything worked out I will be making more of these kits for LARPers and Cosplayers. The chip itself will be $15 and you will just need to add LEDs and a battery. I will have those available as well, but will mostly be marketing the LEDiva™ chip. To give an example of how much a full package would run you, the ax uses about $60 worth of hardware.