README

#Links https://dutchessoflx.github.io/react-led-matrix-messaging/

Team

Brooke

Overview

My Goal was to expand my knowledge with use of Arduino hardware with an online interface. The Idea: To make an Arduino LED 8x8 dot-Matrix display messages sent from the internet

Tech

• Ruby on Rails
• Skeleton CSS framework
• React BumBag
• Custom CSS
• HTML
• Deployed on GitHub Pages with use of Ngrok Tunneling
• Arduino D1 mini-with Wifi
• Arduino 8x8 LED Matrix-Red
• Breadboard, cabling, power cable USB
• MQTT protocol, a lightweight protocol for publish/subscribe messaging.
• ESPHome - Home Assistant interface- using YAML and C++
• FontStruct - A Website that helps you make your own custom fonts (for the Matrix screens)

Features

Displaying the Time when no messages are present Sending Plain text messages locally to the LED Matrix Keeping track of all previous messages

Current Data Path

• User --> Rails Backend(Ngrok) --> Raspberry PI-MQTT Local server --> Ardunio LED Matrix

Future Data Path

• User -->React Front-end(Heroku) --> Rails Backend --> MQTTCloud server --> Ardunio LED Matrix

Arduino Code

• Can be found in the text file labeled ledmatrix.yaml

Future features:

• Post to Heroku so that anyone can send messages at any time
• Add Buzzer or other "alarm clock" features
• command on front-end to alter brightness
• upgrade to RGB Screens instead of the current RED LED Matrix

Known bugs

• If system times out clock loses current time and resets to default(current fix to resend yaml code)
• sizing lowercase font is currently too big
• not all symbols can be shown in font
• blank messages can be sent and received