u/DudeIoT

I tried my 8x8 LED matrix behind a 200×200 mm black acrylic sheet, and the result looks fantastic — the dark acrylic diffuses the pixels beautifully with a smooth, soft glow and no hotspots. Even this quick test made the panel look surprisingly “finished”.

With that working, I’m moving forward on a small kitchen under‑cabinet smart light powered by SmaLiC ( Smart Light Controller).

Planned features:

• adjustable lighting
• animated transition when switching the light ON/OFF
• RTC clock
• cooking timer
• simple weather icons
• motion detector
• Home Assistant status icons
• 8 touch‑sensor buttons for direct control
• local web GUI + optional remote control

Now that the matrix + black acrylic combo looks so good, I’m curious what else people would want a small diffused 16x8 LED panel to show in a kitchen. Any ideas or suggestions are welcome.

I’ve been testing the LED controller’s automatic power‑supply calibration feature. During calibration, the controller ramps brightness, monitors voltage stability, and saves the maximum safe current limit. Examples include a 1A supply (safe limit detected at 942 mA) and a 3A supply (safe limit detected at 2,575 mA). This prevents overload, voltage drops, and flicker, keeping animations stable even with small power supplies.

https://www.dudeiot.com/demo/

A comprehensive video guide covering all steps of the DIY Light assembly, from hardware preparation to final installation.
Bill of Materials available at https://www.dudeiot.com/smalic/diylight/

This short clip features a Happy Birthday melody played directly through the device, highlighting one of the fun experimental features I’ve been working on.

It’s simply a small update from my DIY smart‑light project as it continues to evolve.

This video showcases an xLights sequence played directly on the DIY Light. The clip includes both the xLights simulation and the real hardware playback.

Sharing a photo of three custom wall‑mounted lamps I built using SmaLiC (Smart Light Controller) and addressable LEDs.

All three fixtures run custom xLights sequences and include built‑in sound output.

This video shows a single SmaLiC lighting sequence created in xLights and triggered remotely through the WEB GUI on dudeiot.com. The sequence is played directly on the DIY light, demonstrating real hardware output rather than a software preview.
The left third of the screen displays the real camera footage with live sound, recorded straight from the device’s built‑in speaker for an authentic representation of the sequence.

I built custom backlit touch‑sensor buttons by 3D‑printing them in conductive filament and lighting them with SK6812 MINI‑E RGB LEDs. On power‑up, the microcontroller runs a self‑calibration routine to keep the touch response stable. I’m planning to add more shapes like rectangles, triangles, and stars. If you have ideas for interesting shapes or ergonomic designs, I’d love to hear them.

Built the LED panel using 8 SK6812 RGBW strips (over 1,700 pixels total), with wooden dividers shaping each channel.