Last year GE introduced the “Color Effects” G-35 string of 50 LED Christmas lights, each individually adjustable as to color and intensity. Each light has a microprocessor and a serial communication port. The string of lights, with a pre-set lighting options, sells from anywhere from $64 (Costco) to $100 online, or less than $2 each. Granted, the light set isn’t programmable. But wait…
Last November, hacker Darco took apart the G-35 string and with the help of his trusty logic analyzer (coincidentally from Saleae, the company that was mentioned as battling the baddies in a recent IC counterfeiting post), decoded the commands for the light set and how to control them with a uC platform such as an Arduino. Intelligent colored LED lighting control for under $2 per light? Excellent. Yes, these lights are at the DIY level, but they point the way to the lower price points that are necessary for intelligent lighting to take off.
