The Coldplay concert at Rose Bowl was a big show (see http://www.zweimalsommer.com/2016/08/a-rose-bowl-full-of-leds.html). The major element of the show was a wristband which everybody got at the entrance. This wristband is called “Xyloband”. Their homepage shows some other great shows, in which the Xyloband was used: http://xylobands.com/gallery/.
Let’s take a look inside: The main PCB has three ZIF-connectors. A flexible PCB with 4 LEDs is connected to the middle connector.
Another LED-stripe is connected between the two remaining ZIF-connectors. This LED-stripe is the actual wristband.
The main components of the PCB are:
- Atmel 8-bit AVR microcontroller ATmega 88PA, datasheet: http://www.atmel.com/Images/Atmel-42734-8-bit-AVR-Microcontroller-ATmega48PA-88PA-168PA_datasheet.pdf
- Silicon Labs Si4362 RF receiver, datasheet: https://www.silabs.com/Support%20Documents/TechnicalDocs/Si4362.pdf
It is amazing, which light effects can be achieved with this little circuit.
There is an interesting interview with Jason Regler, the inventor of the Xyloband, where he explains that he got the idea for the Xyloband in 2005 during the song “Fix You”, which Coldplay played at the Glastonbury Festival: http://www.coldplay.com/newsdetail.php?id=906. The song text “…lights will guide you home…” was his inspiration.