My friend worked on the TV series Star Trek: Picard and received this LCARS panel as a gift from the art director. (LCARS is the computer system on board the ships in Star Trek). On it's own the panel doesn't look like much, just a sort of dark piece of acrylic -- it really needs to be backlit, and ideally animated. He asked if I could build a backlit display for him to show it off in his home, and I said "heck yes"!
The combination of a light blocker layer and animated sprite sheet make it possible to turn different areas of the display interface "on" and "off", as well as adjust brightness and pattern. This uses the Matrix Portal running CircuitPython to drive a 128 x 64 pixel RGB LED matrix.
Check out the panel on-set in this production photo by art director Liz Kloczkowski.
For more info on the original LCARS panel construction, check out this excellent blog page.
* Backlit film printing can be done at many sign printing shops, you can also create a similar effect using cut vinyl or by painting in reverse on the back side of a piece of glass or acrylic.
You can choose any compatible RGB LED matrix display to fit your particular design. The LCARS panel's size and design resolution dictated using two of the panels shown below:
You can power a typical display from the USB-C input on the Matrix Portal using a 3A power supply:
If you are using a pair of denser displays, you'll want to use a separate power supply rated for higher current draw to power the displays:
Mahogany veneer with peel and stick PSA backer adhesive
Black acrylic sheets 12" x 24" 4 ea.
Black 6mm EVA foam sheet 14" x 36" 2 ea.
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