Building a Mini Vegas-Sphere

7cm Mini Spherical Display! Check out my other Electronics - microbots.io
PCBs manufactued at PCBWay - www.pcbway.com
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Music:
Bright White - Frank Jonsson
Floods - Frank Jonsson
Pale Blue - Frank Jonsson

[@theHacksmith]

Las Vegas sphere for ants. Great build!

[@CarlBugeja]

Thanks James! (Big fan of your work!)

[@Spencer-Robotics]

Hi hacksmith :)

[@EugeEgue-mh9jd]

E

[@desicdoggy4034]

Whoa hacksmith

[@Spoon_Of_Wisdom]

Hello hacksmith, can I have a used screwdriver?

[@cyul]

You’re only at 10% brightness, that gave me an idea: use a flat (circular?) lcd, shine a light from below, and use a lens to project the image on the sphere? That would give you decent resolution, lower the price, and maybe be easier to build.

[@aronseptianto8142]

i wonder if there's any particular square tiling that would work best to estimate a cube. how custom can you go with LCD size?

[@CarlBugeja]

Cool but might be a nightmare to map the image

[@matsv201]

I was thinking it might be a mini dlp projektor with a lense. Thst would probobly work. It wouldnt even need to be that high of a resolution.

[@nickus9119]

Maybe combine an lcd with glas fibre. Superglue glas fibers on top of an LCD and arrange the other ends in a 3D printed sphere. Then put the difusor on top.

[@heeeyno]

@@CarlBugeja solving a bit of hard math once is cheaper than hardware :P also what about cheap square flexible OLED panels, with the corners tucked into the sphere to make the triangles?

[@RichardBaileyrichoncode]

Great project. Sharing some ideas: 1) white circuit board to improve reflectance 2) thinner diffuse 3) modeling to higher virtual pixel count then blending based on proximity to physical pixels - for smoother animation and illusion of higher resolution. 4) pre crease the triangle edges to achieve s cleans edge without stress on glue. 5) print gradient channel for cable foldback to guide cable inward at gradual angle and reduce stress. I look forward to future iterations.

[@635574]

You dont want reflectivity it would only blur it even further from scattered light

[@devadethan9234]

who are you my guy :)

[@MegaDRKSTR]

Also why do we have to paste it on top of a sphere? Instead print a geodesic frame and paste on top of that

[@matyasprorok5737]

@@MegaDRKSTR he eventually got to that. you can see it at 4:51

[@claudiu7909]

I think redesigning the board to have the cable at the bottom and not "in the middle" would make it easier to hide.

[@TheOfficialOriginalChad]

YES a larger one with more pixels is worth pursuing. A sponsor (or Patreon) needs to cover your LEDs, but the result will be worth it.

[@pick2206]

YESSSSSSSs

[@Dr.Kay_R]

Basically a curved OLED display 😅

[@TheOfficialOriginalChad]

@@Dr.Kay_R look up the difference between OLED and an LED. It’s quite cool.

[@virtuerse]

+1

[@ExZiByte]

I vote for a basketball size maybe slightly bigger

[@_guiborg]

you're developing their best souvenir

[@mumiemonstret]

Very impressive indeed. There's a LOT of complexity in software, pixel animation and mapping that you didn't even touch upon.

[@CarlBugeja]

Thanks! Mapping felt to boring to explain in a video

[@ziomalZparafii]

​@@CarlBugejamight be boring for you, but very interesting for us 🧐

[@antman7673]

@@CarlBugeja You can always tell the viewer, that the video is over and that you touch upon some math topics such as mappings. No problem for the normal viewer and some people may enjoy it as well.

[@dereknavratil5466]

Nice project! Would you be willing to elaborate on the pixel mapping/animation software you used?

[@HimanshuGhadigaonkar]

Yeah please explain the mapping process and how you figured out a way to create a library to map any image into the way pixels are arranged.. also can you make it open source?

[@glufke]

Imagine that with a round OLED screen...

[@tecnogadget2]

@@Paradoxical124 by using multiple triangular screens its possible to

[@xksn]

@@tecnogadget2 yeah but that would be astronomical expensive

[@KagrithKriege]

And a lense

[@pvercello]

I want one. Someone figure out how to do it!

[@alexwhitton1]

That's what I was thinking, but that'd be soo expensive to develop

[@thecrazy8888]

Forget the LEDs, try an OLED/LCD screen on the bottom and some sort of lens or crystal on top to project the image on the sphere.

[@SweetFlexZ]

Yep, work smart not hard

[@hmartinlb]

Was my first thought too, although I was thinking of how to splice together flexible oled displays, maybe with overlap. Now I like your idea more.

[@electronicsacademy2D2E29]

Awesome idea. The optics might be challenging, to project a 2D image onto a 3D sphere. Could it be a fisheye lens but used in reverse ? So that it projects the image on the sphere ? It's interesting :).

[@AgentPaperCraft]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/ZnyzpaSOdr9pbMk

[@ani_b]

Why not go a step further and use a projector? Something like the TI DLPDLCR2000EVM would work great and be fairly cheap too!

[@JasonCoon]

Amazing work Carl! There are less expensive 1mm addressable RGB LEDs available. For example XINGLIGHT XL-1010RGBC-WS2812B (available on LCSC) for $0.0312 in quantities of 8,000 or more. I've used them in several of my builds, and they also seem to have a much lower quiescent current draw than others I've used.

[@xymaryai8283]

that is much better, are they of comparable size? i really hope he can get his tweezers on these and make this a lot better

[@t0biascze644]

@@xymaryai8283 he said they are 1mm

[@OutOfNamesToChoose]

I love the shake-to-vomit feature :)

[@jckrielesq]

A few ideas: - You might be able to source small triangular LED screens, I imagine that even if these do exist integration and cost would be terrible - Make use of an LED screen underneath an object that directs the light to maintain a perpendicular path to the screen, cutting it into the shape of a sphere. Then cover that in a diffusive surface. Basically, the guides act as glass fibres that direct the light from the screen to the surface, look up "Photonic Crystals periodic in two directions". I imagine sourcing that would be near impossible but there may be alternative methods for achieving a similar effect: high-resolution 3D printed structure coated in a highly reflective material,

[@MenkoDany]

I had the same idea, scoured the internet for some small triangle or hex led screens, nothing :( Only stuff on backorder with shady documentation

[@KeviPegoraro]

Smart idea, like some very danse 4k mobile screen, and to get the right diffuse to the parts that get projected in more area you just correct brightness in software, damn good idea.

[@UncleWalter1]

The thing I really appreciate about Carl is just how much joy he's clearly getting out of these explorations. I love seeing people visibly stimulated by what they're doing. It's infectious!

[@wyzedfz1495]

I really appreciate how you show the mistakes made in the process and how you tackle them. That's really educational. Keep it up!

[@lancehough4180]

Very nicely done! As someone who has been to The Sphere and experienced it firsthand, I can say your little mini-Sphere is a wonderful reproduction. Seeing The Sphere in person was absolutely incredible. I sincerely hope you get the chance to experience it yourself. I have no doubt you'll be absolutely blown away by it.

[@zxxvcc]

Wow - great project. Very ambitious!

[@tijssens]

A mini projector inside the dome?

[@eowhiskass]

thats a best idea

[@sdaverede]

He's mister flexible pcb, it would ruin his entire purpose if he solved it the right way 😅

[@Snowsea-gs4wu]

Is there a projector with enough field of vision to cover such a sphere?

[@Spoon_Of_Wisdom]

I don't think it have a wide enough view

[@cvspvr]

what about some sort of resin printed prism

[@notRelevanti]

duuuuude, that's hardcore dedication! As usual, impressed by the ideas you have & the actual final results u come to.

[@Tacos135]

This is great! Amazing job! I like how clearly you explain everything in the video and that you even showed the mess-ups! God bless!

[@0v3rm1nd3d]

Amazing, I recently worked with some LCD Panels and discovered some of them are flexible, but not enough to make a spherical image. Great work Carl! Keep it going!

[@BenM0]

Super awesome project. thanks for sharing

[@mikebradlee3504]

Your pain, our gain. Thanks for hanging in there, through setbacks. You are smart AND humorous with the shake / vomit bit. I hope you are rewarded for your efforts.

[@I2ed3ye]

Honestly really well-made and a beautiful project. Most setups I've seen for displaying images don't use a regular diffuser but one with partitions around each individual LED to keep the light from bleeding into its neighbors. Might help with the blurriness/resolution although I do really like the way patterns look

[@clawjungleranger]

I drive by it every day on my way to work, still pretty neat to look at. Even when it's covered in video ADS lol

[@pauldevey8628]

Wow! Very impressive.

[@Gosuminer]

Awesome project, excellently executed. Love it.

[@jadenC613]

The quality of this video is awesome. Great engineering!

[@RandomCrap]

Set playback speed at 1.25 to normalize

[@Saaty7]

Thanks, its helped

[@Settiis]

Steve Mould videos need to be at 2x speed

[@DanielRodriguez-gm1ih]

I am always on 1.5x

[@zeoxiro]

Nope, it just becomes harder to understand

[@TheGuyWhoComments]

I get what you mean but why

[@progengu478]

Looks sick!

[@ZaneStar0]

YESSS! I love this idea. I actually asked the merchandise crew when I went to the the sphere if they had something like this and unfortunately they only had shirts a hoodies this is a Amazing idea!

[@mrlancekink]

great project and great video. love that you showed all the problems and setbacks!

[@fazle.elahi.tonmoy]

i can not comprehend enough how difficult would it be to build this awesome project! Mechanical and Electronic side alone, how would you even manage mapping all the pixels into animation! great work!

[@globalhell5046]

What a cute Kolobok you made

[@syahrul9282]

Your projects are never dissapointing, every single one feels like a documentary or a conference paper, something i can learn from everytime.

[@CriusDigital]

Beautiful idea and great build!Bravo!

[@Maxjoker98]

Cool project as always! Maybe you can create a cheaper version of this with a more regular pixel layout by simply stacking regular PCBs that only have LEDs around the circular circumference. Or maybe create a bunch of really tiny triangular PCBs that can be tiled, including the connections, any solder them into a sphere.

[@iatedeadpeople]

Fiber optics?

[@santiagoguarin7331]

I was thinking the same thing. Could def transfer the image using fiber optic lines from a circular flat OLED to a globe.

[@AtulVinayakS]

Best idea yet

[@anthonyscott9936]

You would have to have 1 line for each pixel..

[@1jay288]

не получится,разрешение упадёт 🙄

[@mancol0013]

yeah

[@ericon.7015]

@Carl try this a cellphone underneath and a curved lens to project in the dome. But it will be hard to find the correct lens. Another idea: fiber optics. Many of them. Make a flat panel with tiny holes where all fibers are connected, then attach it to the screen of the phone.. then the other end of the fibers you connect them to a 3d printed half sphere with many holes. aaaannd voilà you have a sphere display 😊😊

[@skatingskelly]

You are aware that would cost hundreds of thousands for the fiber optics idea? Military uses similar methods for their night vision goggles and they're suuper expensive

[@ericon.7015]

50pcs-500pcs 1mm* 2m PMMA Plastic Fiber Optic Cable End Grow Led Light DIY Decor, £4.49

[@swayuuum]

I had the exact same idea and seeing you make it is so awesome and cathartic. I knew resolution is always going to be a problem, so I even imagined using a projector with mirrors. I think phone display pixels are even smaller, you can look into ordering a custom phone display in the same shape. Further these days displays can be curved, so I guess it's going to be costly but sooner or later someone's going to do it.

[@jordanco]

I’m always pumped when you drop a new video. Know that all the work you put into these doesn’t go unnoticed bro!

[@SystemSh0cker]

Cool idea, but yes, costs too much if high pixel density is preferred/needed. :( I built something called the “POV LED Globe”. Mine is about 80cm? Diameter made of plexiglass/acrylic with a rotating axis in the middle. There are RGB LEDs on both sides (144 LEDs/m are used for each side.) One side is shifted a few millimeters, so I doubled the pixel density when spinning. In addition, the whole thing is in a vacuum so that there is no/hardly any air resistance and the background noise is also significantly better. The most expensive item in the whole project was the transparent ball at around €120? You can usually get two half-shells cheaply, but in the end they somehow don't look that great with the light refraction in the middle.

[@user-ot5eg5hd2h]

Woo amazing ❤

[@karlfun]

well done!! What a fun project!

[@Gulpy3]

I love seeing projects like this. Experimentation for fun with a side of "does it have practical use". Most times the answer is sadly no, but the passion for just trying something new and fun is infectious.

[@RhodderzX]

Nice for the sphere would making a flexbble pcb in concentrical circles, which has a small bridge connecting them work? The bridge can then fold under one of the circles, which will create a bump but as shown with the vid, the bump under the diffuser disappeared. The concentric circles then can be stuck down on a sphere and may help with density, the linearity of the led's and to remove the lines seen through the diffuser.

[@Nobody5555-]

no epilepsy warning for you

[@AK2I47]

Lol, smh. You all are not easy on youtube these days

[@Nobody5555-]

@@AK2I47 i mean more as in SEIZE

[@cameroncalzone8860]

amazing!! 🤩 it makes you wonder how many interesting and beautiful inventions don’t exist widely simply because they are not cost effective

[@3all714]

bro respect to you. This is. complex af project.

[@jonasg0203]

Sad that it's so expensive. I would've loved to have one

[@NeillWylie]

Very very cool build. *Applauds*

[@Pellbort]

Wow, thanks for sharing this. Awesome work.

[@paualdinicola]

Thank you for a short concise video!

[@Jakob.Hamburg]

Nice project. Thank you for showing. : )

[@kishorkumar255]

Salute your efforts bro.! Awesome project.

[@hugobcdesrosiers5689]

Just like the big one, it's really really cool!

[@Archnemesis88]

That was an amazing project, I really hope you do a bigger one!

[@felipehessel]

Looks amazing, definitely something that i would buy

[@asafix5876]

this channel will grow up because the explanation its so detail . Great job

[@MD_Builds]

Even more than the insane routing, the image mapping to the sphere is genius :D

[@inDasInnen]

really nice, great built! 👍

[@Dorff_Meister]

Awesome Proof of Concept and love the animations. I cannot imagine it is worth the cost of up-scaling, but hey you took it this far and you know most of the pitfalls. GO BIG! :P

[@DIYElectronicsDIY]

It was fantastic, congratulations.

[@BadGuyDennis]

As my memory recalled correctly, I have read a video comment about the Vagas Sphere that someone suggested a tabletop version of it. You made it dude! Thats is amazing! Although it's not perfect, but I can the possibility of commercially available one is possible. Good work!

[@AFSMG]

Guau que maravilla. Excelente trabajo.

[@309electronics5]

Awesome project and i love the other projects as well. I am always looking forward to what you will create for things in the future and keep it up!

[@konm08]

I might, just might, be the 1000th comment on this video. Nothing much, just wanted to flex and also say that this video is well-made, and the amount of passion and patience needed here is massive, and the fact that you even got a good result at all is amazing. Greetings from Greece.

[@WS-gw5ms]

Amazing work

[@NeilAFawcett]

One of these with a far higher resolution as a desk toy would be epic!

[@I86282]

Definitely. A scaled up version would pay for itself especially if you didn't want to keep it.! 👍👍

[@caldjame]

I think its just fun to have the cost might be more but then you have that for life!! thank you for the design!!

[@freakern]

Awesome work

[@RainbowSheep_was_taken]

really cool, i might build a similar sphere but a bit bigger and with more pixels. awesome video!

[@JohnMeacham]

I have done something like this with a pico projector and a fisheye lens projected into a translucent globe. Worked pretty well.

[@jeremyworkman3870]

Brilliant! Love your struggles with trouble shooting, and overcoming them. Possibly buying the LEDs in bulk would bring down the relative cost, but then you'd need to sell some.

[@eande2006]

Another impressive project, love it.

[@ethand.9184]

If transparent flexible PCB’s exist, you might be able to double the LED count by printing two boards that stack and use lower profile surface mount components. The bottom one designed so it’s LEDs align with all the gaps on the top board.

[@ZimaZino]

this is top-notch, keep up the great work!

[@brettjamesy]

Brilliant! I love your tenacity and problem-solving skills. Pursuing a spinning array with 2 or 3 branches would allow you to offset each branch of LEDS to increase the vertical resolution... but of course you'd need to overcome the whole spinning thing 😵

[@AtticElectronics]

This is a very cool piece of work!! I also planned to make it, but you made it first. I admire your creativity.😍

[@BouleyMusic]

From one Carl to another, I genuinely dig this.

[@davidshelley6598]

What a lovely thing! The fact that it wont be mass produced anytime soon makes it a gem.CHeers!

[@KeithFeickert]

Well done! This is awesome! 😃

[@thomasg.6113]

Cool project! You could add a black transparent and maybe a clear (not diffused) cover it - you can still generate enough light but the colors will be much more vibrant.

[@professor.leonardolima]

Beautiful, parabéns!

[@cameronrich2536]

Incredible work

[@schotoka]

Great build. I probably would try to go the way of a tiny high res screen at the base and a projection to the inner surface of the sphere using optical elements.

[@03lugnut1]

Omg I want it!! Great job

[@PhoenixnessArien]

Ive been thinking about this idea since i saw the las Vegas sphere and here it is in my feed. Id love to see how far this idea can go. I personally would like to create a 15 inch sphere

[@grantmcgregor1571]

You made a very good method to make LED glasses if you ever want to explore that project you'd have a good head start. Keep the good work.

[@falloutpictures]

Awesome build, I want to do something similar to with spaceship earth.

[@MarkusJevring]

I've wanted to do something like this for a while, but couldn't figure out how to make a flexible display. This is a great start! What I want to make is a digital lava lamp. I might be able to use some of these ideas to that effect =)

[@nik_cage]

This is super cool. Would make a great product one day

[@poem]

This is beautiful

[@jonaspipper2701]

what an engineering flex, really cool!!!

[@donatoaz]

Wow, a 10min video definitely does not nake this justice. So amazing.

[@SeiRruf]

I absolutely love your videos!! LEDs are my jam. I would greatly consider p/urchasing an LED sphere with nearly if not more than a thousand LEDs glowing in there. haha

[@Inertia888]

I could see a soccer ball sized version of this mounted to a fleet of drones. Each drone is a pixel in the light show, and each pixel has the ability to address individually. It seems like it would make for a stunning show.

[@jeissonrangel1588]

looks amazing

[@muggzzzzz]

You could use a bunch of optical fibers spreading out from an lcd screen to a translucent spherical shell. Once upon a time i got a night lamp with a bunch of optical fibers and a multicolor glass plate inside this lamp. The glass plate rotated and made optical fibers glow with different colors. I replaced this glass plate with a photo slide and got a rotating highly pixelated image of this slide on the ends of these fibers.

[@user-rk5vk8cx3p]

Keep at it, I am excited by your efforts.

[@HassanOmariprofile]

Amazing, very neat!