The Leeuwarder hackerspace Frack has a christmas tree developed in which the lighting via Twitter is to send. By selecting a color with the hashtag ‘#tree’ to Tweet, change one of the five led strips in the tree color.
Hackerspace Frack, the christmas tree, which is in the library of Leeuwarden, in a few weeks time rigged. By the hashtag ‘#tree’ or #twitterboom’ to tweet, followed by a color in the form of a word or hex code, change one of the five leds in the tree color. On a website are all to the christmas tree-driven tweets displayed, as well as a webcam image of the tree.
The installation consists of four components: a virtual server in a datacenter where the website is running on a pc in the library, a rgb controller and the five led strips. A Python script on the computer in the library scanning through the search api of Twitter messages with the mentioned hashtags and checks that it is valid colors include. The script supports 90 ‘kleurenwoorden’, such as ‘red’ and ‘purple’, but also all 16 million hex color codes.
On the library pc’s also have the rgb controller is connected. That controller, that by the hackers themselves is developed, consists of a number of chips, including a converter to the usb-input into serial data and that also through Python is operated. A microcontroller converts the serial data into i2c input by a led-controller from NXP is processed. The led controller sends, on its turn, via pwm to five led strips.
While the change in color to the led-strip is sent, the web server will be informed, making the relevant tweet at the right place in the tree is displayed. Almost all of the code that the hackers have written to the christmas tree color to change it is written in Python and is published on the wiki of the hackerspace.
A hackerspace is a meeting place for hackers. The ‘hacker’ does not refer to someone who like breaks on other people’s ict infrastructure, but rather someone who likes things or refit. In the Netherlands there are a number of hackerspaces; in Leeuwarden this summer.
Isp Xs4all had for a time a similar website, where visitors to the lighting of the christmas tree could control. That site is now, however, offline. An American built two years ago christmas lights that are on the game Guitar Hero was associated.