Classmates Dom Cheng, Terrick Gutierrez attached an LED array to an umbrella because… why not?!
![](https://blog.calebfergie.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/open-close-2.gif)
βοΈπ‘
![](https://blog.calebfergie.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/no-rain.jpg)
How does it work? The umbrella is connected to a program called MadMapper that allows us to project whatever we want onto the array from a computer.
The small green box in the bottom corner of the above picture connects the umbrella LEDs to the computer. It is a nifty piece of hardware called LeDMX that does a lot of the heavy data translation automatically.
![LeDMX4 PRO](https://dmxking.com/images/products/0106-1.1-5_400px.png)
Fabrication
We found the umbrella in the junk shelf (my one true love):
![](https://blog.calebfergie.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/junk-umbrella.jpg)
Measured out strips of LEDs to attach to the frame:
![](https://blog.calebfergie.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/led-measure-768x1024.jpg)
Wired it up:
![](https://blog.calebfergie.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/wire-it-up.png)
Then connected it to a power supply and the LeDMX!
![](https://blog.calebfergie.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/power-supply-con-768x1024.jpg)