I recently became the moderator of the MATLAB Maker Community that is hosted on MATLAB Central. There are many times where MATLAB and Simulink can help build a hardware-based project or be used to create the code running on a device. I also use MATLAB for analytics. Here are the most popular colors on CheerLights in the last 30 days.

The goal of the MATLAB Maker Community is to connect makers and builders together. I learn by working with others and sharing my work. If you are interested in maker project, I suggest following the Maker Community and jumping in on conversations or starting new discussions. I find this helpful if I am exploring a new idea or looking for feedback.

Right now, there is a discussion thread about how to use MATLAB to interface and interact with an Arduino. Makers can use MATLAB to control an Arduino by first installing the MATLAB^® Support Package for Arduino^®. Once you have the support package, you can use MATLAB to control the Arduino with familiar MATLAB commands.

% create an Arduino object
a = arduino('com3', 'uno');

% turn on an LED connected to Pin D11
writeDigitalPin(a, 'D11', 1);

% turn off an LED connected to Pin D11
writeDigitalPin(a, 'D11', 0);

Share your ideas on how to use the MATLAB connection to Arduino on the MATLAB Maker Community.

CheerLights uses ThingSpeak to collect the latest color. We get the color value by following “CheerLights” on Twitter using the TweetControl app. When someone Tweets using “CheerLights” and a color name, the TweetControl app writes the color to the CheerLights Channel on ThingSpeak. Other developers wanting to join the CheerLights project read in the latest color value using the ThingSpeak Channel API and then set their light color to the same one.

With some MATLAB Analysis and Visualizations, I know that currently red is the most popular color on CheerLights! I have recently taken advantage of the MATLAB integration with ThingSpeak. Under Apps -> MATLAB Analysis, we have an example that will show you how to analyze the public CheerLights Channel on ThingSpeak to determine the most requested color. The MATLAB Analysis example is called, “Analyze text for the most common color”.

Example MATLAB Visualization Code

lights = thingSpeakRead(1417,'OutputFormat','table','NumDays',30);
hist(categorical(lights.LastCheerLightsCommand))
set(gca,'XTickLabelRotation',45)

People all over the world have joined CheerLights by making all kinds of light displays, apps, and browser plugins. I recently created a CheerLights display for my parents using a LIFX Wi-Fi Light Bulb. If you want to control all of the lights, just send a Tweet using Twitter that mentions @CheerLights and a color.

“@CheerLights Let’s go Blue!”

Check out CheerLights.com for more detail and for ideas on how to join the project. We are all connected!

For more information check out the FastLED and Arduino tutorial and the Arduino Sketch on GitHub.

As more and more users create TweetControls, the service started slowing down. We have enhanced how the service works and now you get instant TweetControls!

In an Instragram video sending a Tweet and changing the CheerLights color, you will see that there is little delay between sending the Tweet and executing the control command to change the colors on his Christmas tree.

Learn more about TweetControl on ThingSpeak Docs.

It has been a real treat watching this project evolve as more and more people add lights… and other things. Things like Android and iPhone apps that check the latest color of CheerLights, Christmas trees, and robots.

To control the lights around the world, send a Tweet mentioning @CheerLights and a color. The command is processed by the ThingSpeak IoT analytics platform and distributed to all of the lights listening to the CheerLights API.

@CheerLights I am dreaming of a White Christmas

Internet of Things

Another powerful aspect of the CheerLights project is that is shows off what is possible with the emerging Internet of Things. With a single message sent via a social network like Twitter, 1000′s of objects around the world are in sync with each other. Lights are connected by many types of controllers, such as Arduino, ioBridge, Philips, and the Raspberry Pi. This project is only possible through the Internet and the coordination of developers around the world.

In the article, “How the Internet of Things Will Change Our Lives“, CheerLights is included to indicate how we are connected and how objects may bring people closer.

Learn how to join the project at CheerLights.com.

We are all connected…

https://blogs.mathworks.com/iot/documentation/apps/tweetcontrol/

TweetControl allows you to monitor Twitter for trigger words to send ThingHTTP requests. The CheerLights project by ioBridge Labs uses TweetControl to update its ThingSpeak Channel so other lights around the world stay in sync with each other.

Why use TweetControl? Our app connects to the Twitter Streaming API. What this means to you is that you don’t have to keep polling Twitter for status updates. You can sit back and let TweetControl listen and then process the request when a trigger word gets fired. This happens in real-time and it’s quite remarkable to see in action.

TweetControl is a part of our collection of apps for social things.

Since the project release, there has been much activity. A part from CheerLights being discussed on blogs like MAKE and Lifehacker, the community has created some interesting bits of tech that extend the project further than lights. So if you don’t have a way to connect your lights together with CheerLights, you can connect your mobile phone, browser, and web sites together by subscribing to the CheerLights feed. Right now you can check the latest CheerLights color with an Android App created by @ChrisLeitner. Another really neat thing is a browser plugin for Chrome designed by Josh Crumley. So, in the top corner of your web browser you can see the latest color in an unassuming way. It’s a little reminder that we are connected.

To join CheerLights, all you have to do is build something that subscribed to the CheerLights ThingSpeak Channel or access the data using JSON and XML. You can also use the apps, browser plugins, or web widgets to see the colors. Visit the CheerLights website hosted on Tumblr for details on making a controller with Arduino, ioBridge, or Digi’s ConnectPort.

To control CheerLights, just send a Tweet to @CheerLights and mention a color.

Just think when you send this Tweet that you are updating 1000’s of lights, apps, browsers, and widgets all at the same time.

Spread some cheer…

[via MAKE / Lifehacker / CBC / ioBridge Projects]