Adafruit Industries 2953

Integrating large numbers of LEDs into electronics projects used to be a complicated undertaking, involving extensive wiring and code. Dedicated LED driver ICs simplified things by offloading the heavy lifting from the microcontroller, freeing developers to focus on the application. While simpler, it still wasn't quite "Christmas light string" simple. The WS2812 integrated light source (referred to as NeoPixel in Adafruit terminology) represents the latest advancement for those seeking simple, scalable, and affordable full-color LEDs. Red, green, and blue LEDs are integrated with a driver IC in a tiny SMT package, controlled via a single wire. They can be used individually, chained into longer strings, or assembled into more interesting configurations. We know you're eager to get started... but if this is your first time working with NeoPixels, please read at least the "Best Practices" page before connecting anything!

• Not all addressable LEDs are NeoPixels. "NeoPixel" is Adafruit's brand for individually addressable RGB color pixels and strips based on WS2812, WS2811, and SK6812 LEDs/drivers, using a single-wire control protocol. Other LED products we sell (such as DotStars, WS2801 pixels, LPD8806, and "analog" strips) use different approaches (each with their own tutorials). When seeking technical support on the forums, specifying the correct LED type leads to faster solutions — for example, avoid referring to DotStars as "NeoPixels"... they're similar, but not the same!
• NeoPixels don't light up on their own; they require a microcontroller (such as Arduino) and some programming. We provide sample code to help you get started. Creating your own effects and animations requires some programming practice. If this is new to you, work through some introductory Arduino tutorials to get familiar with the language.
• NeoPixels aren't suitable for every project. The control signal has very strict timing requirements, and some development boards (such as Netduino or Raspberry Pi) may not be able to achieve reliable operation in certain situations. This is why we continue to offer other LED types — some are better suited for specific tasks.