Monkey Light Pro Bicycle-Wheel Display System

Monkey Light Pro Fire & Lightning

Through the science of the "persistence of vision" phenomenon, the Monkeylectric Monkey Light Pro display and animation system transforms bicycle wheels into an animated color display. The  Monkey Light Pro Kickstarter project was launched May 22 and will close June 21. The funding goal is $180K, and as of this writing (May 29) 255 backers have committed over $108K.

The system consists of four double-sided LED light bars mounted to the spokes at 90degree angles. As the wheel spins, the color and brightness of each individual LED is modulated in real-time by a microprocessor control system. A two-axis accelerometer and four magnets enable the microprocessor to sense wheel angle, direction, and speed in order to orient and stabilize the image at speeds from 10mph to 40mph.

The microprocessor control system can store up to 1000 image frames in its memory. Images can be downloaded to memory via Bluetooth wireless. The system comes preloaded with artwork created for it by professional artists, such as Yoshi Sodeaka and Shelley Eshkar. If the Kickstarter project is a success, Monkeylectric says they will be commissioning more artwork. We wonder if there will be a development system for customers to create their own custom artwork...

Monkeylectric claims that the onboard lithium battery can power the LEDs at full brightness for eight hours, and up to forty-eight hours at lower brightness. The battery is recharged through a standard USB interface.

This one is great fun and we wish the Monkeylectric team great success with their Kickstarter project.