Overview: Electric Mortar Board

In case you haven't heard, I'm graduating soon in Computer Science and Applied Science & Mathematics. That of course means a graduation ceremony, which means the supreme irony of wearing an absolutely silly costume to celebrate an academic achievement.

I'm sure you're aware of the tradition of modifying your mortar board, usually with some kind of decoration or writing along the top. I've decided to get creative and use some electronics to make one sassy futuristic get up. I'll be making two primary modifications, namely the addition of neopixel led's around the sides and top, and a feather tassel instead of a boring ol' regular one. Here are some of the supplies I'm going to use to make the lights a reality:

• Flora microcontroller
• Neopixel LEDs
• A potentiometer or switch
• a small power supply
• some things I'll forget to mention

Today, I should have one meter of neopixel in hand. I'm going to try my best to get it tested with the flora as quickly as possible so I can began more intricate procedure like writing my own sequences and changes. The last and dreadful step will be applying everything to the cap. Thankfully I also have my girlfriend's to work with if I mess anything up.

The flora's power options leave a little to be desired in terms of pinout and max voltage, meaning I may have to purchase a proper battery for it, but I believe I can shape a battery pack out of some RC supplies I have.

I'll stay updated on twitter, youtube and here on the project. :)