In a creative fusion of technology and human perception, a remarkable small rotating display has emerged, taking advantage of the "persistence of vision" effect. By employing a CD drive motor and a series of LEDs, this display is capable of generating captivating graphics and information at speeds imperceptible to the human eye. The PoV display, relying on the brain's limited frame rate of 30 to 60 frames per second, produces the illusion of solid spots of light, enabling it to showcase alphanumeric characters, weather updates, and even analog or digital-style time.
Central to this innovative creation is an Arduino Nano board that expertly controls the 20 LEDs arranged in two lines on the spinning disk. Additionally, an ESP8266 ESP-01 module plays a crucial role, providing the display with real-time weather and time information through Wi-Fi® connectivity. All of this magic occurs on a custom circular PCB, cleverly rotated by a small CD drive motor. To further streamline the design and eliminate wiring complexities, the engineers incorporated wireless power transfer using coils on the primary PCB and a secondary PCB beneath it, devoted solely to this purpose.
The brilliance of this project lies in its simplicity, keeping costs and complexities at a minimum while delivering impressive results. The rotating PoV display not only showcases the ingenuity of its creators but also highlights the fascinating interplay between technology and human perception, opening the door to even more possibilities in the realm of visual displays and interactive gadgets.
