LED Fidget Toy - Quillan Smith

The idea

A gift for my girlfriend she can carry in a purse: a small, battery-powered panel of 48 addressable RGB LEDs. It runs light patterns and simple game modes you flip through with a few buttons.

LED board demo

The board

A 6x8 grid of addressable RGB LEDs in a hand-held form factor, driven by an ESP32-C3. Six tactile buttons select operation mode. A slide switch toggles power and there is a USB-C port for charging.

Power & charging

It runs off a LiPo cell with USB-C charging, targeting a couple of hours of use per charge at a capped brightness. A boost converter lifts the battery to the LEDs' 5V rail, while the ESP32 gets its own 3.3V regulator.

Pattern demo

SolidWorks render of the finished enclosure — The enclosure (SolidWorks model)

Front of the assembled board, the 6x8 grid of addressable RGB LEDs — The board (LED side)

Back of the board, with the ESP32-C3, USB-C charging, slide switch, and power circuitry — The board (control side)

Transparent CAD view showing the PCB, USB-C port, and slide switch inside the enclosure — Internal layout