Moving Headlight Controller

This Python script connects to a QLC+ WebSocket server, enabling automated DMX control and dynamic 3D visualization. It maps DMX pan and tilt values to visualize beam direction, movement paths, and a beam spread cone in real time.

Note: Interactive keyboard control via arrow keys (pynput) can also be integrated if desired.

Features

• Dynamic IP Detection: Automatically finds your computer’s IP.
• WebSocket Connection: Connects seamlessly to QLC+ at ws://<LOCAL_IP>:9999/qlcplusWS.
• DMX Mapping: Converts DMX pan/tilt values into 3D beam direction vectors.
• 3D Visualization:
  • Scatter plot of beam directions.
  • Great circle reference path visualization.
  • Animated marker displaying live DMX positions.
  • Real-time rendered beam spread cone.
• Automatic Movement: Oscillates pan from 0°–360° with fixed tilt to demonstrate scanning.
• Graceful Exit: Safely terminates simulation with Ctrl+C.

Project Structure

.
├── dmx_control.py        # Main script for DMX control and visualization
├── keypad.html           # Optional keypad HTML interface
├── qlight_workspace.qxw  # QLC+ workspace configuration
├── README.md             # Project documentation
└── requirements.txt      # Dependencies list

Installation

Python

Requires Python 3.x

Install dependencies:

pip install -r requirements.txt

QLC+ Setup

• Install QLC+ software.
• Enable web interface with:

qlcplus -w

(Default WebSocket port: 9999)

Usage

1. Clone/download the project.
2. Install dependencies:

pip install -r requirements.txt

3. Run the script:

python dmx_control.py

4. Visualization appears automatically. Press Ctrl+C to exit.

Example Output

Connected to QLC+ WebSocket at ws://192.168.1.50:9999/qlcplusWS.
Sent: CH|1|178
Sent: CH|3|0
...
Movement interrupted by user.
WebSocket closed.

Dependencies

• certifi
• charset-normalizer
• idna
• requests
• urllib3
• websocket-client
• pynput

Install with:

pip install -r requirements.txt

Code Overview

• Dynamic IP Detection: get_host_ip() retrieves the local IP via UDP.
• DMX-to-XYZ Mapping: Converts DMX values to 3D vectors.
• Visualization:
  • DMX grid converted to a 3D scatter field.
  • Plots reference great circle.
  • Animates beam marker and cone visualization.
• Automatic DMX Movement: Continuously updates pan for simulation.
• Graceful Termination: KeyboardInterrupt closes WebSocket safely.

Citations

• pynput
• websocket-client
• Python socket
• Starter code inspiration

License

Distributed under the MIT License. Modify and distribute freely.