Simple Arduino Uno project that allows a LED to be triggered (change colors or turned off/on) by an IR blaster wand. A simple game is also included below.
This sketch leverages mpflaga's branch of the IRremote library. This branch supports the specific codes/decodes of the wands. The wands themselves are from a chain of hotels for a quest game, but any IR blaster could be used if it follows the same format.
Copy the IRremote directory for the branch of IRremote into C:\arduino\libraries (or wherever you have installed the Arduino IDE). You may get a message that it conflicts with RobotIRremote, which is another version of IRremote that comes with the Arduino IDE, that doesn't have wand support.
Multiple libraries were found for "IRremote.h"
Used: C:\arduino\libraries\IRremote
Not used: C:\arduino\libraries\RobotIRremote
If you get this message then it is likely safe to ignore. If you get something else, then you'll probably need to dig into it.
For input, this project requires an IR sensor. I used TSOP38238, which is very common and cheap. The pin used by the program is the same for the IR sensor regardless of the LED used. Please consult the specs of your IR sensor to determine if there are any special requirements.
The output of this project requires an LED of some sort for providing feedback for folks doing the wand waving. Two different LEDs are supported: a single color LED, such as a red LED, or a RGB (tri-color) LED that is capable of blending colors. The RGB LED allows for more interesting feedback, but the single color LED wiring is simpler and quicker to get setup. Both wiring diagrams are shown below. By default the sketch is setup to use the RGB LED, which is controlled by the SINGLE_LED constant at the top of the sketch. The LED should still work if you don't have that constant set correctly, but you may get weird results (ex. the RGB LED will just light up red).
For all of the LEDs, I used 560 Ohm resistors which is a safe bet if you don't know the specifics of your LED (I make no guarantees though). However, you can often increase the brightness of the LED by using a lower Ohm resistor if your LED will support it. Either way, it is generally always a good idea to use a resistor with an LED. Please consult the specs of your LED to determine what to use.
For the RGB (tri-color) LED, please note there are two types: Cathode and Anode. Cathodes should have their long pin connected to ground (GND) and the Anodes have their longest pin attached to power (5V), so please ensure you are adjusting your wiring accordingly. The diagram below shows wiring for an anode LED. This also changes the logic for setting the colors. In the sketch that logic is controlled by the COMMON_ANODE define. Please comment that definition out if you are using a common cathode LED, otherwise your colors will be flipped.
Also included is a simple game that leverage a button, a single color LED, an RGB LED, an an IR sensor. The game starts in Freestyle mode, similar to the behaviors above. Any wand will light up with the RGB LED with their color (assuming you've update the internal list of wands, otherwise the color will be white for unknown wands) and if they wave the wave again while it still is lit up with their color then they will turn it off.
The game itself starts when the button is pressed. There will be 3 warning blinks of the single color LED. After that the objective of each wizard is to light the RGB LED with their color and keep it lit as long as they can. If another wizard waves their wand then the color changes. If the same wizard waves their wand then the RGB LED goes out and that wizard loses 1 second of accumulated time. This is to prevent folks from just constantly waving their wand and spamming. Once a wizard accumulates 5 seconds of time the game is over with the single color LED flashing 5 times and the winning wand color shown.
Not: This game is in the game.ino file. Since the Arduino IDE wants the file name to match the folder name, you must either rename this file to be arduino-irwand.ino (backing up the original of course), or move the game.ino file into a similarly named directory.
