{"product_id":"space-unicorns","title":"Pico 2 W Unicorn","description":"\u003cp\u003eGorgeous programmable LED matrix displays with wireless connectivity and oodles of fancy extras! \u003cspan\u003e🦄\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOur space Unicorns are very beautiful, \u003cstrong\u003eall-in-one, RP2350 powered LED matrices\u003c\/strong\u003e perfect for conveying information fabulously (or for sprucing up your desktop, makingspace or imaginarium). There's a ton of features aboard, here are some of our favourites!\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e🌈 Loads* of RGB LEDs\u003c\/strong\u003e, all with individual colour and brightness control. \u003cspan\u003eWe're in mad love with these big bright squircular LEDs with their rounded apertures and built in diffusion.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e📷 Looks great on video \u003c\/strong\u003e- invoking RP2350 magic means we can update the LEDs really quickly (we measured around 300 fps at 14-bit precision). This means there's no nasty strobing, artifacting or brightness stepping when it's filmed, so it's perfect for adding to the background of your streaming setup.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e🌍 \u003cstrong\u003e2.4GHz wireless connectivity\u003c\/strong\u003e (courtesy of the Raspberry Pi Pico 2 W) so you can use it to display all sorts of interesting data from the internet.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThere's also an \u003cstrong\u003eonboard amp and little speaker\u003c\/strong\u003e for bleepy alerts and *futuristic noises* and a \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ebattery connector\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e so you can power it without it having to be tethered to a USB port\u003c\/span\u003e. \u003cspan\u003eEvery Unicorn comes with a pair of sleek little \u003c\/span\u003emetal legs\u003cspan\u003e so it can stand up on its own (and has a selection of mounting holes if you'd prefer to do something else).  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eUse it to make a very fancy clock, a very fancy weather display or a very fancy output for sensors (other very fancy use cases are available).\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eWhat's new? 😎\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAs of mid-December 2024, Pico Unicorns are now \u003cstrong\u003ePico 2 W Aboard\u003c\/strong\u003e! Pico 2 W and it's souped-up RP2350 chip bring some exciting improvements - including a \u003cstrong\u003ehigher core clock speed\u003c\/strong\u003e, \u003cstrong\u003edouble the on-chip SRAM\u003c\/strong\u003e and \u003cstrong\u003edouble the on-board flash memory\u003c\/strong\u003e. RP2350 adds hardware support for floating point number crunching, which means graphical effects and demos should run even faster!\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eWhich Unicorn to choose?\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAll varieties of Unicorn have the same great core features: buttons, a speaker, a battery connector and an onboard Pico 2 W. However, there's now \u003cstrong\u003ethree different shapes and sizes\u003c\/strong\u003e, with varying amounts of LEDs. Here's a little comparison chart to make sure you get just the right amount (like mecha-Goldilocks 🤖).\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ctable width=\"100%\"\u003e\n\u003ctbody\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e Unicorn\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e*How many LEDs\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eArranged in a...\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSize of board (L x W x D)\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eStellar\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e256\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e16 x 16 square grid\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e108 x 108 x 10.2 mm\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eGalactic\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e583\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e53 x 11 wide grid\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e\u003cspan\u003e330 x 78 x 10.2 mm\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eCosmic\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e1024\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e32 x 32 square grid\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e204 x 204 x 10.2 mm\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003c\/tbody\u003e\n\u003c\/table\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eFeatures\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eRaspberry Pi Pico 2 W Aboard\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eDual Arm Cortex M33 running at up to 150MHz with 520KB of SRAM\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e4MB of QSPI flash supporting XiP\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePowered and programmable by USB micro-B\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003e2.4GHz wireless\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e256\/583\/1024 RGB LEDs in a 16x16\/53x11\/32x32 grid\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e3.5mm LEDs with rounded square apertures\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e6mm LED spacing\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eDriven by FM6047 constant current LED drivers\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eMAX98357 3.2W I2S Mono Amplifier (with 30mm 1W speaker)\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePhototransistor for light sensing\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e9 tactile user buttons\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eReset button\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e2x Qw\/ST (Qwiic\/STEMMA QT) connectors\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eJST-PH connector for attaching a battery (5.5V max)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFully assembled\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eNo soldering required.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eProgrammable with \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/github.com\/pimoroni\/pimoroni-pico\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eC\/C++\u003c\/a\u003e or \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/github.com\/pimoroni\/unicorn\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eMicroPython\u003c\/a\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eSchematics - \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0174\/1800\/files\/stellar_unicorn_schematic.pdf?v=1688395833\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eStellar\u003c\/a\u003e \/ \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0174\/1800\/files\/galactic_unicorn_schematic.pdf?v=1667910096\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eGalactic\u003c\/a\u003e \/ \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0174\/1800\/files\/cosmic_unicorn_schematic.pdf?v=1677236038\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eCosmic\u003c\/a\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eKit includes\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eStellar\/Galactic\/Cosmic Unicorn (with speaker attached)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e2 x metal legs\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eUSB A to micro-B cable\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eGetting Started\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eTo make it easy to get started, all our Unicorns ship \u003cstrong\u003epre-loaded with pirate brand MicroPython\u003c\/strong\u003e and a demo reel of pretty examples to stare at.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eYou can find more examples on Github:\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/github.com\/pimoroni\/unicorn\" target=\"_blank\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eUnicorn MicroPython firmware and examples\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003e\u003cspan\u003eNot your everyday RGB LEDs\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eIn our software, we use the Pico 2 W's PIOs (Programmable IOs) to drive the LEDs. Internally, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eUnicorn applies gamma correction to the supplied image data and updates the display with 14-bit precision resulting in extremely linear visual output - including at the low end.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe display is refreshed around 300 times per second (300fps!) allowing for rock solid stability even when being filmed, no smearing or flickering even when in motion.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eConnecting Breakouts\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Qw\/ST connectors make it super easy to connect up \u003ca href=\"\/en-eu\/collections\/qwiic\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eQwiic\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eor\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ca href=\"\/en-eu\/collections\/stemma-qt\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eSTEMMA QT\u003c\/a\u003e breakouts. If your breakout has a QW\/ST connector on board, you can plug it straight in with a\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/shop.pimoroni.com\/products\/jst-sh-cable-qwiic-stemma-qt-compatible\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eJST-SH to JST-SH cable\u003c\/a\u003e. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBreakout Garden breakouts that don't have a Qw\/ST connector can be connected using a\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/shop.pimoroni.com\/products\/jst-sh-cable-qwiic-stemma-qt-compatible\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eJST-SH to JST-SH cable\u003c\/a\u003e plus a \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/shop.pimoroni.com\/products\/stemma-qt-qwiic-to-breakout-garden-adapter\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eQw\/ST to Breakout Garden adaptor\u003c\/a\u003e. Want to use \u0026gt;2 breakouts at the same time? Try\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/shop.pimoroni.com\/products\/sparkfun-qwiic-multiport\" target=\"_blank\"\u003ethis adaptor\u003c\/a\u003e!\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/github.com\/pimoroni\/pimoroni-pico\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eList of breakouts\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003ecurrently compatible with our C++\/MicroPython build.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eNotes\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePower consumption stats! ⚡ We measured Galactic and Cosmic Unicorn as consuming just over 1A at maximum brightness, full white. When choosing a battery, consider that the LEDs will look their absolute best when they have access to at least 3.6V of power. At lower voltage levels you will start to see the blue elements of the LEDs fading out - this starts to become very noticeable at 2.9V and below. For best results when running on battery, we'd suggest using a chunky LiPo (check out the extras for some suggestions).\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eNote that Unicorns have no battery charging hardware onboard -  this is so you can use either alkaline or LiPo batteries safely. You'll need to charge up your LiPo battery with a separate battery charger (we like \u003ca href=\"\/en-eu\/products\/lipo-amigo\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eLiPo Amigo\u003c\/a\u003e).\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eSquircle alert! 🟪🔵 Some batches of Unicorns have LEDs with more rounded apertures (though the LED specs and brightness remain the same). They all look good, but if you want a perfectly visually matched pair (or stable) of Unicorns it's probably best to buy them at the same time.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003ePrintables\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eWant to cut a diffuser or 3D print a case? Check these out:\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eStellar\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eStellar's 4 mounting holes are M2 and 3mm in from the edge. The leg holes are M2.5.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e.dxf files for the board outline:\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0174\/1800\/files\/stellar_unicorn_corner_holes_only.dxf?v=1688396721\" target=\"_blank\"\u003ewith corner mounting holes only\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0174\/1800\/files\/stellar_unicorn_all_holes.dxf?v=1688396721\" target=\"_blank\"\u003ewith all holes\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eGalactic\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eGalactic's 8 mounting holes are M2, 3mm in from the edge, and e\u003cspan\u003equally spaced 108mm horizontally and 72mm vertically. The l\u003c\/span\u003eeg holes are M2.5 (\u003cspan\u003ewe've added two sets so you can adjust the angle)\u003c\/span\u003e.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e.dxf files for the board outline:\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0174\/1800\/files\/galactic_unicorn_without_holes.dxf?v=1668162600\" target=\"_blank\"\u003ewith corner mounting holes only\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0174\/1800\/files\/galactic_unicorn_with_holes.dxf?v=1668162600\" target=\"_blank\"\u003ewith all holes\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.printables.com\/model\/486269-galactic-unicorn-pico-w-aboard-screen-mount-pivot-\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eScreen mount with pivot stand\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/github.com\/seanosteen\/CheerClock\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eTemplates for box joint case and diffuser grill\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.printables.com\/model\/1840511-galactic-unicorn-stand\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003eAngle-adjustable stand\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCosmic\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eCosmic's 7 mounting holes are M2, 3mm in from the edge, and equally spaced 99mm horizontally and vertically. The leg holes are M2.5 (we've added two sets so you can adjust the angle).\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0174\/1800\/files\/cosmic_unicorn_dimensional_drawing.png?v=1689940535\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eDimensional drawing\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e.dxf files for the board outline:\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0174\/1800\/files\/cosmic_unicorn_without_holes.dxf?v=1689940239\" target=\"_blank\"\u003ewith corner mounting holes only\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0174\/1800\/files\/cosmic_unicorn_with_holes.dxf?v=1689940239\" target=\"_blank\"\u003ewith all holes\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDon't have easy access to a laser cutter? We also sell diffusers \u003ca href=\"\/en-eu\/products\/unicorn-diffuser-kit\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\"\u003ehere.\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eAbout RP2350\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe RP2350 chip is the Double Quarter Pounder \u0026amp; Fries to the RP2040's Double Cheeseburger and can have one or more RISC-V burgers instead of either of the M33 ARMs, to stretch the metaphor.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn addition to the modern M33 ARM cores, there are sides of: more PIO capability, a variety of low power states for sipping electrons, a whole security system and some sprinklings of specialist digital video circuits to offload DVI\/HDMI output.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eYou can expect a tasty boost in performance - our \"real world\" MicroPython tests are running up to 2x faster compared to RP2040, and floating point number crunching in C\/C++ is up to 20x faster. The extra on-chip RAM will make a big difference when performing memory intensive operations (such as working with higher resolution displays) and even more can be added thanks to external PSRAM support.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eRP2350 comes in two flavours - A (standard) and B (all the pins). The B chip has a stonking 48 usable GPIO pins, including 8 ADCs and 24 PWMs, and features on some of our new products. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"\/en-eu\/collections\/rp2350\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eClick here to view all things RP2350!\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Pimoroni","offers":[{"title":"Stellar (16x16)","offer_id":40842632953939,"sku":"PIM736","price":38.95,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true},{"title":"Galactic (53x11)","offer_id":40842033561683,"sku":"PIM734","price":57.95,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true},{"title":"Cosmic (32x32)","offer_id":40842626596947,"sku":"PIM735","price":78.95,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0174\/1800\/products\/galactic-unicorn-1.jpg?v=1666945186","url":"https:\/\/shop.pimoroni.com\/en-eu\/products\/space-unicorns","provider":"Pimoroni Ltd","version":"1.0","type":"link"}