Unicorn HAT - Compact RGB Pixel Matrix

by Pimoroni

What's going to protect your beloved Raspberry Pi from an onslaught of rainbow-coloured fusion? That's right, it's Unicorn HAT.

Sporting a matrix of 64 (8 x 8) RGB LEDs and powered directly from the Pi, this is the most compact pocket aurora available.

Unicorn HAT provides a wash of controllable colour that is ideal for mood-lighting, 8x8 pixel art, persistence of vision effects, status indications, or just blasting colour into your surroundings.

The MagPi said that Unicorn HAT was "one of the coolest HATs around"

Features

  • 64 RGB LEDs (WS2812B)
  • LED data driven via DMA over PWM
  • Unicorn HAT pinout
  • Compatible with all 40-pin header Raspberry Pi models
  • Python library
  • Comes fully assembled

Software

We've put together a Unicorn HAT Python library to make it a breeze to use, including lots of beautiful examples of what it can do.

Notes

    • Warning: WS2812 LEDs are bright enough to cause eye pain, do not look at them directly when brightly lit. We recommend the use of a diffuser.
    • Photo-sensitivity warning: flashing, strobing, and patterns of lights may cause epileptic seizures. Always take care and immediately stop using if you feel unwell (dizziness, nausea, affected vision, eye twitching, disorientation).
    • Power: Unicorn HAT requires a >2A microUSB power supply for your Pi. We recommend the official Raspberry Pi power supply.
    • Compatibility (audio): as Unicorn HAT uses PWM and GPIO18, it will interfere with analogue audio playback (random colour patterns and flickering). HDMI should work just fine! :D