Concepts

How the ProtoPixel Mapping Tool Works

The ProtoPixel Mapping Tool is a pixel mapping software that helps you map visual content to physical lights in the real world. To do so, you will have to match places in your content to individual lights in the real world. Fortunately, this is very easy with the ProtoPixel Mapping Tool.

Some key concepts are needed to understand and use the ProtoPixel Mapping Tool:

Light

In the ProtoPixel Mapping Tool we use Light to refer to a single controllable point of light, which can only have one color. A Light will typically be an addressable LED. We represent it as a point in space with a given color.

Fixture

A Fixture in the ProtoPixel Mapping Tool is a set of Lights that come together in a physical form. They are usually sold as a unit and can be physically connected to a ProtoPixel Controller. An LED matrix, a focus, or an LED strip are examples of Fixtures.

Content

Anything that produces color that can be mapped into lights is Content. Videos, images, and interactive animations are examples of Content.

Controller and Outlet

A Controller represents how the physical Fixtures are connected in a particular ProtoPixel Controller. Controllers have several Outlets representing the physical connections where Fixtures can be plugged. A Controller has to be paired to a Device to work in the real world.

Device

Devices are how real-world ProtoPixel Controllers are represented in the software. Typically you would set up a Controller, fill in its Outlets, and then pair it to the physical Device. How fixtures are connected to the outlets of the Controller must match how real fixtures are connected to the real Device.

Project

All these elements are placed together in a Project. A Project can be saved in a file for later use.