Adafruit Pixie Pixel Protocol
A high-brightness, individually addressable RGB LED pixel featuring an onboard microcontroller and constant current driver, controlled via a simple UART serial protocol.
Overview
Pixie LEDs use a 3-wire UART interface at 115200 baud, with each 3W pixel integrating a Microchip PIC microcontroller for 16-bit PWM color mixing and gamma correction. Data is sent as RGB bytes per pixel and daisy-chained, enabling precise, smooth gradients and animations. The protocol is robust, easy to use with microcontrollers, and supports long chains with minimal latency, making Pixie ideal for installations requiring ultra-bright, individually controlled pixels.
Supported Pixel Controllers using Adafruit Pixie
Specifications
| Clock Type | Data-Only |
| Color Resolution | 8 Bits |
| RGB | Yes |
| RGBW | Yes |
| Output Pixel Voltage | 5 - 24V |
| PWM Rate | 500Hz |
| Suitable Camera | Unsuitable for cameras |
| Redundant Data Line | No |