The Larson Scanner is a device that consists of red LEDs that scan back and forth. It is named after Glen A. Larson who produced the original Knight Rider and Battlestar Galactica television shows.
This iconic look can be implemented onto any device or object that you want to take on a look similar to KITT or a Cylon. Soubitos, with the help of fellow Tindie seller Omzlo, teamed up to create this compact take on the classic design.
This Larson Scanner uses a PCB with twenty 5mm LEDs powered by micro USB. An ATtiny85 micocontroller drives the display using Charlieplexing — the build is explained in this four-part article series. Anyone with an AVR programmer (like the litte2wire for instance) and reprogram the behavior to suit their needs.
