Spending time in quarantine can be particularly challenging and not just during the COVID-19 pandemic. But this period can get even harder for parents with very young children, as the former feel the urge to maintain a sense of security, happiness and normality for their children at a time when none of these emotions can be taken for granted.

In Italy, Gabriele Merlonghi, a maker and Espressif supporter, turned to the power of ESP8266, in order to fuel his creativity and uplift his young son’s spirits. Gabriele’s son is crazy about Minecraft, while Gabriele himself is passionate about technology. 

Gabriele decided to create a DIY gift for his son, which was inspired by a 3D-printed Minecraft lamp he had found earlier on Thingiverse. Gabriele also used the Tasmota firmware on ESP8266, which can make an RGB LED strip work, while supporting an easy integration with the Amazon Alexa hub.  

For his own ESPmincraft lamp, Gabriele printed all the sides of the Minecraft cube, using a grey filament. He was not really satisfied with how the 3D-printed sides looked, so he decided to cover them with a Micaceous iron oxide paint for a more polished finish.

Then, the ESP8266 module with the WS2812 12V LED strip were appropriately welded. All electronic components were glued on a wooden cross structure which helped the sides of the lamp remain stable and straight. A 12V power supply was also welded inside the ESPminecraft lamp.

Then, the Tasmota firmware had to be flashed. This happened with the user-friendly Tasmotizer tool. The next steps included configuring the Wi-Fi network and accessing the webUI.

After the electronics were tested, they were assembled inside the ESPminecraft lamp.

The final result was beautiful and, most importantly, it made Gabriele’s son really happy at a difficult and stressful time for everybody.

We would like to thank Gabriele Merlonghi for reaching out to Espressif and sharing this story. #andràtuttobene #everythingwillbefine #wearetogetherinthis