This year, I’ve been working a lot with connected devices. Since I was planning to take part in an art fair, I wanted a visual cue whenever a payment was made—plus something that looked stylish!
Then I had an idea: use a smart LED to turn it on as soon as an order is placed.
So, here’s how I created my connected paintbrush, and how you could do the same 👇.
As for equipment, I got myself a smart light. I opted for a 3-meter LED strip from Action (European discount store). Ideally, I would have liked to find a battery-powered version, but since a constant Wi-Fi connection is required, it couldn't run on anything other than mains power.
Once I’d bought the LED, I explored the various modes (before realizing that the automation was quite restrictive). So, I installed the Tuya app (the vast majority of connected devices run on Tuya) and then created a developer account on their IoT platformIt’s free, and even if a project expires, it can be renewed for free every six months indefinitely (as far as I know). From my PC, I can access my LED unit and retrieve the project credentials to transfer to WordPress. Just make sure to set the device to "controllable" mode rather than "read-only."
As for automation, the general idea is to receive an instruction that is used to send information to the LED.
Once the order is received, I use the "payment complete" instruction to trigger a snippet of code that runs when the "payment complete" condition is met. Since this condition is satisfied, the code retrieves information about the TUYA project containing my LED, sends it a signal—such as "turn green for 2 seconds, then red for 2 seconds"—and schedules it to turn off.
That covers the general concept. As for the setup, I’m opting for three services: SumUp (to process payments at the stand), WordPress (to link SumUp and Tuya), and Tuya (which sends the signal to the LED). To get started, I need to connect SumUp to WordPress. Since SumUp is somewhat restricted, it makes sense to shift the system over to WordPress, where I know I can implement a wide range of features—specifically Tuya integration. Fortunately, a SumUp-WordPress plugin exists; I install and configure it quickly, and within five minutes, I’m able to accept payments for my WooCommerce products using my SumUp terminal.
Then, the fun begins. I need to send the signal to Tuya to tell it to turn on at a specific time. (I use the Code Snippets plugin, but any code customization plugin works. And if you like living dangerously, you can even do it in functions.php, haha.)
I use the "woocommerce_payment_complete" webhook to trigger my Tuya function. In short, my Tuya function retrieves a Tuya signature allowing me to locate the device and control it remotely. Then, I simply need to set up a quick mapping based on the product to determine whether—and how—to turn it on, depending on what the customer orders. If a specific product is selected, I link the LED to it, along with specific data (which can be found directly in the LED documentation on the IoT platform, as shown below).
Once the loop has run, WordPress immediately schedules a "Turn On" event that executes instantly, as well as a "Turn Off" event scheduled to run right after the "Turn On" loop has fully completed.
Consequently, the customer who has just made a booking will simply see the LED light up automatically once payment is received and then immediately turn off.
It's magic!
That being said, at this stage, the concept works, but it’s just an LED. It’s time to create the part covering it. I take the measurements of my LED and then launch Blender. I model a very simple brush consisting of a base, a handle, a ferrule, and a cap for the bristles. Alongside it, I also sculpt a very simple palette with raised paint splatters. Oh, and to make it more personalized, I extrude my SVG logo into 3D.
Moving on to 3D printing, I set all the models to print separately (to check diameters in case of issues), except for the paintbrush bristles and the palette, which I include in a second print run using transparent filament to allow light to pass through.
Final step: customization! A bit of paint, some gold spray for the logo, and here’s the result!
And in a real-world scenario, this is what it looks like 👇.
Perhaps one day you’ll be able to test it on-site or discover another use for it… 😉
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