Each year, during the festive season, we like to step slightly outside our usual work and create something purely for fun — a project with a real smile factor. While many of our day-to-day developments focus on practical applications of LED technology, it’s always refreshing to explore what’s possible when the goal is simply to make something cool, playful, and memorable.

Christmas 2024, we decided to design and build an interactive LED Christmas bauble.

The aim was to create a decoration small enough to hang on a Christmas tree, completely self-powered, and filled with beautiful, vibrant LEDs. But rather than stopping at a simple light display, we wanted to add an extra twist: interaction.

We explored several ways the bauble could respond to its environment — from button controls to changes in ambient light — but one idea stood out. What if the bauble reacted naturally to movement and gravity?

To achieve this, we researched compact accelerometers and selected an economical yet highly capable three-axis device. This sensor was integrated into a custom circular PCB, surrounded by an array of LEDs. 

With the help of some very clever in-house software, we applied a physics-based animation so the LEDs behave like tiny particles or droplets. As the bauble is tilted or rotated, the lights shift and settle realistically, as though liquid or small balls are moving inside the ornament.

The result is a truly unique decoration — visually striking, interactive, and genuinely fun to play with.

The bauble was designed entirely in-house, including both the electronics and software. While our manufacturing partner produced the PCBs, all assembly, programming, and testing was completed at EMP. We also developed custom packaging to finish the project, before gifting the baubles to a number of our clients as a Christmas surprise.

A festive project, a technical challenge, and a little bit of seasonal joy — all wrapped into one glowing ornament.