A Bluetooth-controlled Infinity Mirror using a SparkFun ESP32 Thing, some RGB LEDs, and a simple app created using MIT's App Inventor.

LEDs are great, and can make almost any project better. Well, unless you’re building discreet spy equipment, in which case you probably shouldn’t put a 3 mm PTH red or green LED on it (I’m looking at you, Hollywood!). And the more LEDs you can put on a project, the better, right? But did you know that you can create the illusion of way more LEDs than you actually have? Of course you know that, because you’re reading SparkFun’s blog post, which means you are no doubt fully aware of infinity mirrors. From @the_gella’s Infinity Mirror Heart Heels here at SparkFun to Yayoi Kusama’s Infinity Mirror Rooms at London’s Tate Modern (opening at the end of March and remaining there for a full year!), infinity mirrors are mesmerising, because they create the illusion of space beyond where it exists.

So I decided it was time for me to create one of my own. But I had other things I wanted to do as well. I like controlling things remotely, so I thought I should have some type of wireless control for the project. I also wanted to get familiar with MIT’s App Inventor. And of course, I’m always down to design and 3D print something new. Given all the things on this wish list, I decided to go with an infinity mirror with a microcontroller and either WiFi or Bluetooth (or both?), controlled via a simple and fairly uninteresting phone app that I would create, in a frame that was more than just a plain rectangular mirror. With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, I knew just what to do. I would create something that allowed me to send little visual messages up to my wife to let her know I’m thinking of her. Allow me to share with you the “I Heart You Infinity”!