Compact, Piezo triggered, colour cycle LED for art installation.

Projects General Guidance
1

I’m putting on an interactive sound/light installation and the idea is for the audience to trigger sounds and fx by touching/knocking objects around the room/hanging from the ceiling. I’m looking to attach piezo sensors to theses objects which will be transformed to midi and into ableton live on my laptop.

What I really want on top of this, are for these objects (preferably coloured led spheres/cubes/something futuristic) to flash/cycle colour when struck/touched by the audience members, but to crucially always be on (rather than just flash on then off again).

So:

  1. Can I hook up led strips and an arduino nano to the same piezo sensor that is triggering the midi?

  2. Will it be compact enough to fit inside a small silicone sphere (Juggling ball)?

  3. Can it be battery powered or will I need to run usb cable all the way to power?

  4. Alternatively, can I hook the piezo sensor up to a pre-existing led juggling ball such as this... http://www.homeofpoi.com/shop/productDetails/Single-57oz-165g-LED-Glow-Juggling-2-3-4-Inch-70mm-Ball/

2

The power source depends on the LEDs, which consume most of the power. Batteries contribute to the size and weight of each object.

A wearable Arduino board will be light and small. But you'll have to add an amplifier for the piezo anyhow, so that a custom PCB may be a good idea.