If you live in a house with stairs and have to traipse up and down at night, it’s best to have some sort of light that guides you. Although a cell phone can work just fine, or you could likely activate bright overhead lighting, creator MagicManu devised an automatic and progressive solution to illuminate his path instead.

MagicManu’s system knows when someone is there using PIR sensors arranged at both ends, and only activates if it’s dark enough thanks to a photoresistor. The entire setup is controlled by an Arduino Nano, while two potentiometers adjust light sensitivity and duration of ignition.

As MagicManu walks up, a rainbow pattern emanates from the bottom to the top via addressable WS2812B LEDs, or vice versa if he’s descending.

Does this sound like a project you’d want to install in your home? Code and additional details are available in MagicManu’s write-up.