Thanks to the powers of the open-source Arduino platform, the mustachioed plumber of console video game fame has been converted into an eight-by-eight LED matrix by Carnegie Mellon University student Chloe Fan. And, yes, she's even made a separate Arduino device to give her side-scrolling adventure the classic Mario theme.

The open-source Arduino electronics platform has received a ton of attention from the hardware enthusiast community. And one more follower is joining the fray--Mario himself. The mustachioed plumber of console video game fame has been converted into an eight-by-eight LED matrix by Carnegie Mellon University student Chloe Fan. And, yes, she's even made a separate Arduino device to give her side-scrolling adventure the classic Mario theme.

Super Mario Bros on an 8x8 LED matrix from Chloe Fan on Vimeo.

The game isn't quite the Mario you know from your legacy Nintendo Entertainment System (or current-generation Wii). For starters, it's just lights: While one often sees the game's LED-backed grid used in devices like the open-source Monome, where it can function as a push-button toggle for music beats and effects, Fan's version of Mario uses the grid as a display only. Mario--or rather, a one-light representation of the game's hero--is controlled NES-style through the use of two buttons. One button makes Mario move forward; the other makes him leap into the air.

Obviously, certain elements are missing from this stripped-down version of the famous platform-scroller. Unlike Nintendo's version, there aren't any objects to interact with, nor can you really do anything save for make a little light move from platform to platform. If you scroll forward too quickly and accidentally bump Mario off the screen, the level automatically restarts--a harsh punishment for those who don't quite master the separate jumping and forwarding routines.

So why does this matter? For starters, it's a unique combination of open-source hardware and software development that's recreated a classic element from video game culture on relatively simple, inexpensive equipment. Ardiuno is a free, open-source electronics platform that comes with a full set of schematics for assembly (and subsequent tweaking) of a hardware microcontroller. Lazier developers can purchase pre-configured Ardiuno boards from a variety of sources, and the specific C/C++ coding environment--Ardiuno's language--is configurable via open-source software across a variety of operating systems.

Launched in 2005, Ardiuno has served as the backbone for a number of other unique projects across the Web. Its ability to register inputs from multiple sensors and communicate with different pieces of software running on a conventional desktop system allows the microcontroller to wear many different hats, including:

My Daft Punk helmet from Casey Pugh on Vimeo.