Waveshare RP2350 8×8 WS2812B RGB LED Matrix Development Board

Waveshare’s RP2350-Matrix is a Raspberry Pi RP2350A-powered LED matrix development board with adjustable WS2812 RGB LEDs, RP2350 MCU, a built-in 6-axis IMU, and a larger 8×8 RGB matrix. The board also provides 25 GPIOs, 12 PIO state machines, an on-chip temperature sensor, accurate hardware timers, and low-power modes, along with a USB Type-C port for power and programming (USB 1.1 device/host), a Dout pin for extending the RGB matrix, and an 800mA LDO regulator for stable power delivery. These features make it well-suited for projects involving motion sensing, visual feedback, and interactive embedded applications.

The board is built around the Raspberry Pi RP2350A SoC, with a dual-core, dual-ISA design that supports Arm Cortex-M33 with TrustZone and secure boot or RISC-V Hazard3 cores, running at up to 150 MHz in any combination.

It integrates 520 KB of SRAM and 16 MB of onboard Flash, and comes in a compact 25 × 25 mm form factor. The board includes an 8×8 WS2812 RGB LED matrix with a Dout pin for expansion, a USB Type-C 1.1 host/device port for power and programming, and 25 GPIOs exposed via headers and pads, supporting SPI, I²C, UART, ADC, PWM, HSTX, and 12 PIO state machines.

For sensing, it features a QMI8658 6-axis IMU (accelerometer + gyroscope) and an on-chip temperature sensor, complemented by reset/boot buttons and precise hardware timers. Power is provided through USB-C or pin headers, regulated by an 800 mA LDO, making it a well-rounded board for compact embedded, motion-sensing, and display applications.

The RP2350-Matrix can be programmed with MicroPython, C/C++ with the Pico SDK, and the Arduino IDE. It can be programmed in MicroPython using Thonny IDE, in C/C++ with the official Pico VSCode extension, or with the Arduino-Pico core for Arduino compatibility. Waveshare provides Python demos in both MicroPython and C/C++, including color effects, IMU-controlled games, and temperature-based LED brightness control, showcasing the 8×8 RGB LED matrix and QMI8658 6-axis sensor. Full details, pinouts, dimensions, and setup guides are available on the official wiki page.

The RP2350-Matrix is priced at around $16.90 on AliExpress and $16.99 on Amazon, while the Waveshare store lists it at $9.99 (excluding shipping) with additional discounts available for bulk orders.

All images courtesy of Waveshere.