LED controller to control individual RGB diodes remotely?

Question

I'm working on a project which utilizes an iPad to change colors of individual lights in array of ~200 RGB LEDs. I have little knowledge of large-scale LED configurations and could use some direction. All lights will be on, it's only a matter of programmability to assign a color to a certain LED in the array.

I need a controller that:

1. Can handle connections for iPad use over WiFi (Raspberry Pi-esque... Python is ideal)
2. Facilitates color-changing of individual LEDs in the array.

A design question based on the above requirements: I assume there are no LED strips where diodes on the strip may be individually controlled; am I wrong in assuming this? If not, what is the optimal wiring option?

I had a look at the Pixelpusher by Heroic Robotics, but that board seems overkill for what I'm trying to accomplish.

I'm well-versed in using the Raspberry Pi for the situation of remotely-controlling a few LEDs, but I don't think it has enough power to handle the 200 diodes I need. If I'm missing some configuration details that would make this possible, please let me know.

Thanks.

Answer 1

I use leds with the chip ws2812 aka neopixel and are very easy to control with Arduino. With Raspberry Pi is a bit coplex due to timing requirements.

With neopixel every led may be individually controlled with only one pin.

Here you can find the led strip: https://www.adafruit.com/product/1376

I made a Christmas decoration with neopixel and Arduino Yun controled form arduino embedded web page opened from my iPad.

The code: https://github.com/jecrespo/NeoPixel