16-Bit PWM — Why It Matters

| began with the Arduino Uno's standard 8-bit PWM — 256 levels of brightness control. As |
pushed into lower and lower light levels, 256 steps became too coarse. The transitions were
visible. The steps detectable. Not good enough. | hit a wall.

| asked Gemini Al how to get more resolution. The answer was 16-bit PWM channels. That one
suggestion changed everything. Without it, the instrument does not exist. Ghost Mode stays
undiscovered. The question was literally unaskable at 8-bit — you would skip over it entirely.

Moving to 16-bit PWM gave 65,535 levels of control. Now the filament could be brought down
so slowly, so smoothly, that the transition became imperceptible — biologically indistinguishable
from a natural gradient.

For context: commercial circadian rhythm lamps — purpose built, professionally marketed, sold
for hundreds of dollars — offer a maximum of 256 brightness levels. The cost difference for

16-bit control is approximately $0.50 in components.

| did not know this when | built CozZie Glow. | just wanted finer control.

The Software — A Collaborative Build

The control software was developed in collaboration with Al agents — Google Gemini and
Claude Al.

| knew Al could write Python before | started. When ChatGPT arrived | tested it immediately with
OpenCV and a video feed. It wrote working code on the first try. | filed that away. When CozZie
Glow needed software | knew exactly where to go.

The value of Al for coding is not theoretical. It is the difference between having software now
and having software in a year. For a builder with a problem to solve and no time to learn a new
language, that difference is everything. | needed a sleep lab. Not eventually. Now. Al made now
possible.

Al is the killer app for coding.
It was a genuine collaboration. | provided the base concept and domain knowledge. New ideas

came from both directions. | focused on hardware, implementation, testing, and debugging. The
Al cleaned up the code and helped design the UI.