I'm working on an installation at the moment that needs to run for at least 12 months. The installation is quite simple in that it makes LED lights flash when movement is detected by an infrared detector and possibly trigger a sound. I would probably use DMX to control the lights.

I want to avoid using a computer/laptop to drive this installation and the first two things that came to mind are using VHDL and an ASIC or Arudino. The problem with arduino is that it needs to be connected to a computer?

Anyone have any thoughts or suggestions? I know this is not processing related but thought someone might be able to help.