It’s Halloween season again. Although traditionally known as a children’s “holiday,” nobody ever said that adults couldn’t have fun too.
To get in the spirit, try making a Raspberry-Pi-operated scarecrow that will keep kids far from the candy.
A Raspberry Pi controls this scary jack-o-lantern. (Image via Incentricity)
Inventor and computer hobbyist Chris Osborn from California tinkers with computers, electronics, and games and wanted to create a Halloween prop to scare off the trick-or-treaters (all in the name of fun of course). Osborn’s initial plan was to use a carved jack-o-lantern and search the internet for some scary Halloween sounds, but soon his idea took off and he began adding motion sensors, lights, and even more sounds. He even put the carved pumpkin in the hands of a headless scarecrow he threw together.
Osborn placed a motion sensor at the end of his walkway so that when someone comes close, it will trigger a computer-controlled sequence.
The sequence begins when the porch lights shut off, then scary music begins to play from a speaker under the scarecrow. The light inside the pumpkin brightens and anyone approaching will hear the words “help me” coming from the illuminated head.
Want to make one? Here’s how it works.
It’s all controlled by a Raspberry Pi that uses a standard set up. The sounds are played from a speaker that’s connected to an analog jack under the chair and the lights are controlled by a few X10 modules that operate on a lighting program called Heyu.
The more detailed step-by-step instructions can be found on Osborn’s website Insentricity. Watch this quick clip of the final product and get your home tech ready for trick-or-treaters.
If you don’t think this project is for you, check out these, possibly simpler, projects.
Ghost and Pumpkin PCB kits get you in the Halloween mood. (Image via Low Voltage Labs)
Low Voltage Labs, a company that designs and sells open source hardware, has released pumpkin and ghost printed circuit board kits in lieu of Halloween. They contain flickering LEDs and are powered by a 2032 coin battery. They’re pretty simple so you can use them to light up your carved pumpkins or just place one on your desk for decoration.
Light sensitive Halloween tree. (Image via Aniomagic)
Another simple project you can play with is a light-sensitive mini tree. Aniomagic, a website that explores new ways to add computation and programming to everyday objects, recently posted this project. In order to create, you just need some adhesive tape to attach conductive threads to a Chiclet board, some sensors, and a few light boards. When it’s dark, the tree will automatically turn on.
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