Halloween is coming. It is time to start those hardware hacks to scare people. For lots of ideas check out previous Halloween postings and following videos:
Arduino Project Ideas – Build a Smart Pumpkin for Halloween
Arduino-Controlled Halloween Props
How are big halloween displays built?
Controlgeek blog has several intersting articles on show control technlology used in Gravesend Inn Haunted Hotel attraction.
14 Comments
Tomi Engdahl says:
Halloween project tips from EDN magazine:
Mixed-signal costume
http://www.edn.com/electronics-blogs/hackwire/4398694/Mixed-signal-costume?_mc=NL_EDN_EDT_EDN_funfriday_20151023&cid=NL_EDN_EDT_EDN_funfriday_20151023&elq=0d7db346976f4f969143316befe66043&elqCampaignId=25363&elqaid=28840&elqat=1&elqTrackId=0e8e1fc5e54b4905941a70ff15964862
Evil remote controlled ghost
http://www.edn.com/electronics-blogs/the-workbench/4435488/Evil-remote-controlled-ghost-?_mc=NL_EDN_EDT_EDN_funfriday_20151023&cid=NL_EDN_EDT_EDN_funfriday_20151023&elq=0d7db346976f4f969143316befe66043&elqCampaignId=25363&elqaid=28840&elqat=1&elqTrackId=de4e42cd44754a8893f115b835898fd7
Straightjacket with a heartbeat
http://www.edn.com/electronics-blogs/hackwire/4435497/Straightjacket-with-a-heartbeat-?_mc=NL_EDN_EDT_EDN_funfriday_20151023&cid=NL_EDN_EDT_EDN_funfriday_20151023&elq=0d7db346976f4f969143316befe66043&elqCampaignId=25363&elqaid=28840&elqat=1&elqTrackId=a7473daa4fd644d2a8b3881554b44469
Just winging it!
http://www.edn.com/electronics-blogs/hackwire/4398695/Just-winging-it-?_mc=NL_EDN_EDT_EDN_funfriday_20151023&cid=NL_EDN_EDT_EDN_funfriday_20151023&elq=0d7db346976f4f969143316befe66043&elqCampaignId=25363&elqaid=28840&elqat=1&elqTrackId=a8ee67ba2a4e43f1a197b458aa935973
Tomi Engdahl says:
How is Halloween the same as Christmas?
http://www.edn.com/electronics-blogs/engineer-s-guide-to-the-winter-holidays/4310518/How-is-Halloween-the-same-as-Christmas-?_mc=NL_EDN_EDT_EDN_funfriday_20151023&cid=NL_EDN_EDT_EDN_funfriday_20151023&elq=0d7db346976f4f969143316befe66043&elqCampaignId=25363&elqaid=28840&elqat=1&elqTrackId=f5283a225dc84d91a41331e59fb7f637
Tomi Engdahl says:
That’s No Moon Pumpkin, It’s a Space Station
http://hackaday.com/2015/10/26/thats-no-moon-pumpkin-its-a-space-station/
Every year, Vitamin T holds a #ATXPumpkinChallenge for creative agencies in and around Austin. Each team was given a fake pumpkin and the challenge of making a 15-60 second video. As the reigning champions from last year, [SiteGoals] had to up the ante. So they launched a pumpkin into space.
A plastic jack-o-lantern painstakingly painted and detailed to look like the third Death Star. This is makes the title of the project a double-meaning: “Return of the Pumpkin”.
Project Altitude: The Making of Return of the Pumpkin
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=144&v=ANCljhTX2TM
Tomi Engdahl says:
Animated Jack-o’-Lantern Really Connects
http://hackaday.com/2015/10/27/animated-jack-o-lantern-really-connects/
Days past people used to just carve a scary face in a pumpkin, drop in a candle and call it a day, but for our kind of crowd that’s not going to cut it. [Alexis] stuffed this Jack o Lantern with a lot of brain power and even connected it up to the internet for community control.
The hack-o-lantern project
http://digitaljunky.io/the-hack-o-lantern-project/
The idea is to make a jack-o-lantern controlled via twitter. Commands sent to a specific twitter account allow to change the color
of the light inside the pumpkin or perform a pre-defined animation such as opening the pumpkin or playing a spooky sound effect.
A range sensor allows to trigger an action sequence if someone gets close to the jack-o-lantern. Finally a sound sensor can be used
to modulate the light according the the surrounding sound level.
Components list
1x Spark core (or newer version : Particle photon)
1x 16 LEDs NeoPixel ring
1x 2500mAh lipo battery
1x lipo usb charger/booster or similar
1x HS-311 servo motor
1x HC-SR04 ultrasonic range sensor
1x audio sensor breakout
Tomi Engdahl says:
PIR Jack-o-Lantern Sees Them Coming
http://hackaday.com/2015/10/31/pir-jack-o-lantern-sees-them-coming/
Planning to make that carved a pumpkin last past Halloween night? Forget the tealight or LED candle—here’s an easy, no-solder project that will make it extra special. By default, this jack-o-lantern looks like it has a flickering flame, but get close enough to it and it goes crazy with color.
All you need is an LED matrix, a Rainbowduino to drive it, a PIR motion sensor to trigger the random colors, and a power source. [Alpha Charlie] kept the electronics from becoming pumpkin-flavored with some plastic bags.
Motion Sensing LED Jack-O-Lantern
An Electronic, LED, Motion Sensing Jack-O-Lantern for Halloween
https://hackaday.io/project/8240-motion-sensing-led-jack-o-lantern
Tomi Engdahl says:
70 LED matrix in a Jack-o-lantern
http://hackaday.com/2010/10/26/70-led-matrix-in-a-jack-o-lantern/
What takes eight hours to solder and uses more shrink tubing that you thought imaginable? An LED matrix installed in a real pumpkin. When I mentioned that we’d like the LED pumpkin in last Friday’s post scaled up to a full LED matrix I had no idea it would be me doing the work. But [Caleb] and I thought it might be just the thing to present for the hacker’s favorite holiday.
Installed in the autumn vegetable is a marquee made from a 5×14 matrix of light emitting diodes.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Fire Breathing Jack-O-Lantern of Death
http://hackaday.com/2013/10/25/fire-breathing-jack-o-lantern-of-death/
For [Rick]’s number four hack of the month he gives us the Fire Breathing Jack-O-Lantern of death! This isn’t a new idea but it is a very unique and simple implementation.
A small candle is used to ignite the flammable spray, which shoots out 5 to 10 inches from the pumpkin’s mouth when triggered by the ultrasonic sensor. It couldn’t be simpler. The most challenging part was getting the large air freshener dispenser in the pumpkin with the flames coming out the mouth.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Take a Ride On my Magic Carpet
http://hackaday.com/2015/11/01/take-a-ride-on-my-magic-carpet/
For an awesome Halloween edition of [PrankvsPrank], they decided to make a remote controlled “magic carpet” for [Aladdin]. It’s absolutely fantastic.
As you can probably guess, at the heart of this magic carpet is actually an electric skateboard.
ALADDIN MAGIC CARPET PRANK
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lqlrru1V69E&feature=youtu.be
Tomi Engdahl says:
Hacklet 82 – Halloween Hacks 2015
http://hackaday.com/2015/10/31/hacklet-82-halloween-hacks-2015/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Raspberry Pi Halloween Voice Changer
http://hackaday.com/2015/10/30/raspberry-pi-halloween-voice-changer/
[Dave’s] voice changer uses a Raspberry Pi which isn’t all that complicated. The Pi uses Linux, and Unix–the predecessor to Linux–has a long history of having little tools you can string together to do big jobs. So once you have a Pi and a sound card, the rest is just some Linux command line wizardry.
[Dave’s] voice changer is pretty much just some off the shelf parts and a script so simple it hardly qualifies as programming in any real sense. In fact, it is essentially one line of “code”
Tomi Engdahl says:
Is it a Haunted House or a Video Game?
http://hackaday.com/2015/10/31/is-it-a-haunted-house-or-a-video-game/
[Rich Fiore] didn’t want just another set of spooky decorations for his house. He wanted something interactive. By combining a projector and some IR sensing, he turned his whole house into a Halloween-themed shooter.
Haunted House Game
https://vimeo.com/142852813
Part video game, part building projection. This is a beta test of a large scale projected video game. The game matches the projection with the building. This is the first projected test to iron out the bugs in the camera mapping process, the projection alignment, and the gun targeting system (the gun is not in view but the infra red markers are visible in front of the house)
Tomi Engdahl says:
3D Scanned, CNC-Milled, Pumpkin Selfie
http://hackaday.com/2015/10/31/3d-scanned-cnc-milled-pumpkin-selfie/
When you have a CNC mill sitting around, it almost seems anachronistic to pull out a kitchen knife to carve a pumpkin. You can hardly blame [Nathan Bentall] for choosing an endmill instead.
3D Selfie Jack-o’-Lantern
AKA: – CNC Pumpkin Carving of 3D Head Scan
http://nathack.blogspot.co.uk/2015/10/cnc-pumpkin-carving-real-faces.html
Tomi Engdahl says:
Alek’s Controllable Halloween Decorations for Celiac Disease
http://build.slashdot.org/story/15/11/01/1737214/slashdot-asks-notes-for-next-halloween?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Slashdot%2Fslashdot%2Fto+%28%28Title%29Slashdot+%28rdf%29%29
Alek’s Controllable Halloween Decorations for Celiac Disease
Use the three halloween webcams for a live view of a buncha halloween decorations & lights and also CONTROL them
Tomi Engdahl says:
RC Mini Flame Thrower Brings the Burn
http://hackaday.com/2015/12/16/rc-mini-flame-thrower-brings-the-burn/
It goes without saying that a radio controlled mini flame thrower can be nothing but a bad idea and you should never, ever build one. But once you watch the video below, you’ll be tempted to try. But don’t do it – you’ve been warned.
That said, the video below shows that [Make-log]’s remarkably compact build is chock full of safety interlocks and sports a thoughtful and informative user interface. It’s fueled by a small can of spray deodorant whose valve is actuated by a servo and ignited by a spark-gap igniter.
MAKElog#15a tiny RC Flamethrower
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wuppCyxUuEo
The RC Flamethrower uses 35 ml deodorant spray cans and electric sparks to deterministically shoot out