Halloween enthusiast crafts terrifying AI-powered eye with Raspberry Pi

Halloween Enthusiast Crafts Terrifying AI-Powered Eye with Raspberry Pi

Tapping into the spirit of Halloween, an inventive Reddit user known as Poke08 has garnered significant attention with their creation of a Raspberry Pi-powered Halloween eye. The technologically advanced and slightly eerie contraption was first noticed by enthusiasts on the popular forum known as Tom’s Hardware.

This innovative project, shared by Poke08 on Reddit, features an artificial eye that, once placed in a room, scans its surroundings, showcasing a rather spine-chilling movement. When the eye detects someone in its vicinity, it fixates on them, appearing to follow their movements. As if that weren’t unsettling enough, the eye is also capable of vocal interactions, adding another layer of eerie realism to the experience.

Poke08 describes the project as having evolved through a process they term “design and build as you go”. This approach involved integrating various snippets of code to achieve the eye’s impressive functionalities. The eye’s core relies on a Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W, with its physical structure 3D printed using a Reality Ender 3 Pro.

Describing the creation process, Poke08 acknowledged initial difficulties, particularly concerning compatibility issues with the Python version of the Coral USB Accelerator. The project hit a snag while attempting to operate on Bookworm OS, but switching to Bullseye OS resolved these challenges. Key components of the eye include an Arducam 5MP V1 Camera, a longer flex cable tailored for the camera, two 28BYJ stepper motors, a 7 Bits RGB LED Ring for enhanced lighting, a USB Male A Pin 2 Wire for powering the motor driver, and the Coral USB Accelerator.

The meticulous wiring of the stepper motors employed GPIO pins 17, 27, 22, 23 and 13, 19, 26, 20, with Poke08 opting to exclude the ground connection from the driver. The project leverages the capabilities of the USB Coral Accelerator for face detection, highlighting that although simple motion detection is feasible with the Pi Zero 2 W, it can be slightly unreliable.

For face recognition, Poke08 utilised CodeProject.AI. This AI interface interfaces with their main PC via an API to identify faces, allowing the eye to address family members by name, much to their astonishment.

Despite the significant accomplishment, Poke08 reflected on potential improvements, expressing a wish for using higher quality stepper motors to achieve smoother movements. This sentiment is echoed by some Reddit users, who have even posed suggestions for extending the project, envisioning creations like an AI-powered ‘Eye of Sauron’.

The inventive Halloween eye by Poke08 is a testament to the creative fusion of holiday spirit and technological prowess. It invites the imagination to ponder over the limitless possibilities of AI-assisted novelties, especially during an occasion as uniquely festive as Halloween.

Source: Noah Wire Services