Angry Pumpkin

A pumpkin with 6 eyes that doesn't like to be near people nor objects so it will start moving his eyes randomly if you get close to it to intimidate you until you turn away. In addition, its mouth will shine due to two red LEDs placed inside while the object or person is within 5 cm or 30 cm, (same distance as the eyes movement).

On the photos upload, we can observe how the circuit has been connected and its schematic view. Moreover, there is a video to show how it looks like finished.

This project was made by Claudia Contreras and Martina Tonico, two undergraduate students in Industrial Design Engineering from ELISAVA, currently in the third year.

Material for the pumpkin:

-1 Balloon

-Strings

-White glue

-Silicone

-A pack of sticks

-6 Carboard roll

-Wire

-6 PingPong balls

Tools:

-Markers

-Scissors

-Pliers

-Welder

-Tape

-Orange spray paint

-Black spray paint

-Papers

Electronic components:

-6 Servo motors

-2 Leds

-2 Resistors of 220 Ohms

-Jumper Wires

-Welding board

-Arduino UNO Board

-1 Distance sensor HC-SR04

-1 battery 12V (required 4A)

-Capacitor 1000 μFA

Here you can find the flow diagram of the project to understand how the code works

Blow up a ballon and put the string around it loosely.

Blow up again the balloon and tie the string.

Prepare the glue with water and glue newspaper to the pumpkin.

When finished, apply white paint if you want to.

Use orange spray to paint the pumpkin, once is dry paint the top part black, use papers to not paint the orange part.

Cut the pumpkin to be able to put all the electronic components on their place: cut the mouth, the nose for the distance sensor and also cut circles where you want to put the eyes (in our case where 6). It is important to make a hole under the pumpkin to be able to put the other components later on.

The balloon from the inside will explode, just remove it.

Also, check that the sensor is perfectly fitted. Put tape to ensure that does not fall.

Grab some carboard rolls, as many as eyes you want to put. Cut a piece of it to make it shorter. Adjust them so the pingpong ball fits inside.

First stick: Grab a stick, cut it by half and make a hole to pass the wire, glue the stick to the pingpong ball. Repeat it 5 more times.

(In the case that you want to put 6 eyes).

Make a cut at the top of the roll.

Second stick: Put a piece of a stick and glue it to the previous stick pasted with the eye.

Third stick: Then cut an other little piece of a stick and glue it to the second stick but above the roll just to prevent the eye from moving upwards.

(In the case that you want to put 6 eyes).

After this, glue the servo motor to the side of the roll. Then attach it to the stick using the wire, calculate aproximately the length of the wire so that the eye can move fluidly.

Also, when all this is finished, draw and paint the eyes using markers.

Glue the roll of the eyes to the holes in the pumpkin. Be careful that the glue doesn't reach the pingpong balls, there can be problems of movement.

Moreover, make sure that the eyes are oriented in such a way that their mechanism do not clash with the others inside the pumpkin.

Once all the electronic components are installed. Weld the jumper wires with the electronic parts and the welding board. Then, connect all to the Arduino Board in order that it looks like the initial circuit diagram.

Except the LEDs will not go to the board like servos because they will have to be glued to stand upright so that they can be seen throug the pumpkin mouth.

A Capacitor will be needed to ensure that the entire system to be powered in case the battery can't do it.

With the USB cable, connect the Arduino Uno with the computer that has the code. Compiled it and upload it.

Hook the leds in place with sticks and put the Arduino Board and the Welding Board inside of them. In addition, add a battery that can support it.

Finally, the Angry Pumpkin will be completed and ready to start functioning.

So, with this project we have seen and learned how to apply concepts learned in class during these course. We have learned how to combine different arduino elements into one code after imagining the overall functioning of our Angry Pumpkin, in our case. That said, learning what was a flow diagram was essential and knowing how to make the circuit, too, along with the functioning of the product mechanism.

In addition, there has been also an important part of the process which was welding the jumper wires and electronic components for the circuit to work independently of a computer, just by applying a battery.

In this way, we have learned how to apply arduino functions and components in a field such as creating anything related to Halloween with the purpose to show a curious working prototype at the end.