Set them aside until we come to the final assembly.įIGURE 5. Go ahead and cut out the arms and the stands as well ( Figure 5). Peek-A-Boo glued onto foam core board.Īfter it dries, cut along the outside of the black line of the Peek-a-Boo, but leave the bottom because it is used as the base of the stand for the ghost. Dab a little glue on the tip of your finger and smooth it over the paper. The paper will drag and tear if you don’t. You want to make sure that the paper sticks in the areas of the outline to be cut. Use a straight edge to smooth out the wrinkles and to secure the paper ( Figure 4). Use generous amounts of glue stick to attach the paper so it doesn’t come off. I started by gluing the printed paper Peek-a-Boo (try saying that three times fast!) to the foam board. I’m going small with the first one (11.5 x 8), but if you go to your local office supply chain, you can get them printed as large as you like. The nice thing about using the PDF we provide is you can make it as small or large as you want. There are many ghosts, goblins, and witches to choose from on the Web. Use your inner artist to take a crack at it. You can download the image of the Peek-a-Boo Ghost at the article link in PDF format. Don’t forget the “usual suspects” in the electronics tool set such as diagonal cutters, needlenose pliers, soldering iron, etc., like the ones in Figure 3. (Remember, we don’t want to scratch up Mom’s kitchen table!) A hot melt glue gun will be needed to attach the components to the foam board. You’ll need a sharp hobby knife and cutting board or backing. The tools I used are common ones that you can find in any craft store. The wiring I used to connect everything up was standard servo extension wires I was able to excavate from my junk box (see Parts List). The servos are typical nine gram micro R/C types I happened to have on hand. The voice card, PICAXE, and PIR sensor shown together. For sound, I chose an inexpensive sound card based around the ISD1802 chip I purchased from ( Figure 2).įIGURE 2. I picked up the other electronics (such as the PICAXE-08M2 servo control board and Parallax IR sensor). The dollar store has a bunch of cool modifiable stuff on the racks for inexpensive experimenting (plus, it’s all just a buck!). There are other craft things you can pick up like cutting blades, colored pens, and LED lights to complete your Peek-a-Boo. I started with a trip to the dollar store and picked up quarter inch white foam board and paste glue I wanted the ghost to be as simple as possible to make, while also being economical to acquire. So, if it’s way past time for you to add to your creepy collection of little Halloween horrors, it’s time to build your own Peek-a-Boo Ghost! Hardware Required After I added a PIR motion sensor, a sound playback board, and some LEDs for eyes, I presented Veronica and Don with their new ghost. Vern and I discussed the project, and decided the same motions could be easily accomplished with a couple of standard servo motors and a simple microcontroller for probably $50 or less. Being in the business of building packaging and production line machinery, I could tell the equipment used in the video was a bit pricey. Okay, it was adorable! However, what was really impressive was that it was done with industrial rotatory pneumatic actuators, solenoid valves, and a PLC. There was a little ghost that would use its hands to alternately cover, then reveal its eyes like as with the classic children’s game of “Peek-a-Boo.” It was cute. Normally, I go into hiding at that point, but this year my friend, Vern Graner (full disclosure: he works for this magazine and is a Halloween nut too!) was showing me a couple of Halloween videos and one by Widgetwerks (see Resources) really caught my eye. I often get poked right back by him when he bugs me to build a couple of new automated creatures to add to their monster menagerie. I like to tease Don during the holiday by showing Veronica the latest and greatest decorations - to Don’s (or actually his wallet's) dismay. It's their favorite time of the year and they go all-out decorating their house ( Figure 1). My friends, Veronica and Don Chaney are a good case in point. In my neck of the woods, it seems more money is spent on Halloween decorations than almost any other holiday. I find Halloween is always a fun time of the year.
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