Photo credit: Hackaday
Most are familiar with Ouija, a spirit board marked with the letters of the Latin alphabet, the numbers 0–9, the words “yes”, “no”, as well as “hello” and “goodbye” occasionally. Well, maker Ronald McCollam decided to create a Ouija robot, perfect for Halloween.
Just like the standard board, this robotic version uses a mannequin hand to move the planchette. However, this version doesn’t receive messages from those who have already passed, but rather tweets. An Adafruit Crickit board and a Raspberry Pi is what powers the hand, making it possible to spell out the tweets.
- JUST A GAME? We'll let you be the judge of that! Go ahead and try - if you dare. Feel free to ask it anything. Who will win the World Series? Who will ask me to the prom? Will I become a millionaire?
- HOW TO PLAY: A Ouija board is best used by two people seated facing each other and placing their hand (or hands) on the planchette. To some it's a game - to others it's much more than a game!
- SPOOKY GIFT: Looking for a spine-chilling gift? Have a family member into the metaphysical? Or maybe you just want to have a laugh at the next sleepover. Go for it!
As I was playing with my original cardboard prototypes, I realized that it’s very difficult to actually see what is being spelled out without carefully watching the hand. So I added the Pi with a display for that purpose. Adding a Pi also meant that I could have it read from an Internet source easily instead of having a few pre-programmed messages as I had intended,” said McCollam.