Turn yourself into a Sim by building your own Bluetooth-controlled, 3D-printed plumbob.
As many of you probably know, the plumbob has become the iconic symbol of the super successful The Sims franchise, typically used to denote a character being controlled and to convey its mood. If the Sim happens to be in a good mood, the plumbob will be a bright, deep green; whereas, if a Sim is on the grumpier side, it will become a shade of red. The intensity of the color varies based on how the extremity of their feelings.
Inspired by the life-simulating game, Maker Daniel Harari decided to devise a Sims plumbob of his own, which displays his happiness for the world to see. The accessory consists of a headband, an aluminum tube and a crystalline shape that was 3D-printed using translucent filament.
The Maker packed the 3D-printed enclosure with an Arduino Pro Mini (ATmega328), six RGB LEDs, a Bluetooth module for communication with an Android app, and a step-up converter so that the entire device can be powered by a pair of AAA batteries. At the moment, this battery pack is mounted along the side of the aluminum pipe. However, Harari notes that for his next iteration, he would probably install a rechargeable LiPo with a small switch and charging port instead.
Unfortunately, Harari reveals that he didn’t have time to write an Android app of his own, but was able to discover a free one on the Play Store that was able to satisfy his project’s needs. Beyond that, the Maker also used the Arduino Software Serial Library.
Harari reveals that in the future, he is thinking about modding the plumbob with an EEG reader, like the ATmega328P based OpenBCI platform, which would enable the LEDs to actually reflect the wearer’s mood.
Intrigued? Head over to the Maker’s project page here.
