Summary of ARDUINO MUSIC BOX TURNS STUFFED ANIMAL INTO TV PERSONALITY
This article describes a personalized gift project where an Arduino drives a 3D-printed music box with a light-up piano and displays a cartoon dog personality on an old CRT TV. The creator, [er13k], transformed a simple musical idea into an interactive display featuring his girlfriend's favorite song and animated scenes of their plush toy, Tobias.
Parts used in the Arduino Music Box Project:
- Arduino microcontroller
- Salvaged speaker from an old radio
- 3D-printed case
- Light-up piano mechanism
- Composite video output
- Old CRT television
Childlike imagination is a wonderful thing. The ability to give life to inanimate objects and to pretend how they’re living their own life is precious, and not for nothing a successful story line in many movies. With the harsh facts or adulthood and reality coming for all of us eventually, it’s nice to see when some people never fully lose that as they get older. Even better when two find each other in life, like [er13k] and his girlfriend, who enjoy to joke about all the mischief their giant dog-shaped plush toy [Tobias] might secretly get into in their absence. The good thing about growing up on the other hand is the advanced technical opportunities at one’s disposal, which gave the imagined personality an actual face, and have it live inside an old CRT screen.
The initial idea was to just build a little music box as a gift, which beeps out [er13k]’s girlfriend’s favorite song with an Arduino on a speaker he salvaged from an old radio. But as things tend to go when you’re on a roll, he decided to make the gift even more personal. The result is still that music box, built in a 3D-printed case with a little piano that lights up the notes it plays, but in addition the Arduino now also displays a cartoon version of [Tobias] through composite video on an old TV. You can see for yourself in the video after the break how he goes through the day gifting flowers and drawings, and ponders about work and alternative career plans — adult problems are clearly universal.
Sure, the music box sound is a bit one-dimensional, but it’s nevertheless a highly thoughtful gift idea that triumphs with a peak personalization factor. If [er13k] ever wants to change the sound though, maybe there’s some inspiration in this drum machine we’ve seen just a few weeks ago, or this pocket sampler.
Source: ARDUINO MUSIC BOX TURNS STUFFED ANIMAL INTO TV PERSONALITY
- What was the initial idea for the gift?
The initial idea was to build a little music box that beeps out the girlfriend’s favorite song using an Arduino. - How did the creator make the gift more personal?
The creator added a cartoon version of the stuffed animal named Tobias displayed through composite video on an old TV. - Can the sound of the music box be changed?
The article suggests finding inspiration in a drum machine or a pocket sampler if the current one-dimensional sound needs changing. - What type of screen is used for the display?
An old CRT screen is used to live inside the imagined personality of the stuffed animal. - What components were salvaged for the project?
A speaker was salvaged from an old radio to be used with the Arduino. - Does the piano light up during operation?
Yes, the little piano lights up the notes it plays within the 3D-printed case. - What happens on the TV screen besides playing music?
The screen shows the character gifting flowers and drawings while pondering work and alternative career plans.
