Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Halloween Project: "The Brain That Wouldn't Die" aka "Jan in the Pan"

See "Jan In The Pan" in action:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KrsbgzqPqYo

This Halloween project was inspired by the B Horror Movie "The Brain that Wouldn't Die". In the movie, there is a severed head (aka "Jan in the Pan") that talks.

My Project consists of the "Head" apparatus and the "Talking" apparatus.

The "Head" apparatus is made up of a mannequin head wrapped in bandages and placed in a tray of water dyed with red food coloring, a fountain pump, tubing, etc. The "Talking" apparatus consists of a BASIC STAMP2 microcontroller, a PIR sensor (this sensor is compatible with the BASIC STAMP2), Voice recorder kit, an 8 ohm speaker, and a box to house the components. The voice recorder is triggered by the motion sensor to play sound files recorded from the movie. This includes the most famous one from the opening title where the head cries, "Let Me Die".

I. Parts List
The "Head" Apparatus:
-A bandaged Head
-Tray to hold the water
-Red food coloring
-Small fountain pump
-Tubing to carry the water
-Plastic soda bottle and holder
-Silicon sealant
The "Talking" Apparatus:
-BASIC STAMP 2 microcontroller (9 volt battery)
-PIR sensor that is compatible with BASIC STAMP 2
-Voice Recorder circuit (4 AA batteries)
-Mp3 sound sample files recorded from the movie for voice recorder
-Wire
-Switches
-LEDs
-Resistors
-Box to house components
-8 ohm Speaker
II. Assembly
The "Head Apparatus":
- Mix Red food coloring with water
-Put the Bandaged head on a stand in the water in the tray
-Attach the plastic hose to pump and to the plastic soda bottle
-Plug the pump in and adjust the flow rate
The "Talking" Apparatus:
-Assemble the voice recorder kit and record the sound samples
-Program the BASIC STAMP 2
-Need a program for the PIR sensor
-Need a program to trigger the Voice recorder
-Need to find the pins for the Voice recorder (solder or clip into pins)
-Need to assign pins for the PIR sensor
-Need to assign pins for the switches and LEDs
-Attach the PIR sensor and Voice Recorder to BASIC STAMP 2
-Attach the 8 ohm speaker to the Voice Recorder
-Put assembly in Box, decorate as desired adding power on/off switches and LEDS

Contact me if you want a copy of the BASIC STAMP code or the sound samples I used.

1 comment:

  1. This is an awesome project! Makezine.com is running a contest right now for Halloween projects that use an embedded microcontroller. You should enter:
    http://makezine.com/halloweencontest/

    I'd love to see (and hear) Jan the Pan in action!

    ReplyDelete