We would love to be a fly on the wall Christmas morning to see [Wilksyonreddit]’s kid tear the paper off of this adult-level busy box. Can you imagine the unbridled glee? It should certainly make the arduous six-month build worth the trouble. Here’s hoping the walls are sturdy, because we predict they will be bounced off of.
This gift that keeps on giving has an Arduino MEGA clone inside and a couple of shift registers to deal with all those buttons and switches. In addition to all the buttons, switches, and the number pad, there are two 3D-printed touch sensor pads that can detect little fingers up to four inches away. Although he’s already built a few games and activities for it, [Wilksy] posted this in r/duino looking for more ideas. There’s a lot to work with here on baby’s first nuclear missile launch console, both input- and output-wise. We humbly suggest 4D Simon, though we must admit to fantasizing about MIDI controllers.
Hidden inside this Christmas present is an Easter egg we think you’ll appreciate. Enter the right code, and the box becomes a treasure trove of Back to the Future sound effects and audio clips. Video’s after the break, McFly.
This box would make a great Kerbal Space Program controller, too, like this one.
It needs a VCR slot that makes a nom nom nom noise when fed a PB&J sammich.
in my world it was bologna sammichs– multiple times. my mom was very good friends with the local appliance repair guy before too long.
That’s a Busy Box!? Looks like you need an Engineering degree to work it, but then maybe that’s what Daddy’s hoppin’ for in the future.
I thought it was going to be how to run an Ash command line on a micro Linux deployment (BusyBox). Nice article.
I like the OCD-triggering upside-down rocker switches xD
This eerked me too. lol
“irked” ;)
Excellent work! Given the typical age range for a busy box, I would have rounded off a few corners and edges. This is something that could definitely grow with the kid, though
Hi, this is my box! You’re spot on, corners we’re very sharps.
Follow up is, he loved it! Just about to add some more modes and do a write up!
I’m obsessed. My 7 year old son with autism is obsessed with buttons and numbers. Do you happen to sell these?
Not at the moment, but I’ve considered making some simpler boxes to sell. This one is a bit over the top, some of the parts I used were expensive (i had spare).
I do have a build guide here though… https://www.wilksy.com/blog/toddler-busy-box/