Typically, if you happened across a walnut lying about, you might consider eating it or throwing it to a friendly squirrel. However, as [Penguin DIY] demonstrates, it’s perfectly possible to turn the humble nut into a clandestine surveillance device. It turns out the walnut worriers were right all along.
The build starts by splitting and hollowing out the walnut. From there, small holes are machined into the mating faces of the walnut, into which [Penguin DIY] glues small neodymium magnets. These allow the walnut to be opened and snapped shut as desired, while remaining indistinguishable from a regular walnut at a distance.
The walnut shell is loaded with nine tiny lithium-polymer cells, for a total of 270 mAh of battery capacity at 3.7 volts. Charging the cells is achieved via a deadbugged TP4056 charge module to save space, with power supplied via a USB C port. Holes are machined in the walnut shell for the USB C port as well as the camera lens, though one imagines the former could have been hidden purely inside for a stealthier look. The camera itself appears to be an all-in-one module with a transmitter built in, with the antenna installed in the top half of the walnut shell and connected via pogo pins. The video signal can be picked up at a distance via a receiver hooked up to a smart phone. No word on longevity, but the included batteries would probably provide an hour or two of transmission over short ranges if you’re lucky.
If you have a walnut tree in your backyard, please do not email us about your conspiracy theories that they are watching you. We get those more than you might think, and they are always upsetting to read. If, however, you’re interested in surveillance devices, we’ve featured projects built for detecting them before with varying levels of success. Video after the break.
Laying about walnuts don’t look like that.
Bigger, first green, then spotted, then black.
But tree rats.
F- on camo.
Unless you’re looking to hide it in a store selling prepared roasted nuts.
Also walnuts drop about same time as leaves, pick a better object.
wallnuts aren’t roasted… you eat them raw.
you have a point in the part that they don’t look like that as they have a soft shell around that hardshell, but it deteriorates away with water
I want to see those conspiracy theory emails. For research purposes only, of course. Not for giggling at.
[Penguin DIY] works for the squirrels. Don’t trust him. They hired him to build these for him.
He’s sold out his species … unless the rumours are true and he’s actually 300 squirrels in a trench coat.
Keep your tinfoil hats on! They reflect the sun back at the nut cameras and blind them!
That’s nuts!
I just put 3 camerae in my squirrel abode.
If you haven’t checked this out you should. They have a nut-cam and a robo-dung
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spy_in_the_Wild
Don’t know about the negative comments, I think his work is downright stellar
I had a bit of a deja vu with this post. Turns out it was a walnut bluetooth speaker by the same creator:
https://hackaday.com/2023/11/02/the-best-sounding-walnut-youll-hear-today/
I haven’t trusted walnuts since The Dick Van Dyke Show.