Teddy Bear Remote Control

The teddy bear remote sits nicely on your sofa or bed and can be used to control your iPod or computer. It's a cute modification to an RF remote control and is surprisingly soft! The project is difficult to make and requires quite a few odd materials, some soldering skill, and a lot of hand and machine sewing.

Step 1: Get materials

You will need:

- conductive thread, order by email at http://members.shaw.ca/ubik/thread/order.html
- any Griffin RF (radio frequency) remote control such as the airClick or airClick USB, all Griffin remotes use the same signals so they are interchangeable and you can use one remote for multiple devices
- soldering iron and solder
- sewing machine, hand sew everything at your own risk of arthritis
- pins and needles (big holed needle for conductive thread)
- grandmotherly floral print fabric
- plain colored fabric for the buttons and face
- white muslin fabric for sewing the circuit
- matching thread (for seams) and contrasting thread (for buttons)
- hook and eye fasteners, size 0 (or fairly small)
- snap fastener
- velcro (1 - 2 inch piece)
- sticky back fusable web (for fusing the fabrics)
- cotton or polyester stuffing
- conductive metal tape, found at hardware stores in the plumbing section
- about 1/4 inch thick foam tape, found at hardware stores

Comments

[The Pencil Guy]

cool!!

[MissGelic]

--> I REALLY need one of these for my Mum. --> What would you charge to make one for me? She's bedridden and in a home and keeps dropping/losing her remote, which is frustrating becasue TV is one of the few things in her life that she CAN control herself. When the remote is lost, she has to call an aide to change the channel for her, and they are sometimes slow/impatient. The teddy would be harder to lose and the batteries wouldn't fall out when she drops it (I assume they're cushioned within the bear). PLEASE HELP!

[Fasteners]

Awwwww

[drjonesaa]

Really like it could be used for a hospital children system spread the word.. cool If we make any animal agentz we will try this out... best mark

[ukiha_nagara]

patent this, man. Patent this up.

[Shut Up Now]

yea dude, this could be money. *calls patent office*

[ak13]

I'm going to try this project over the weekend, but I don't quite understand the on snap switch. What on the remote is it soldered to? and can you add a picture of both snaps? please? thanks

[ak13]

I still don't get the snappy thing, has anyone made this yet?? ps-the text from the box in the box reads "conductive thread from inside the arm"

[ukiha_nagara]

Kudos for you! Cute instructable! Got to make one!

[sletts02]

Great tutorial! I want to adapt this for my car. How would I go about attaching a "button" (like a normal electrical button) to the play/pause, next etc on the remote? Thanks =)

[inquisitive]

Definitely get a patent...I wish I had more skill to make something like this. My Mom would just love this! Great job!

[dancook]

Unfortunately now that the idea is in the public domain with no patent application number you'll have difficulty obtaining a patent and defending the patent if and when it's been granted. Worth a look though. Look out for any company that promises to take you through all the steps to get you to a patent and your product released, they usually just do a little off the shelf market research and draw a picture that costs alot. Best way to go is to write down the "unique" points of the bear and what makes the control + bear device unique to any current product and then go and talk to a bona fide patent lawyer company. They won't charge for a consultation, but you have to get a good quote off them and ensure you have all the hidden costs involved. Check out....
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw/105-7329441-6441250?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=patent&x=0&y=0
on amazon for a list of books.... Good luck!

[flio191]

dont put a comment inside of a bigger comment box, we cant select them! XD

[multicrafty]

sorry but I just had to comment again. You sure do have some talent there. I am in complete LOVE with this bear. The sad thing is that someone from Fisher Price is going to see this and mass produce YOUR idea and they'll be the ones that get all the credit. Anyways, GREAT JOB!

[Ward_Nox]

yea thats true get thee to a patent lawyer

[multicrafty]

that is really cute.

[hyoomen]

(removed by author or community request)

[hyoomen]

This is super great. Now I just need a stuffed rubber ducky pillow and a little bit of redesign on how to make it so you must be touching two places at once to activate the remote (would like to avoid the concerns with the designer version of this where people worried about laying their head on a surprising "Increase Volume" button).

[frog3r]

(removed by author or community request)

[thingygoboom]

You have a girlfriend and are an instructables junky... wow. Sorry bout that one but i couldn't help it.

[Mad Cat]

Maybe you could just stuff a pre-made teddy bear with the electronics...

[AeroEngineer]

Can I just Say I love this.

[gforcerocks]

super duper cool I WANT ONE!!!!!!!!!!

[leahculver]

A friend of mine just found this: iPulse® Bear Speaker System and Light Show for iPod® & MP3

[robthinker]

ooo wow thats so cool very well done is it on the market to buy??

[leahculver]

Probably never. I'm pretty lazy. You are welcome to make one though!

[dotTim]

This is awesome Leah!

[At Liberty]

I wish I had the patience to make one - Awesome.

[Nachimir]

Genius design :) Great switches, I've been comtemplating stuffing electronics in clothing and wondered about soft switches.

[starphire]

Nice work and a winning idea. I wonder, though: wouldn't it be easier to just run some small insulated wires inside the bear between the switches and the circuit board? Does the conductive thread stand up to more flexing than stranded copper wire?

[leahculver]

I'm sure thinly stranded wire of any kind such as copper wire or the threaded wire used for curly phone cords would be flexible enough. The nice thing about the conductive thread is that it is indistinguishable from the stuffing and sews on to the fabric nicely for the buttons. It is also super creepy to squeeze the bear and not feel anything but stuffing inside it. I already owned some conductive thread - but since it is a bit of a hassle to aquire, some other types of wire would probably work fine too.

[pbwingman11]

I was thinking regular wire also. It would save me the 20+ dollars to get the conductive thread shipped to me! but what a cute design!

[andy olmsted]

very cool, Leah. i like it. Keep up the fun ideas. How's CA?

[leahculver]

thanks... san jose is crazy. I've been enjoying the In and Out Burgers and cheap wine.

[fungus amungus]

Awesome. Very, very awesome.

[SugarTeen52]

P.S. It was a skillfully done project!

[SugarTeen52]

That`s a great idea! Ever think of making a collection of remotes with different animals for different devices? (e.g., bear for TV, giraffe for DVD player, etc.)

[Junkyard John]

I am using your switch idea to sound a buzzer when my dog or any unsuspecting person sits on my couch. It works great!

[leahculver]

Very funny idea! I would love to see someone sit on that couch. Let me know if you've found any new tricks for the switches.

[Junkyard John]

Sorry, my parents don't have a digital camera. It's great though, most people jump right up and say "OH!" Since my switch is huge, I used aluminum instead of conductive tape.