Not-So-Smart-But-Very-Wholesome-Yet-Slightly-Creepy Mirror

by 8BitsAndAByte

9.4K3915

Intro: Not-So-Smart-But-Very-Wholesome-Yet-Slightly-Creepy Mirror

In need of a mirror but not willing to add yet another smart object to your home? Then this Not-So-Smart-But-Very-Wholesome-Yet-Slightly-Creepy Mirror is just right for you!

STEP 1: Project Video


STEP 2: Mirror

The first step to making this mirror is, you've guessed it, finding, buying or creating a mirror. We still had a bucket of mirrored mosaic tiles, so we used those to create a head-sized mirror inside an old wooden tray.

To lay and grout the mosaic, we followed the steps outlined in this Instructable “How To Make A Mosaic For Beginners”.

Honestly, it's not as scary or as complicated as it looks, we would definitely recommend it!

STEP 3: Mirror Decorations

Once you have a mirror, it's time to add some nerdy decorations. We 3D modelled and printed the HTML < head > and </ head > tags to add to the top and bottom of the mirror, to make it very clear that what you can see in the mirror is your head. You can find the 3D models of all the individual letters added here!

Hot glue the 3D printed stuff to your mirror to make it permanently awesome!

STEP 4: Hardware & Code

Now that the mirror is all done, let's move on the the hardware and code.

The idea is that the mirror will give you wholesome compliments when you stand in front of it or when you walk past. To do this, we'll be using a Raspberry Pi 3, an infrared motion sensor and a USB speaker.

To detect motion with the infrared motion sensor, we followed this Raspberry Pi tutorial.

For the speech, we used the TTSMP3 website, which is a free text-to-speech and text-to-mp3 website.

We chose for a lovely, soothing voice (US English Salli) and made her whisper using the functionalities on the website. So, gather some inspiration and generate a number of wholesome quotes for your mirror to say, and download them as individual mp3 files.

Next is piecing all the code together. In short, the motion sensor will detect someone in front of the mirror. When that happens, a random audio file is chosen and played via the USB speaker. The python code to do all of this, is attached right here.

Last but not least, attach all the hardware to the mirror. We used our favourite yet temporary solution: duct-tape. If you're looking for something more permanent, you can screw and glue all the elements in place.

STEP 5: Mirror, Mirror on the Wall

Finally, it's time look yourself in the eye and get in front of the mirror.

Pro-tip: hang the mirror at head-height, so you can actually see yourself without having to climb on a chair.

If all has gone well, it should whisper compliments in your direction and you should feel all warm and fuzzy on the inside!

11 Comments

drivinggun 4 years ago

Can this be done (the whole project not just this step my bad) with an ESP8266 NodeMCU? I am just learning this stuff. Thanks.

drivinggun

8BitsAndAByte 4 years ago

Hi DrivingGun,

We haven't worked with an ESP8266 NodeMCU yet, but as long as you can add an infrared motion sensor and can play prerecorded audio it should do the trick.

Cheers,
8 Bits

drivinggun 4 years ago

I have found a few things that might work and if I get them to work I will let you know. Thanks

brucecarr 4 years ago

You win for Best Happy Maker Pic

antioch 4 years ago

OMG WHERE DID YOU BUY THAT SMART DOG! I need one to complete my life and help me with sparetime decisions!

SheriB15 4 years ago

I love your sense of humor!

Diez66 4 years ago

I may not build this, I want to, I want to build it really "badly" but I need an excuse and a bit more time.
Blow, I will have to make time and this mirror or somthing like it.
Absolutely amazing "out of the box" thinking.
If, (when), I make it I will update.