It might be a bit hasty if you want to build it for Halloween, but it is worth knowing how they have created a smart smoke machine thanks to the joint use of a Raspberry Pi and its camera module. Thus, when it detects the presence of a person, it begins to smoke.
A smart smoke machine
Smoke machines are one of those artifacts that those who are dedicated to issues of video and photography they can give it a lot of play. For example, in photos you can use it to generate a fog effect if you take it to the middle of the forest. Or in video use them to record a video clip and achieve a much more attractive atmosphere if combined with adequate lighting.
However, the uses that it can have are much more varied and one of those that might interest you is to generate a more terrifying scenario now that Halloween is approaching. Of course, spewing smoke all the time is not ideal and having to do it manually is less practical. Solution? Automate.
Thanks to the use of a Raspberry Pi they have managed to create an intelligent smoke machine. What we say is intelligent because thanks to the use of the camera module it is capable of detecting whether or not there is a presence of people around it. That way, it only expels smoke when there is it.
Requirements to create the smart machine
As you can imagine if you already have experience in doing this Projects varied with a Raspberry Pi, the requirements are really nothing to write home about. It is enough to have the machine in question and then some other component that allowed to give shape to the idea.
This time, what is needed is the following:
- Remote Control Smoke Machine
- Raspberry Pi 4
- Raspberry Pi compatible camera module
- Relay to control the electrical circuit and thus activate or not the expulsion of smoke
Ready, this plus some cables and a soldering iron, we would have everything we need. Because what it is about is to create a mechanism that allows you to activate the remote control as if you were pressing the control itself with your fingers.
Automating the expulsion of smoke
As we have mentioned, the process that allows converting a conventional smoke machine into a intelligent it’s pretty straightforward. It is true that a little electronics and soldering is necessary, as well as some programming knowledge to create the automation itself, but following the published tutorial it is easy for any user with a little patience.
The process basically consists of connecting the remote control to the Raspberry Pi 4 using a pair of cables and the relay, so it will be possible to control the switch that would have to be pressed to expel the smoke.
Once it is done, the next step is to connect the camera to the Raspberry Pi and configure everything so that when the camera detects the presence of a person, the machine is activated. All this process with their respective commands are available here.
So now you know, how you take advantage of this smart fog or smoke machine will be up to you. If you want it to be for Halloween either you hurry or you sign it up for next year. Although we already tell you that there are many ways to take advantage of these particular accessories.
