After finding a broken motorised penguin toy, and having the benefit of spare time enthusiast Michael Ball has brought the penguin back to life with his project that delivers the Steve Austin of penguins. By replacing the motors and adding full control with an Arduino compatible with the help of a distance and sound sensor - it can be programmed to follow sounds, avoid objects, and randomly flash LEDs placed in the head.
This is a great example of how you can turn inexpensive non-interactive devices into something much more, and a quick demonstration of the first revision is shown in the following video:
One could take this further and add an infra-red remote control, more types of sensors or perhaps speed control. In the meanwhile you can check out the entire project including schematic and code from Michael's website. And for more, we're on facebook, twitter and Google+, so follow us for news and product updates as well.
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