So right up front I had better clarify that the peeps in this column are actually Marshmallow PEEPS, “fluffy marshmallow goodness” in the shape of chicks and bunnies. Via hackaday, I ran across Kyle Ringgenberg’s idea to create a tacky, yet low-brow animatronic peep show using these sugary refugees from the chemical factory.
The peep show is a miniature wooden stage complete with flashing stage lights, sequined red curtain, lighted marquees, and fluffy marshmallow patrons and dancers. The first dancer emerges to the haunting strains of Warrant’s 1990 release “Cherry Pie” (yes, there is a Wikipedia page for the song). Lights flash, patrons change seats, and one even falls off of his barstool (flash back to my pal Aaron who pulled a similar maneuver at some bar in Tijuana years ago, and cue Dwight Yoakam — “It won’t hurt when I fall down from this barstool“).
The whole thing is sequenced by an Arduino and uses, according to Kyle,
10 Servos, 29 LEDs, 1 Arduino, 1 Audio Decoder IC, 1 Push Button, 1 0.5 W Speaker, ~650 Lines of Code, 3 Sheets of Foamboard, 5′ of Balsa Wood, 3′ of Dowels, 25′ of Wire, & 11 Peeps
What more can be said? Go to Kyle’s site and watch the video.
Steve Ravet
Design News Gadgeteer