I’m Sorry Dave, I Only Say 28 Phrases
A few years ago, you could buy an IRIS 9000 Bluetooth speaker. Its claim to fame was that it looked like the “eye” from the HAL 9000 computer on 2001: A Space Oddessy. There’s something seductive about the idea of having a HAL eye answer your queries to Google Now or Siri. The problem is, it still sounds like Google or Siri, not like HAL.
[Badjer1] had the same problem so he decided to build his own eye. His goal wasn’t to interface with his smartphone’s virtual assistant, though. He settled on making it just be an extension cord with USB ports. As you can see in the video below, the build has HAL-style memory units, a key, and can speak phrases from the movie (well, 28 of them, at least). The key is like the one Dave used to deactivate HAL in the movie.
Inside the MDF enclosure is an Arduino and a wave shield that handles the audio playback. The memory cards are acrylic and the key is machined brass. The result is a good looking project.
If you really want to be HAL, you can build a costume. We’ve seen a similar build with a Raspberry Pi.
Filed under: Arduino Hacks, home hacks
[original story: Hack a Day]