The MagPi - July 2018

(^36) July 2018 raspberrypi.org/magpi
hen a master’s degree
course at the University of
Washington required the
use of sensors and machine learning
in the same project, two students

• Maks Surguy and Yi Fan Yin –
  conceived the idea of an interactive
  doll’s house. Inside this cool crib,
  various features – including lighting
  and shutters – can all be turned
  on and off by the simple wave
  of a ‘wand’ (a PlayStation Move
  controller), with the help of some
  clever coding and a Raspberry Pi 3.
  You can see a demonstration video
  at youtu.be/6EiTWZfPm3k.
  “I thought a smart doll’s
  house would be a great tool to

Projects SHOWCASE

This smart doll’s house features gesture recognition.

Nicola King takes a look inside...

> The doll’s

house took

ten weeks to

design and

prototype

> A Pi 3 reads

information

from a motion

sensor

> ‘MYHouse’ is

short for ‘Maks

and Yi Fan’s

house’

> All the code

can be found at

magpi.cc/

GnJNjN

> Machine

learning is used

to ‘train’ the

gestures

Quick

Facts

PROJECT

MYHOUSE

W

MAKS SURGUY

& YI FAN YIN

The speed of the

ceiling fan is set by two

finger‑rotating gestures

demonstrate technical innovations

to people in an approachable way,”

says Maks, who worked with Yi Fan

over a ten-week period, designing

and constructing the clever little

doll’s domicile.

After consulting Maks’s architect

wife about the physical structure,

the pair drew the plans in 3D

modelling software, then fitted

together cardboard pieces for a

prototype. Once happy with the

design, they laser-cut the pieces

out of plywood, made use of

snap‑fit to join them, then painted

them in different colours.

According to Maks, building a

doll’s house is akin to building

a real house. “Lots of decisions

needed to be made about

dimensions, colours, structure,

function, and interactions between

all elements of the dollhouse. We

ended up simplifying a lot of the

elements through iterative process

after realising that what we

envisioned is actually a lot harder

than it seems. Thankfully we had

24/7 access to a makerspace here

in school and were able to reach

decisions through prototyping

every aspect of the construction.”

Grand gestures

A key characteristic of this smart

doll’s house is its ability to

Two University of Washington master’s

degree students who worked together

to create a unique Pi-powered project.

magpi.cc/sGPTSi

A PlayStation Move controller

is used as the magic wand!

There’s even a mini TV that

you can turn on and off