(^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