With the rise of voice assistants and smart devices, interacting with electronic appliances has become easier than ever. In today’s world, we can simply ask our smart speakers to turn on the smart bulbs in our room remotely. Now, there is no denying that this does feel a bit magical. However, what if I tell you that somebody built a DIY ‘magic wand’ that lets one control electronic appliances using waving gestures? With this in your hand, I’m sure you will feel like the headmaster of Hogwarts!
Now, the magic wand is based on a DA14531 Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) system-on-chip and is paired with smart plugs running on the same hardware. An accelerometer that is placed inside the wand allows it to detect waving motions and then signal the smart plugs via Bluetooth to switch a device on or off.
Now that the science bit was out of the way, it was time to build the chassis for the wand. So, March divided the whole wand into five sections. The bottom part that holds the battery and the circuit board, a top part to go on it, a butt-piece to clip the two pieces together, and finally the tip of the wand. For the finishing touches, he went on to wrap the grip with leather.
So, as you can see, the result of the project is a beautiful wand that is indeed magical. I know that one might still prefer to simply ask the voice assistant to get the job done but there is no denying the fact that this concept is out of the box and fun. I’d kill to wave the wand at my light bulb and say ‘Lumos’ to see the light of my room turn on.
Featured Image Courtesy: Sam March (YouTube)
