Pseudonymous maker “Aquaman,” of the YouTube duo Engineering Dads, has constructed an Arduino-powered machine designed to discourage pickpockets from lifting your pockets — with a hearty digitized scream.
“I do not learn about you, however for the previous few months my social media web page has been flooded with a girl going round Venice screaming [warnings about pickpockets,” Aquaman explains of the project’s inspiration.
“She’s doing God’s work making sure people like you don’t get your crap stolen, and I couldn’t wait to come home when I was over there and work on my first project, which was taking her home with me — or at least her voice.”
Aquaman’s gadget, designed for deployment in a pocket, is simple enough: a speaker and amplifier are connected to an Arduino-compatible microcontroller with a light-dependent resistor (LDR). When lifted from a pocket by anyone unaware of the LDR, it triggers playback — screaming at the top of its electronic lungs that it’s being stolen.
“It’s completely powered by a rechargeable lithium[-ion] battery circuit,” Aquaman notes of the 3D-printed safety device, “so you possibly can take it with you on the go. Sadly, pickpocketing is definitely a really huge subject in Europe, and it is very arduous to stop. This girl has een doing an excellent job of catching it out, so a part of our resolution entails spreading her legacy internationally.
Extra particulars on the construct can be found within the video above, whereas 3D print information can be found to these backing the Engineering Dads channel on Patreon.
