Candy Basket Sees You Coming

For Halloween enthusiasts who can’t or prefer not to answer the door, a tech-savvy solution has emerged. Some individuals may have good reasons, such as a mischievous cat that loves to escape at every opportunity or the allure of a favorite TV show during prime trick-or-treating hours. In these cases, it’s entirely reasonable to leave a candy bowl outside the door, especially when electronics are involved.

This innovative candy bowl employs an LD2410 60 GHz radar sensor and an RP2040 microcontroller. It uses a light pipe that changes color from orange to green to indicate the presence of trick-or-treaters and candy enthusiasts. When a person is detected, the light turns orange, transitioning to green as they approach, signaling that candy is available. You might also want some RGB strips for this.

Although the candy bowl doesn’t do much beyond this color-changing feature, it sparks creative ideas. For example, adding an MP3 decoder and a speaker to play a spooky witch cackle as a delightful surprise for those who reach for a treat. The brain behind this ingenious creation, Mike Kushnerik, initially designed the PCB for different home automation projects, but the concept of this illuminated candy bucket emerged just in time for Halloween. The setup includes the RP2040 chip, a 128 MB flash chip, a WS2812 LED, and a UART communication header for interaction with the radar sensor. For a closer look, don’t miss the short demo video provided after the article.

Read more: 2023 Halloween Hackfest: Candy Basket Sees You Coming