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Animated colored LEDs illuminate smoke coming from a volcano-shaped tiki mug

Kilauea Cove: Raspberry Pi-controlled Active Volcano!

Props5 comments

Since the last Kilauea Cove update, there have been a lot of updates to the Cove, and the Raspberry Pi-controlled volcano feature is now active in my basement tiki nook. Have a look at the finished product in the video!

Previously, we decided between Arduino and Raspberry Pi, controlling a cheap DJ smoke machine and we learned how to control both Adafruit Neopixels and their older WS2801 addressable RGB pixels with the Raspberry Pi. Since then, I’ve built out the space to have a more classic tiki look, and completed what I’m calling “Stage One” of the volcano feature. This includes animated LEDs, other controlled lights, and sound effects.

I guess I wouldn’t call it animatronics, since here’s no robotics involved (…yet), only animated lights and smoke. What would you call this kind of feature?

Next Up

Over the next week or so, we’ll be posting more details on the making of the volcano feature. We’ll show making the animations, building out the space, designing the animations, and planning the smoke feature. What else would you like to know?

Update

Here’s the complete list of behind-the-scenes articles on the building of Kilauea Cove:

5 comments

  1. Awesome! I would call it theatrics. I cannt tell because my sound is off but does it have sound too? If not that would be the next step trigger some thunder coming from the sub woofer in the screening room?

    1. You should definitely turn your sound on, because there is sound galore. 😀

      Next step is maybe adding some other animatronics, which I have some sketchy ideas for. It would be nice to get things to 2.0 before the next summer tiki party!

  2. It is definitely Computer Controlled Special Effects. Also known in early imagineering concepts as enhanced reality. 😀 As far as adding animatronics. It is generally way better to do it now that when I did servo controlled stuff with Cult of The Eye the last year of TO in Palm Springs. Now you can build your armatures with a 3D printer instead of what I did years ago, which was having a Plastic Place in Burbank(when I lived in LA) do a PVC skull to drape polyfoam over.

    1. Thanks, Eric! Good to know. I need to get my 3D printer back up and running, but it’s definitely on my to-do list for this year, just as soon as I finish sculpting the mugs for this year’s party… 😉

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