A Console Fit for Any Little Superhero's Lair!

Superheroes like Batman, Iron Man, and the like are portrayed at being very effective at mitigating emergencies and/or fighting crime, while causing only a “smidgeon” of collateral damage. However, it’s a big world out there, and even superheroes need a bit of help to figure out where they are needed, and for research. For this task, creator Palladin made a console that looks like something straight out of any lair for an elementary school’s role play corner, allowing kids to pretend they’re saving the world, rescuing a cat, or anything in between.

The build, shown in the video below, is constructed out of MDF and finished in a very sci-fi blue with a variety of futuristic accouterments. A trio of “reactor” tubes glow using LEDs, with light diffused inside via thick hair gel. A lighting panel can be manipulated using a rotary switch, and a keyboard lets kids input whatever data they can think up. A “memory bank” also flashes randomly with a clever arrangement of blinking LEDs, requiring no Arduino or other computing module.

A pair of Arduinos are implemented as well. One of these boards lights the emergency tracking map via LEDs that shine through from the back. Four are lit at a time, apparently because work is never done for a superhero. A second Arduino controls the hand scanner – outlined separately here – which illuminates rows of LEDs in sequence. Scanning is started by a light-dependent resistor (LDR) and voltage divider setup.

The project appears to be a lot of fun as-designed, and with a bit of creativity, there’s no telling what adventures children will have with it!