Simulate Various Enigma Machines with the PicoEnigma
This tiny but capable Universal Enigma simulator is open source and hackable.
If you’ve ever dreamed of owning an Enigma machine, the historically evil code transmission device defeated in WWII, you’re in luck. There’s a supremely stylistic Enigma simulator out, packed with modern day workings — an Arduino Uno and a touchscreen LCD. The PicoEnigma has the capabilities to simulate various enigma machines with 26 keys, including the Enigma 1, Enigma M3 and M4, and the G-312, to name a few. The tiny unit is open source and hackable, giving you the freedom to turn it into an Akafugu word clock if you want to.
To ensure its accuracy, the machine has been verified against Daniel Palloks’ Universal Enigma v2.5. The project has the capabilities to simulate the following three behaviors, which are standard for most Enigma machines:
- Rotors can be moved manually while a key is held down by pressing the button under each rotor. A new lamp corresponding to the result for the new position and pressed key will be illuminated in the lamp field. This could help with cryptanalysis of Enigma machines.
- When a key is held down, a key from another row can be pressed at the same time and the result for the additional key will illuminate in the lamp fields. Because of the keyboard circuit’s limitations, only one key per row can be pressed without distorting the position shown in the rotors.
- Up to three keys can be pressed at the same time. One of the rotor change buttons can be pressed as well. The rotors will change and up to three lamps will be illuminated.
The PicoEnigma can be connected to a computer, which allows any characters sent to be encoded and displayed in groups of four or five characters depending on which machine is selected. The position of the rotors can also be modified through the serial port. The device can be powered by either a USB connector or an external battery (4-9V) through a standard Arduino center positive barrel jack. External and internal power sources are selected using a power switch. The USB connector can power things indefinitely while a 9V battery lasts about six hours in standby mode.
Whether you want to send encoded messages to fellow Enigma enthusiasts or you’re a history buff, the PicoEnigma is currently available for $500.