Tarantula3 Puts a Ghost, From Bungie's Destiny, to Work Monitoring His Internet Connection
Powered by an Espressif ESP8266, this Ghost might not float — but it'll keep an eye on your internet connection all the same.
Pseudonymous maker "Tarantula3" has brought a highly recognizable figure out of Bungie's Destiny shooter and into the real world — and given it the job of monitoring his home's internet connection.
"In the year 2021 I created an 'Internet Hardware WatchDog' using [a] NodeMCU which reboots my home router whenever there is an issue with the internet," Tarantula3 explains. "This device sits next to my router and happily takes care of it whenever it has a hiccup. This year, I wanted to extend the watchdogs horizon by adding an 'Internet Status Notifier' that displays the current status of the Internet using an RGB LED."
The heart of the project is a LOLIN WEMOS D1 Mini development board, built around an Espressif ESP8266. This is connected to a four-pin RGB LED, with suitable current-limiting resistor, while a 5V power supply keeps everything running. In operation, it's simple: the ESP8266 monitors internet connectivity using its Wi-Fi connection, and if the connection goes down switches from blue to red.
That's enough to deliver the functionality Tarantula3 was after, but it's not the prettiest of solutions. The fix: printing a 3D model of a Ghost, a floating artificial intelligence from Bungie's Destiny and Destiny 2 games. "I immediately fell in love with the concept and the design of the Ghosts," Aryan explains. "I spent a few days creating my own 3D model."
The project is documented in full on Tarantula3's blog, while the source code, schematic, and printable Ghost STL files are available on GitHub under an unspecified license.