Published October 29, 2024 © LGPL

Spooky Motion-Activated Halloween Pumpkin Using Arduino Nano

Scare your Halloween trick-or-treater with a motion-activated spooky pumpkin! Powered by Arduino Nano, DFPlayer Mini, PIR sensor, and LEDs!

BeginnerFull instructions provided1 hour77

Spooky Motion-Activated Halloween Pumpkin Using Arduino Nano

Things used in this project

Hardware components

Arduino Nano R3

DFRobot DFPlayer - A Mini MP3 Player

PIR Motion Sensor (generic)

Speaker: 3W, 4 ohms

5 mm LED: Red

Abdi Automation BC547 Transistor

Software apps and online services

Arduino IDE

Story

This project is a fun Halloween-themed interactive pumpkin that scares people when they attempt to grab candy. The system detects motion using a PIR sensor and triggers sound effects (spooky sounds or screams) through the speaker using the DFPlayer Mini module. The setup is perfect for adding excitement to Halloween parties or trick-or-treat scenarios.

Components in Detail

PIR Motion Sensor: This sensor detects motion within its range. When someone approaches the pumpkin, the PIR sensor sends a signal to the Arduino to trigger the spooky effects
DFPlayer Mini: The DFPlayer Mini is an MP3 player module that plays pre-loaded audio files stored on a microSD card. Once motion is detected, it activates the pre-recorded scary sound effects.
3W 4-Ohm Speaker: This speaker outputs the sound played by the DFPlayer. It's loud enough to scare trick-or-treaters when the candy-stealing motion is detected.
BC-547 NPN Transistor: This transistor amplifies the current to the LEDs and the speaker, allowing them to operate with sufficient power when triggered.
LEDs: Three red LEDs are used to create a glowing, spooky effect inside the pumpkin. The LEDs flicker when motion is detected, enhancing the scary atmosphere.

Wiring Diagram

The circuit is powered by a 5V supply, which powers the Arduino Nano and all connected components.

When the PIR motion sensor detects movement, it sends a signal to the Arduino Nano, which then triggers both the DFPlayer Mini to play a pre-recorded scary sound and the red LEDs to flicker. The speaker connected to the DFPlayer Mini amplifies the sound, creating a spooky audio effect. The LEDs inside the pumpkin flicker to create an eerie visual effect, making the pumpkin seem haunted and scaring whoever reaches for the candy.

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Code

Halloween_V0.ino

/* 
Code to run DF player Using Arduino NANO for Halloween
Using Soft Serial LIbrary and DFRobotDFPlayerMini Library
The Detection is done Using PIR sensor which Leads to Scary Voices Randomly run which are stored in the SD card in folder named "01"
*/

#include "SoftwareSerial.h"
#include "DFRobotDFPlayerMini.h"

#define PIR_SENSOR_INPUT 3
#define LED_OUTPUT 2
#define LED_DELAY 300
#define TOTAL_DELAY_REQUIRED 8

// Initialize software serial on pins 10 and 11
SoftwareSerial mySoftwareSerial(10, 11);  // RX, TX
DFRobotDFPlayerMini myDFPlayer;

unsigned int previousTime = 0;
bool boMotionDetected = false;
int soundCounter = 0;
int delayCounter = 0;

void setup() {
  // Serial communication with the module
  mySoftwareSerial.begin(9600);
  pinMode(PIR_SENSOR_INPUT, INPUT);  // declare PIR sensor pin as input pin
  pinMode(LED_OUTPUT, OUTPUT);       // LED Output
  if (myDFPlayer.begin(mySoftwareSerial)) {
    ledON();
    ledOFF();
    myDFPlayer.volume(25);  // Volume 20
  }
}

void loop() {
  if ((digitalRead(PIR_SENSOR_INPUT) == HIGH) && (boMotionDetected == false)) {
    // Ramdomly Run Sacry voices on SD card
    soundCounter = (soundCounter++ % 7) + 1;
    myDFPlayer.play(soundCounter);  // there are total 8 voices in folder 01 of memory card , voices are named 001.mmp3, 002.mp3
    boMotionDetected = true;
    delayCounter = 0;
  }
  ledON();
  ledOFF();
  checkTime();
}

void ledON() {
  if (boMotionDetected == true) {
    digitalWrite(LED_OUTPUT, HIGH);
    delay(LED_DELAY);
  }
}

void ledOFF() {
  if (boMotionDetected == true) {
    digitalWrite(LED_OUTPUT, LOW);
    delay(LED_DELAY);
  }
}

void checkTime() {
  if (boMotionDetected == true) {
    if( delayCounter++ > TOTAL_DELAY_REQUIRED){
      boMotionDetected = false;
    }
  }
}