Computer engineer Zach Rattner has created a physical Rickroll device called Rroll. Seriously. It’s powered by an Arduino board hooked up to a six-foot ultrasonic sensor.
If you walk into the range of the sensor, the device starts playing the infamous song Never Gonna Give You Up by Rick Astley. If you walk away, the song is paused so that it can restart when you walk back in range. It’s simple, ingenious, and downright hilarious.
The video credits For Orchestra’s cover of Rick Astley’s song. A second video shows Rattner actually singing the song in an attempt to record the vocals for his device.
Rroll is entirely battery-powered so you can hide it anywhere you can think of. Take a minute to ponder that for a second. Imagine all the places you could put the little device to Rickroll your unsuspecting friends and colleagues.
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Rattner spent a total of $189.33 on the device, which was built using a screwdriver, soldering iron, wire cutters and strippers, a drill, a dremel, and a glue gun. Here’s the full list of parts he used, as well as their corresponding prices (in USD, your costs may of course vary depending on your location):
- Arduino Uno ($29.95)
- MP3 Player Shield ($39.95)
- Micro SD Card ($4.29)
- Portable Speakers ($27.49)
- Ultrasonic Sensor ($25.95)
- 3x AAA Batteries ($4.99)
- 9V Battery ($4.99)
- 9V Battery Clip ($1.09)
- 9V Battery Cable ($2.95)
- Aluminum Enclosure ($5.95)
- Solid Wire Kit ($11.95)
- Prototyping Board ($8.15)
- Screw Terminals ($0.95)
- Rubber Feet ($4.05)
- Lead-Free Solder ($7.95)
- Krazy Glue ($3.32)
- Hot Glue Sticks ($5.36)
Rattner also open sourced the code he used for the project. Head over to his Rroll page for details so you can truly appreciate his work, and maybe even build one yourself. You know you want to.
See also – The White House just Rickrolled a Twitter user and Mischievous Monday Morning: The Mother of all Rickrolls
Image credit: Horton Group
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