DIY – Lego Bluetooth Control WALL•E (Updated)
January 10, 2016 11 Comments
Last November while I was sourcing for more parts for my Lego tree house, I spotted a very unique Lego WALL•E displayed at the toy shop near my office. There was something different about this WALL•E. There were a lot of wires connecting from its body to its head. Those weren’t fake wires. Curiously, I asked the shop keeper if the WALL•E was running on batteries. He told me it was a bluetooth control toy. Using an app on his iPhone, the WALL•E came alive with lights and motion! I was so intrigued by it that I offered him a price for the display item. However, he told me it was not for sale.
I went home that night and googled a couple of videos online. There were a couple of pretty cool and simple Lego hacks to convert a standard WALL•E into a remote control toy using Lego’s standard (Power Functions) powered motors and IR controller. However, I could not find the same mobile bluetooth control Lego WALL•E. The next day, I went back to the shop and asked more information about their WALL•E.
The shop owner was very helpful and nice. He told me to wait for the new WALL•E edition as the original one had some issues with the joints of its neck. It was too loose and Lego will be releasing a new edition sometime in March 2016. He also helped me to order all the electrical parts that were required to make the bluetooth control WALL•E.
2 days ago, the parts finally arrived and I went to pick them up. As the WALL•E was no longer displaying in the shop, the shop keeper couldn’t show me how to wire up the parts. He gave me a web link (but the tutorial was completely useless). At mid point, I had to discard the confusing online tutorial and relied on my own logic to rebuild the entire piece again.
In the end, I spent 4.5 long hours on Saturday night to piece everything together. It was extremely messy but all fun and exciting! My face lit up the moment WALL•E came to life (via the app SBrick)! I made a couple of modifications (and even changed the colours of its eyes!). The best part was I am able to design and customised my own app controller!
Check out the “making video” in my 2nd Vlog of 2016 below! I am sure my son will be screaming in excitement the moment I show him this. Enjoy!
12 years away from home - Singapore. Writing my stories here for my lovely mum & dad, friends and most importantly, for my wife & son back home. A self-confessed gadget freak, a spontaneous prankster on the outside and a warm loving heart inside. Enjoying a happy life with loving families, friends plus a dream job. Realising mum’s motto – “Exceed Yourself Every Day”. Always believing that “Simplicity is Beauty”.
THE WAHBIANG BLOG 