Working Dr Who Prop with RPi

Doctor Who fans are enjoying a richly layered Series 9 so far this autumn, with plenty of nods to classic Who and a fabulously creepy two-parter that concluded on Saturday. I resisted the temptation to share [Richard Hopkins](https://twitter.com/hopkira)‘ [amazing K-9 build blog](http://k9-build.blogspot.co.uk/) here when I found it a while ago because I thought it’d be best appreciated alongside the superb screen presence of Peter Capaldi’s Twelfth Doctor to remind us what a wonderful fictional universe this is (not everyone agrees with me about Capaldi, of course; note, though, that I’ll be moderating the comments *scrupulously*).

Richard Hopkins’ K-9, pictured in August with a side monitor and newly functioning camera and a wagging tail. [Photo](http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-j6f358J0u-U/Vc-1ID6g-hI/AAAAAAAAHKs/Pcy140w8Xmw/s640/K9portrait.png) by [Richard Hopkins](http://k9-build.blogspot.co.uk/p/about-me.html) | [CC BY-SA 4.0](http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)

While some projects might occupy a few entries on their author’s more general blog, it’s easy to appreciate that the scope of this project, which has been ongoing since May 2014, warrants a blog all to itself. A Raspberry Pi as the brains of the robot was part of the project from the very beginning. It controls K-9’s expressive, servo-driven ears and tail as well as the scooter motors that move him around, runs [Node-RED](http://nodered.org/docs/hardware/raspberrypi.html) to allow browser-based control and to display a power monitoring dashboard on the panel on his side, and lets him to respond to voice commands and hold a basic conversation. A Raspberry Pi [camera module](https://www.raspberrypi.org/products/camera-module/) on a [long cable](http://www.modmypi.com/search/?search=raspberry%20pi%20camera%20board%20replacement%20cable) sits behind his eye panel. Who wouldn’t want to share their home with a robot like this?

#### > [> K9 Progress August 2015](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DRuCqG9Xxdg)

The addition of a wagging tail, side monitor dashboard and eye camera is significant progress.

As fantastic as Richard’s build is, it’s not the only homemade, Raspberry Pi-powered K-9. William Reichardt’s [wooden-bodied K-9](http://gwfrontiers.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/K9) is tricked out with a thermal printer in its head; and if, like me, you don’t have the time or the technical chops for a project this complex, you can still house your Raspberry Pi in a fine [LEGO K-9 case](http://www.bricksetforum.com/discussion/12168/doctor-who-k9-modular-raspberry-pi-case).

Meanwhile, if the current series of Doctor Who has seen the Doctor swap his sonic screwdriver for a pair of sonic sunglasses (they look great, but we’re hoping they’re not forever, yes?), fans seem committed to the classic tool. I found four [different](http://hackaday.com/2013/12/12/real-life-sonic-screwdriver-for-home-automation/) [Raspberry Pi-powered](http://www.instructables.com/id/Sonic-Screwdriver-TV-B-Gone-Conversion/) [sonic](https://hackaday.io/project/548-sonic-screw-driver-door-lock) [screwdrivers](http://volcano.newts.org/2013/12/12/raspberry-pi-infrared-sonic-screwdriver-home-controller/) for everything from door locking to a TV-B-Gone, after which I stopped counting.

¹⁾(http://hackaday.com/2013/12/12/real-life-sonic-screwdriver-for-home-automation/)²⁾(http://www.instructables.com/id/Sonic-Screwdriver-TV-B-Gone-Conversion/)³⁾(https://hackaday.io/project/548-sonic-screw-driver-door-lock)⁴⁾(http://volcano.newts.org/2013/12/12/raspberry-pi-infrared-sonic-screwdriver-home-controller/)

[Alan O’Donohoe](https://twitter.com/teknoteacher) has made a Raspberry Pi-controlled Dalek that responds to Twitter, a Doctor Who story premise that I never want Stephen Moffat to consider.

#### > [> #TweetMyDalek – Raspberry Pi controlled Dalek](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eIlbx1CBuEk)

At our Preston Geek Up meet: A 12″ model of a Dr Who Dalek is controlled by tweets, received by a battery powered Raspberry Pi computer running Linux The RGB LED responds to colours tweeted with hashtag #cheerlights Dalek robot developed by Alan O’Donohoe, @teknoteacher

Last of all, something we can’t leave out of any conversation about Doctor Who-related Raspberry Pi projects is [Dave Akerman](https://twitter.com/daveake)‘s [TARDIS](http://www.daveakerman.com/?p=873).

Slightly smaller on the inside

OK, so it’s hard to call this a fully working prop; it’s pretty small on the outside to begin with, and then the inside is, if anything, a little bit smaller. However, with the help of a high altitude balloon, it did fly to the edge of space, which counts for a lot with us. This might seem like the kind of thing for which you need long experience, and it’s true that [a HAB flight demands some months of preparation](http://www.pi-in-the-sky.com/index.php?id=guides). But having seen our first few successful launches following this summer’s [Skycademy](https://www.raspberrypi.org/picademy/skycademy/) training for educators, we know that a stratospheric TARDIS is something that’s within the reach of primary schools.

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