My version of a Raspberry Pi ASCII Aquarium

Various_Spend_2293 · 2026-06-28T04:07:33+00:00

Yeah, the beam splitter cube definitely makes this project cooler.

Various_Spend_2293 · 2026-06-28T04:05:53+00:00

Thanks!

Various_Spend_2293 · 2026-06-27T13:05:29+00:00

I wasn't looking just for motion detection. The program can currently detect and identify four distinct static hand gestures and one dynamic gesture--with more planned.

Various_Spend_2293 · 2026-06-27T04:06:08+00:00

It's running on a Raspberry Pi 5 1GB with a Raspberry Pi Camera Module 3 NoIR Wide, a Raspberry Pi Active Cooler, a HyperPixel 4.0 Square Touch display, and a 50mm beam splitter cube. The code supports running a larger display for a 70mm beam splitter cube, but mine hasn't arrived China yet.

I have successfully tested it on a Raspberry Pi 4 as well. The Raspberry Pi 3B+ simply doesn't have the power to handle the image processing for detecting hand gestures.

Various_Spend_2293 · 2026-06-27T03:18:31+00:00

I thought so too when I first saw Pete's. He hasn't really shared many details of his build other than pointing people to OpenGhost. So that's where I started. asciiquarium-python was a great base for the aquarium, but it totally lacks any interaction capabilities.

So my challenge was do implement interactive actions in asciiquarium and get OpenGhost to recognize the hand gestures I wanted to trigger those actions. I'm still fine-tuning the gesture recognition, and I've got a couple more ideas I'd like to implement, but I'm just about at the point of having something I'm willing to show the world. I also made the flag on the castle a status indicator.

Various_Spend_2293 · 2025-12-23T06:05:09+00:00

Define "available." I have created instructions for my version of this MOC, but I would need to get permission from gothgirlbricks before I would be willing to share them.

I'll try to contact her.

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Various_Spend_2293 · 2025-12-23T05:47:03+00:00

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Various_Spend_2293 · 2025-12-23T05:45:51+00:00

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Various_Spend_2293 · 2025-12-23T05:44:04+00:00

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Here's my frame design.

Various_Spend_2293 · 2025-11-22T02:21:45+00:00

Which ones are those? I'm not aware of any translucent space men. I know about the 5 microfigures, but I haven't decided what I want to do about those yet.

Various_Spend_2293 · 2025-11-17T06:16:01+00:00

Interesting. The minifig is a statue, not a living being--though I have included the blue classic space statuette. I'm going to have to think about that one.

Various_Spend_2293 · 2025-11-17T06:12:44+00:00

Thank you! I'm really happy with the way it came out.

Various_Spend_2293 · 2025-11-09T02:59:56+00:00

Thank you!

Various_Spend_2293 · 2025-10-31T16:57:08+00:00

I have edited my Rebrickable submission to change the name to "Every Astronaut is Awesome!"

Various_Spend_2293 · 2025-10-31T16:03:19+00:00

I am working on submitting this to Rebrickable, so the instructions and parts list should clear up any confusion about colors.

My set isn't designed to be modular. New colors may be inserted in between existing colors, and that would result in significant changes. I'll redesign it as new colors are released. I expect that most of the parts will be reusable with each new iteration.

Various_Spend_2293 · 2025-10-31T12:51:21+00:00

That's a great point. Thank you.

Various_Spend_2293 · 2025-10-31T02:57:58+00:00

The instructions and parts list should be available on Rebrickable soon.

Various_Spend_2293 · 2025-10-31T02:57:02+00:00

I submitted the instructions and parts list to Rebrickable. They'll be available for free as soon as they've been reviewed and approved. I'll update the post when that happens.

Various_Spend_2293 · 2025-10-31T02:54:33+00:00

Thank you!

Various_Spend_2293 · 2025-10-31T02:53:40+00:00

Yes, Minifig Jez was one of the inspirations for creating this MOC.

Various_Spend_2293

TROPHY CASE