Ah....the final chapter in the Brad Parker Weird Science trilogy of coolness.

The project was to convert the vending machine into a fully operational (which we did) completely interactive machine that responded to people walking by and reacted when knobs were pulled.



The machine was going to have a motion sensor (PIR) placed inside that would sense movement and send a signal up to a keyboard, simulating a keypress. The Flash application that was built for it would detect that keypress and launch an audio file.

The same idea worked for knob pulls. A series of knobs would be wired up to the same dismantled keyboard, and when one was pulled, it would unbreak the beam of a photo-optic interrupter and send a signal indicating another keypress. Each knob would be wired into a specific key, and a unique audio file would play.



I was able to successfully install the laptop and speakers inside, but the connection from the photo-optic interrupters to the keyboard was lacking. In the end, it had to be faked.

The "Waiting For Jerry" title refers to my man Jerry Chamkis, who generously offered his expertise to get this project completed, but due to having to wait to the very last minute so I could get a camera guy to record all my work, the project landed on a day when Jerry disappeared off the face of the earth and I was unable to reach him for the final pieces.

I had to think fast...and an actor was brought in to play Jerry's cousin, Larry, who handed me the "needed components" to finish the job.