Smile, and the world smiles with you — or, in this case, a laser-cut flower running Android Things on a Raspberry Pi does.

Expression Flower

The aim of the Expression Flower is to “challenge the perception of what robotics can be while exploring the possibility for a whimsical experience that is engaging, natural, and fun.”

Tl;dr: cute interactive flower. No Skynet.

Android Things

The flower is powered by Google’s IoT platform Android Things, running on a Raspberry Pi, and it has a camera mounted in the centre. It identifies facial expressions using the ML Kit machine learning package, also from Google. The software categorises expressions, and responds with a specific action: smile at the flower, and it will open up its petals with a colourful light show; wink at it, and its petals will close up bashfully.

The build is made of laser-cut and 3D-printed parts, alongside off-the-shelf components. The entire build protocol, including video, parts, and code, is available on hackster.io, so all makers can give Expression Flower a go.

Seriously, this may be the easiest-to-follow tutorial we’ve ever seen. So many videos. So much helpful information. It’s pure perfection!

Machine learning and Android Things

For more Raspberry Pi–based machine learning projects, see:

• Build your own Pokédex, for Pokémon-hunting funtimes
• The Santa detector, for detecting Santa, obviously
• There’s Waldo, for hunting Waldo/Wally in a crowd

And for more Android Things projects, we highly recommend:

• BrailleBox, for displaying the latest news in Braille
• The Android Things Candy Dispenser, for candy…at a price
• The Augmented-reality projection lamp, for, well, it does a lot of stuff, so check it out

Aaaand, for getting started with all things Android on your Raspberry Pi, check out issue 71 of The MagPi!