Halloween may not be just around the corner, but the spooky season isn't that far away. As such, if you're planning a big or complex project for October, now is a great chance to get started. The good folk over at Raspberry Pi HQ already have some ideas as to what they want to do, as they found a suitably spooky project that brings still portraits to life.

Using a Raspberry Pi Pico to create a spooky Halloween decoration

As mentioned on the official Raspberry Pi blog, this delightful project was the idea of just_another_person on Instructables. The instructions ask for a Raspberry Pi Pico, two ultrasound sensors, a servo motor, enough wires to connect it all, and some basic craft items. Put it all together, and you've got yourself a portrait that can detect when someone walks past it and moves its eyes to meet them. All the required instructions are included in the Instructables page linked above.

If you've never tinkered with an SBC before, it can be understandably daunting to get everything working. Fortunately, we have some good resources and guides that can help you get started. For example, you can check out our beginner guide to programming for the Raspberry Pi Pico. You won't need it for this project, as the inventor included their code in the instructions; however, it's always good to learn what the code you're copy-pasting actually does.

And if you're worried about the Raspberry Pi Pico gathering dust once Halloween is done, there are plenty of things you can do with the board afterward. Why not check out our simple Raspberry Pi projects for beginners for some inspiration on how to give your Pico a second life? In fact, our own Daniel Allen turned his Raspberry Pi Pico into a video game controller.