One of the coolest things people who build stuff can do is bring something from fiction into reality. We've seen plenty of Pip-Boys and even a fully 3D-printed wearable suit of Doomguy's armor that used in-game assets for extra accuracy. One recurring trend is people remaking robots from movies and books, because tinkering and robotics often go hand in hand.

For example, take this awesome project that Crostplay2 on YouTube made. They rebuilt the titular WALL-E using an ESP32 and Lego bricks, complete with a PS4 Bluetooth controller for easy driving. Oh, and it comes with a taser too, because why not?

This ESP32-powered WALL-E can be driven around with a PS4 controller

It's also really cute

You can check out Crostplay2's adventure in the YouTube video above. To start, they break down what they'll use to power this Lego WALL-E. They opted for a PS4 controller because of the touchpad (and, well, because it's a controller), and they used an ESP32 as the brains to receive the controller's Bluetooth signals.

Getting WALL-E made was a bit of a struggle. Crostplay2 ended up burning through ten motor driver boards because uploading new code to the ESP32 while it was connected to the driver caused a power backflow. The arms had to be carefully programmed not to mess with the rest of the mechanisms, and Crostplay2 ran out of ESP32 pins for the screen, so they used an Arduino Mini for a custom battery-charging display.

The result was well worth it, though. Crostplay2 could move WALL-E's head via the controller's built-in gyros, and they could even change WALL-E's mood with the press of a button. And then they decided to add a 2,000-volt mini taser to it so it could burn things. I don't remember that part of the movie, but I'm not complaining. Amazing work, Crostplay2; maybe we can get an Iron Giant next?