Altoids Project

A father and his 12-year-old son embarked on a project dubbed the "Altoids Project" after discovering a robot at an MIT Swapfest event. The robot had belonged to someone many years prior, and the family was gifted the robot and a used laptop for their endeavor. The pair began by disassembling the robot and attempting to reuse its components, including a 128x64 display.

However, they struggled to find the correct pinout for the display, turning to an online forum for help, which provided a schematic for the 10-pin display. With this information, they successfully displayed the Space Trash game from the U8g2 library, marking v1 of their project.

Inspired by a YouTube video showcasing a tiny computer in an Altoids tin, the duo repurposed an Altoids tin for the project. They downsized the system by swapping the laptop for an Arduino Nano and acquiring LiPo batteries and a PowerBoost for power. The son handled the CAD design and 3D printing, but the team encountered challenges in fitting everything into the tin, leading to multiple iterations (v2 and v3) with lids that couldn't close.

After further tinkering, they replaced the breadboard connection with direct wiring to the display, but desoldering proved difficult, resulting in damage to the display. Undeterred, they acquired a new display and attempted to test it using tiny hooks. They discovered the new display required SPI mode, so they desoldered two jumpers and re-soldered them. Eventually, they applied hot glue to connect the display to the lid, and the system functioned for the first time, marking v4.

Though two wires connecting the microcontroller and display broke, the son managed to extend them with soldered connections. To prevent future issues, they purchased ultra-fine 30 AWG wires. Despite another desoldering misstep by the son, they persevered and incorporated two actual Altoids into the final tin, completing the project after five iterations. Unfortunately, none of the components from the initial design survived the process.