Peek-a-boo Machine

This is a fun, mechanized way to play peek-a-boo (in case just using your hands wasn't fun enough). Once your face is positioned behind the carved wooden hands, crank the handle, the hands swing out and back, this completes one "peek-a-boo" cycle. The crank connects to a central drive shaft, which rotates two pairs of cams. Each pair transfers movement into a vertical shaft that moves a hand.

This prototype was my first successful attempt of building an automaton of my own design. I tried a few other mechanism designs first—including one with gears—but this design was the simplest and most reliable. This was a fun challenge—I enjoyed thinking through how to transfer one type of mechanical motion to another. In the future, I plan to build a new version from scratch with a proper case, handle, and chin rest, along with some improvements to the drive mechanism.