LEGO Candy Launcher —Perfect Last-Minute Halloween Build?

Halloween is just around the corner, and if you haven’t yet constructed your incredible hack to impress and/or scare the neighbors, here’s an option that can be made using only LEGO bricks. Perhaps “bricks” would be a bit of an understatement, as this LEGO candy launcher takes advantage of graphical programming, motors, and a color sensor to accomplish this flinging task.

The device works by first stacking candy on a tiny conveyor belt. Candies travel down this conveyor and are dropped onto an armature, which is spun up for just under half a second. When at full speed, a motor under the spinning assembly pops up and launches the candy into eagerly awaiting trick-or-treaters’ candy buckets. The armature then spins down, and a color sensor assists in positioning it under the conveyor, ready for yet another piece of candy to be thrown at visitors.

Instructions for building and graphically programming the thrower are found on the project’s write-up. One could also see this concept taken further if you have a bit more time (next year?), perhaps using an ESP8266 or Raspberry Pi for WiFi control, or different physical hardware to enhance the system’s candy distribution abilities. As seen in the video below, it looks like a really fun project as-is, that could be made in a day or so of tinkering.