“Magical” Crystal Ball Predicts the Weather

What’s the weather going to be like today? We take it for granted that we can search the Internet, watch a weather report, or obtain this…

Jeremy Cook
6 years agoWeather

What’s the weather going to be like today? We take it for granted that we can search the Internet, watch a weather report, or obtain this information in many other ways. Years ago, however, being able to predict the future weather accurately would have likely seemed like some sort of black art, like a wizard staring into his crystal ball.

While its debatable how well these orbs worked in the past, the Sphaera “crystal ball” can now display the weather with holographic images that appear based on an actual weather forecast. The system uses a Raspberry Pi to query weather data from OpenWeatherMap, then outputs this info inside the orb as a hologram, using a computer monitor burried out of sight in a box underneath as the image source.

Interaction with the sphere is accomplished using a series of five photoresistors inside the globe. Current weather is shown when the first is covered, then advanced by three hours with each successive module.

As seen in the video here, it’s a very interesting effect. Given that the images are displayed using a computer monitor, this kind of orb setup could be expanded into all kinds of other informational displays. Perhaps it could even be the basis for a great 2018 Halloween project!

Jeremy Cook
Engineer, maker of random contraptions, love learning about tech. Write for various publications, including Hackster!
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