Web-Enabled Unicorn Boots Warn You of Product Recalls

What do you do if you have a pair of recalled children’s rain boots? Of course, you should return them to wherever is required for a refund, but depending on how much money you’re getting back, this might not be worth the effort. Artist Andrew Kleindolph has another idea for such footwear: an Internet-connected display for other recalled products. While these rainbow-unicorn boots might not have properly fulfilled their purpose, at least they can now warn you of other impending dangers.

The main element to this build is Adafruit’s new PyPortal, a CircuitPython-powered Internet display. The device is perfect for this type of zany boot display, with an ATSAMD51J20 and ESP32 WiFi module onboard, along with a 3.2” 320x240 color TFT screen. This allows das boot to pull data from the web, in this case live data from the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission (USCPSC), to inform you about exciting new product recalls. It’s a very strange thing to see in front of a unicorn boot backdrop.

With its embedded battery, you can even take it on the road, showing data on non-child resistant packaging, burners that fail to turn off, corroding aerosol containers and more, anywhere you see fit to take it!