Pepper the Ghost: A Physical-Virtual Companion You Can Love

Elevate your connection to technology with our pet-like companion. Pepper’s app and enclosure can transport you to a new world!

Meet Pepper – an interactive radish spirit inside a wood-enclosed, magical world.

Just plug the enclosure in, launch the Pepper app, slide your phone into our enclosure, and let our optical system do the rest! Pepper’s enclosure comes with a gesture recognition system that allows her to interpret your movements and respond. And, her enclosure contains a softly-lit background that places Pepper in a calming environment.

With Pepper, you’ll be able to redefine your relationship to technology. Perfect for keeping focus, relieving stress, or simply introducing play into your everyday routine, Pepper is your new favorite sidekick!

PEPPER

Pepper is our adorable, ghost-like companion that lives in our app and can interact with you like a pet. You can connect with Pepper in one of two forms – work mode, or play mode.

In work mode, Pepper acts like a Pomodoro timer that you can customize to your ideal break-work timeframe. She can keep time without being distracting and interrupting the natural flow of your work.

In play mode, Pepper responds to your movements with twirls, transfigurations, and more! Circling your hand counterclockwise transforms Pepper into a square. Wave at Pepper, and Pepper will wave back.

All of your movements are picked up by a gesture sensor located on the top of Pepper’s enclosure, and transmitted through Wi-Fi to the app, where Pepper responds. She can be adapted to suit different age groups, abilities, and purposes. In this way, Pepper becomes an empathic companion to anyone.

ENCLOSURE

Pepper’s hologram is encased in a wooden enclosure that is backlit with soft yellow LEDs, giving us a glimpse into Pepper’s magical world. This background can be customized to your needs. At Pepper HQ, for example, we’re all big Ghibli fans, inspiring our initial line of backgrounds.

The enclosure contains a self-centering slot for inserting a phone; Pepper is projected off this phone into her world through some simple optical tricks. The back and front of the phone slot are open for easy charging, and black lines show the user where to match their phone by model.

Using Pepper is easy – just plug the enclosure in, slide your phone in, and play or work!

STAY HEALTHY, AND OFF YOUR PHONE

The addiction algorithms peddled by modern social media companies make it hard not to be distracted by your phone all the time. Pepper provides you an alternative way to engage with your technology.

A unique smartphone enclosure design removes the phone from your line of sight, providing seamless interaction without the need to stare at a screen. That’s the power of our optics! So you’ll be less inclined to go on Facebook during work (or breaks). It’s perfect for anyone who wants to reduce their screen time.

And, because of our color scheme and optical filters, the light you’re seeing is much softer than your phone’s, reducing eye strain and headaches.

Soon, Pepper’s app will incorporate phone-silencing elements and adapt to the mood of the hour. This makes Pepper an even better companion for your everyday life.

ABOUT THE MAKING

This project was created alongside Veronica Chen and Royce Lee for the class ENAS 400: Making It at Yale University. For the enclosure, we laser cut and treat wood using wood stain to the consistency/color we like. The optical lens is cut through laser cutting. We try to use as little plastic as possible in our design.

All the electronics, which include a gesture sensor and neopixel LEDs, are soldered and programmed with an Arduino feather which will later be replaced by a cheaper Wi-Fi electronics system.

Pepper herself is a web-based app available on all platforms. It was built on p5.js and JavaScript, communicating with an MQTT server to interface with the gesture sensor.

Using the Pepper’s Ghost illusion, the app screen is projected into the viewing space, appearing like a hologram. Hence our name, Pepper the Ghost!

Special thanks for Sarim Abbas and Antonio Medina for their help formulating and prototyping this project.