Welcome to The OwlBot Project Series, where we transform a simple owl decoy into an interactive, motion-activated pest deterrent. In this series, we modify a traditional owl figure to detect movement and respond with flashing red LED eyes, solenoid-driven wing flapping, a spinning propeller powered by a DC motor, and realistic owl hooting sounds. Designed to help discourage nuisance birds—like mockingbirds—OwlBot blends electronics, mechanics, and embedded control into a practical, real-world build. Follow the links below to explore each part of the series and see how we bring this animated guardian to life.
How to Make an OwlBot – Part 1: Motion Sensing
Part 1 of the OwlBot project starts off getting the prototype to sense motion using an HC-SR501 PIR sensor. The start of the Arduino code begins here for the OwlBot’s ability to become lifelike!
How to Make an OwlBot – Part 2: Making Sounds
Part 2 of the OwlBot project continues with getting the prototype to make sounds from a DFPlayer Pro Mini MP3 Player to a pair of speakers when motion is detected by the PIR sensor.
How to Make an OwlBot – Part 3: Flashing Red LED Eyes
Part 3 of the OwlBot project continues with adding a couple of red LEDs to the prototype circuit. Once installed, we update the code and get the LEDs to flash on and off at a rapid pace! These will act as the OwlBot’s eyes later in the finished project.
How to Make an OwlBot – Part 4: Upgrading the Power Supply
Part 4 of the OwlBot project continues with upgrading the power supply of the OwlBot prototype circuit. With all the stuff we’re going to add to it, and what we’ve done so far, we’re going to need more power!
How to Make an OwlBot – Part 5: Mechanical Movement
Part 5 of the OwlBot project continues with adding a couple of solenoids to the prototype circuit, as well as a DC motor with propeller to add a bit of movement for the OwlBot. At this point in the project, we’re pretty much done with all that we’ll add to the prototype circuit of the OwlBot. We’re that much closer to creating a completed OwlBot!
How to Make an OwlBot – Part 6 (Section I): PCB Circuit Build
It’s the beginning of the end of this long awaited project, we now start making things more permanent. In the first section of Part 6 of the OwlBot project, we begin the process of transferring components from the breadboard to the PCB. We also create our own wire connectors – making us that much closer to the finish!
How to Make an OwlBot – Part 6 (Section II): PCB Circuit Build
At this point we’ve got our Arduino shield board made. Now, we move onto making the daughter board for it to hold the components for the solenoids and DC motor.
How to Make an OwlBot – Part 6 (Section III): PCB Circuit Build
In this section of Part 6, we make the connectors we need to connect the DC motor and solenoids to the daughter-board, and make the connector we need to connect the gates of the MOSFETs to the Arduino shield board. We also add switches to our circuit.
