Instead of a selfie booth, bring SelfieBot to your next party! This Raspberry Pi project has a mind of its own: SelfieBot giggles, snoozes, and prints selfies on its thermal printer. Animated facial expressions and sounds are triggered by movement-based interactions. SelfieBot is contained in a customizable laser-cut acrylic and 3D-printed case.

My husband and I built our original SelfieBot for our booth at Seattle Mini Maker Faire 2017. This battery-powered version is a simpler build. Instead of laminated laser-cut plywood as in the original, here the walls of the case are 3D printed. Alternate methods of constructing the case are explored at the end of this guide. Use the animations and sounds provided, or create your own!

This is a big build, and definitely a multi-day project with a lot of parts and several fabrication techniques. It's a fun mix of electronics and fabrication, and there are lots of opportunities to customize this project along the way! Although the case is laser cut and 3D printed, you may still need to drill/cut into parts of it along the way, so be prepared to use a drill, small hand saw, and file. If you're not comfortable with these tools, have a friend or parent show you how to use them safely.

Parts & Supplies

This project uses lasercutting and 3D printing to build the case. You can check with your local makerspace for access to these tools, or send the files out to a service.

Main Components:

• Raspberry Pi 2 and Micro SD Card (minimum 16 GB)
• Raspberry Pi Camera Board v2
• HDMI 5" Display Backpack
• Pi Cobbler
• ADXL345 Accelerometer
• Mini Thermal Printer
• Speaker
• PAM8302 Audio Amplifier
• Arcade Button with LED
• UBEC Step-Down Converter - 5v to 3A Output
• Half-Sized Perma-Proto Breadboard
• 1600 mAh 7.2v NiMH battery (for RC cars) and compatible connectors

Connectors, Wire, Etc.:

• USB connector shell
• Right angle HDMI adapter
• 12" HDMI cable - find one with small plugs, like this one
• 2 micro USB cables (at least one with a left-angle micro USB connector)
• 4-pin JST Cable Connector Set 
• Power switch rated for 2 amps like this one
• 22 or 24 AWG stranded wire in assorted colors
• 16 AWG silicone stranded wire in black and red
• heat shrink tubing, various sizes and colors
• Wireless Mouse & Keyboard - If you can, buy a cheap set just for this project and leave the USB dongles plugged into your Pi permanently. Or, modify the case and placement of the Pi so that the dongles can be easily removed when SelfieBot is not in use.

For Case & Assembly:

• 3x Acrylic Sheets 3mm thick, at least 9.5" x 12.5" (Protect the panels from scratches and stray paint by leaving the protective film on the acrylic until the assembly phase.)
• 3D Printer Filament
• 4x 1/2" Nylon spacers for Pi
• 4x 3/4" Nylon spacers for screen
• 6x Grip Rivet Nuts #6-32 drill size 12
• 6x Machine screws: #6-32, 2 1/2" long & matching washers for case
• 6x Machine screws: #4-40 3/4" long & matching nuts for handles
• your choice of filler & spray paint (optional)
• Model Magic clay or Blue Tac (optional, for masking holes)
• 3 mm craft foam
• Gaff tape
• Industrial strength sticky back velcro 1" wide
• Glue gun & glue sticks