Altoids Project

A father and his 12-year-old son spend about two months turning parts from a donated robot into a tiny computer housed in an Altoids tin. The project begins at MIT Swapfest, where they receive an old robot and buy a used ThinkPad. After taking the robot apart, they salvage its 128-by-64 display, but cannot identify its wiring until they find a schematic on an Arduino forum. Once they get the display working with a Space Trash game, they redesign the build around an Arduino Nano, rechargeable batteries, and a PowerBoost supply, aiming to fit everything inside the tin. The son handles the CAD work and 3D printing.

Five versions reveal how much trial and error the compact build requires. Early layouts are too tall for the lid to close, and a difficult desoldering attempt damages the original display, so they replace it. The new display requires a wiring change because it does not default to SPI mode. A better soldering iron helps them make progress, but the assembly still needs coaxing to close, and display wires soon break. They replace them with finer wire, troubleshoot a misconnected lead, and complete the build with two actual mints inside. The final device contains none of the components from the first version; the project’s point is as much the shared process of designing, soldering, making mistakes, and debugging as the finished gadget.