Abstract
- Flip an inexpensive CYD ESP32 touchscreen into a full of life ASCII aquarium with tap-to-feed fish.
- The ESP32 runs real-time fish AI that plays education, avoidance, and racing for meals.
- A fab beginner-friendly GitHub venture: it comes with a complete set up information at the venture’s web page.
In case you are a large ESP32 fan, you in point of fact owe it to your self to take a look at the Reasonable Yellow Show (CYD). It is a small show that makes use of an ESP32 as its processor, and it is, neatly, affordable. The identify does numerous the heavy lifting, in truth.
You’ll do so much with a CYD, from bettering your sensible house to making cool units that may have compatibility in small circumstances. However why do one thing sensible together with your CYD when you’ll be able to as a substitute put a groovy ASCII aquarium on it and faucet at the display to feed the fish? Seems like a very good use of the tech, should you question me.
The ASCII aquarium turns your CYD right into a digital fishtank
Sure, you’ll be able to feed them. Sure, it is very lovely
As noticed through Hackaday, this cool little venture is fittingly referred to as the ASCII aquarium. It involves us by the use of POWER-PILL on GitHub, and it makes for a beginner-friendly venture that doubles as a very good dialog starter.
This is how its author describes it:
ASCII Aquarium turns the average 320×240 CYD touchscreen right into a dwelling little desktop aquarium with swimming ASCII fish, emerging bubbles, swaying seaweed, tap-to-feed flakes, occasional octopus and seahorse guests, contact controls, Wi-Fi time sync, power settings, and SD-card screenshot seize.
POWER-PILL needs to make it very transparent that the display is not only a looping animation. The ESP32 works within the background to simulate the fish in genuine time, and they are able to faculty up, keep away from different fish, and race to snatch some meals each time you faucet at the display. More or less like Conway’s Recreation of Lifestyles, apart from the blocks are changed through lovely little fish.
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If you want to be told extra concerning the ASCII aquarium, or you might have a CYD available that wishes a brand new task to do, then pop over to the venture’s GitHub web page, the place you can discover a complete set up information and the code to get it operating.



