In a bid to create a Ouija Board that actually does something of use, a maker on project sharing site hackster.io has outfitted one with an Arduino that can be used to unlock a hidden compartment.

It works like this: the rather large planchette is hollow and filled with an Arduino Pro Mini, an RFID reader, a radio module, a battery and charging pads for wireless charging.

The board itself is mostly stock, except for the bottom. Each letter is fitted with its own corresponding RFID tag that can be picked up by the planchette when it touches the letter.

When the right letters are picked up by the planchette – like entering a password – it will send a signal to an electronic lock and it will open.

The complete project. The board, planchette, signal receiver and lock all work together. The signal receiver which open the lock. Inside the planchette.

This is just scratching the surface of a really cool project that uses science and engineer to replicate what many used to believe to be magic or the work of some mysterious forces (even though Ouija Boards are sold in toy stores nowadays by Hasbro, the same company that punts Battleships and Nerf guns).

If you want to see the complete build guide, which you can use as a tutorial to make your own, it’s available right here.

We hope someone takes this idea and expands on it. The same tech used in the automated chess board could create a Ouija Board that moves the planchette.

See the finished project in action below. Just remember to turn up the volume so you can hear the planchette vibrate after finding one of the “magic” letters.