Octolively Kit by Evil Mad Scientist Labs

Project Completed: June 2015

Summer vacation is the best time for technology projects. I just completed my third Octolively kit! The Octolively is a blast to solder and assemble, with an awesome payoff — no programming necessary.

The kit uses infrared LEDs/motion sensors to tell if an object is passing over it. Then, the kit will light up its 8 LEDs in a certain pattern. It is super fun to play with, and extremely entertaining.

Here is a photo of the kit in parts:


Here is a photo of the kit mid-soldering:


Here is a photo of the final assembly:


Here is a video demonstration of the completed Octolively being set-up and working:


I thoroughly enjoyed building the kit, I think it’s cleverly designed, and I love playing with it. Due to the large number of parts and the presence of capacitors and large chips, I would not recommend the Octolively as a beginner kit, but I do not think that the build was overly challenging. I’d recommend it as an intermediate-level kit.