Even though it seems like forever, the phenomenon of "rickrolling" has only been around since 2007. It was started as an inside joke by a 19-year-old who just wanted to troll his buddies, but ended up becoming one of the Internet's most popular memes with over 66 million views (as of this writing).
Even the cast of Mad Men got in on the action (well, sort of).
Almost six years later, countless pranks have involved the now classic tactic, so it was only a matter of time before someone turned it into a physical device. Software engineer Zach Rattner created the rroll, a small Arduino device that rickrolls anyone who comes within six feet of it.
The rroll uses an ultrasonic sensor to detect physical proximity, then starts playing Rick Astley's Never Gonna Give You Up until they walk away. Anytime someone comes back into range, it picks up right where it left off. And the best part is that it's small enough to hide.
It's composed of an Arduino Uno hooked up to an MP3 shield and some portable speakers, all thrown inside a small aluminum enclosure. The only downside is that the parts can get pretty pricey if you don't already have some of them lying around.
As for putting it together, Zach says he just "hot glued the components into place inside the casing to make a semi-permanent device." Check out the video to see it in action.
If you're interested in building one, you can find the parts list over on Zach's blog, and download the code here.
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