On today’s edition of “weirdest thing on Internet” is this talking skull, specifically a skull that response – complete with creepy animation – to your question. Yep, Project Yorick, as it is called, is exactly what you think it is: A robotic skull serving as Amazon’s voice assistant, Alexa’s mouthpiece. Created by self-described aspiring roboticist, YouTuber ViennaMike, this fit-for-Halloween talking skull is inspired by the we-still-think-is-creepy-as-hell Alexa Billy Bass we saw last year. Sure, objectively, a fish by itself may not sound as creepy as a skull, but it is still a freaking fish that talks! Man, that was like straight out of Alice in Wonderland or something.
While Project Yorick, which is named with reference to the skull of a court jester in Shakespeare’s Hamlet, is not as disturbing as a talking a bass, it is no less ominous. The three-axis skull response to your question to Alexa animatedly and like the fish variety, the jaw actually moves in sync with the speech and that, my friends, is the part which totally remind me of the Crypt Keeper. Speaking of which, it probably could use some faux dead flesh on it, along with some dry as f@*k hair on it and also, Alexa voice should totally be that of John Kassir’s, so you can have your very own Crypt Keeper to answer all your silly ass and sometimes creepy questions (like, you know, Alexa, are you connected to CIA?). I mean, if you want to be creepy, why not crank up the scale through the roof, right?
Project Yorick is a totally brilliant hack one could do for Alexa, but still, it could use a little tweak here and there, such as integrating the speakers into the skull as opposed to the current ominous mood-destroying, non-discreet powered speakers setup. That said, if you think you can do better or simply want to have a go with this wonderful hack, then head down to Project Yorick’s page and follow ViennaMike’s instructions. In the meantime, you can get your fix of creepiness in the embedded video below. We promised, it is not as creepy as it sounds (or looks).
Image: screengrab from YouTube video.
