the TeddyBORG mod
Total cost: ~$80

I've improved upon MIT's original design a little by adding LEDs


Supplies and Tools 		The first thing I did was to gather tools and supplies. Pictured to the left are most of the tools I used and even a few that I didn't. This project included:

(1) teddy bear (20" or bigger is a good size)
(1) D-Link 5-port 10/100 Ethernet switch
(5) RJ-45 jacks
(5) RJ-45 connectors
(5) 2 color LEDs
(1) Red LED
Approximately 3 feet Category 5 network cable
Approximately 6 feet of hookup wire
RJ-45 Crimper, perfboard, superglue, soldering iron, scissors, drill, all purpose adhesive, sewing kit, clamps (I used "chip clips")

After gathering the tools and supplies, I started by making ethernet extension cords. I made 4 extensions that were about 6-8 inches long and 1 that was 3 or 4 inches long. I then attached perfboard as a frame around the jacks. I glued a 2 color LED to the frame with the leads sticking through the perfboard's holes. I then attached 6-8 inches of hookup wire to each of the LED's leads.

Ethernet Extension
Jack w/ Perfboard Frame

Inside-out Teddybear 		After prepping the cables, I opened up the switch and desoldered the LEDs. I then cut the bear open from neck to tail, removed all the stuffing and inverted the bear. I marked and cut holes on the paws for the jacks. One at a time, I glued each of the jacks into place and clamped it with the chip clips. After the glue dried, I inverted the bear and restuffed the legs. I now had leads coming out of each limb. The next step was to drill the eyes out so that they would each accommodate 1 LED. Once drilled, one red LED was glued into each eye. Leads were attached to the LEDs so that they could be attached to the switch's circuit board. Restuffed the head, and started attaching the LEDs to the circuit board. I wish I had pictures of the circuit board, but alas, I forgot to take them. The switch is put back together, with wires sticking out in all directions, and the ethernet extensions are plugged in.
The switch and more stuffing goes into the bear, and sewing begins. I made an extension for the power so that the switch didn't have to be up against the back of the bear (like MITs did). The final ethernet jack and power were sewed in to provide Matrix-like jacks in the back of the head. All in all, a good, fun project.
Working Power Light

Working Activity LED
Finished Feet

Clamps in action
Power and Uplink
That concludes my TeddyBORG construction tutorial. You can see a picture of the TeddyBORG in action by clicking the link below.

TeddyBORG in Action (172kb)



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