Do it Yourself: Automatic Tinder Finger
In a minimalist DIY approach to save their over-eager fingers from carpal tunnel syndrome, a few makers tried their hands at hacking the mobile matchmaking app Tinder.
On average, male users of the Tinder flirting app “like” about every other female profile. Some, in order to “maximize their chances”, approach 100%. Instead of wearing out their thumbs all day, a few (male) makers put together more or less elaborate systems to automate the gesture. Solutions in review.
Basic
The simplest system is the work of George Elmer. The Arduino-based contraption features a servomotor that oscillates to tap ad infinitum on the green heart, piling up the likes. It’s also one of the fastest, with about 1 like every 2 seconds, or 1800 likes per hour—without a cramp.
Swipe
James Befurt adds a tactile stylus that swipes across the screen.
3D printed
Andrew Sink uses a slightly more anthropomorphic 3D-printed finger from the InMoov open source robot and calls the result Tinder-O-Matic.
Silicon
Taking an artistic approach, Tully Arnot grafts a silicon finger to a motor in his Lonely sculpture installation.
Butcher
Marcello Gómez Maureira goes even further, using a real piece of raw meat to denounce the meat market that Tinder represents to him with his installation Tender – It’s how people meat.
Oversized
All these prototypes use a simple Arduino and a motor, or just a motor for the meat model. Only the design of the “finger” differentiates them. Julian Heden opted for a more complicated set-up using a Raspberry Pi, a motor and an ultra-sonic sensor switch.
If you have any other solutions for this DIY, please share!