Building a Pigeon Deterrent Water Turret With Claude AI — Zero Code Written

A Reddit user built a fully automated pigeon deterrent water turret using Claude AI — from component selection to electrical schematics to all the code — without writing a single line themselves. The project, GardenGuardian, runs on a Raspberry Pi 5 with an AI HAT, Pan-Tilt HAT, camera, servo motors, and a modified water gun.

Hardware Stack

• Raspberry Pi 5 AI Kit (available from Kubii)
• Pan-Tilt HAT from WaveShare
• Camera Module V3
• Servo motors (from the pan-tilt assembly)
• Electrical water gun (disassembled for pump + battery)
• Optical relay (5V, for switching the pump)
• Wires and basic electronics kit

How Claude AI Was Used

Claude handled every technical decision:

• Component selection: Claude recommended the specific hardware list above based on the project requirements.
• Schematics: Claude generated electrical wiring diagrams that the author could follow despite having no prior robotics experience.
• Code: Everything from camera integration to motor control to detection logic was written by Claude. The author wrote zero lines of code.
• On-device execution: Claude Code was installed directly on the Raspberry Pi so it could interact with camera, motors, and GPIO in real time over SSH.

Workflow

The author iterated extensively on specifications before ordering hardware, had Claude memorize everything during shipping delays, and then ran Claude Code directly on the Pi for final assembly and testing. The hardest parts: thinking through the specs, waiting for hardware, and physically mounting the water pump on the servo with electrical tape.

Results

Two demos were shared — one of the turret tracking and shooting at the author, and another of a pigeon being successfully repelled. The next planned upgrades: a waterproof case and a solar panel + battery setup, all to be designed by Claude.

Source Code

Full source is available on GitHub: tarraschk/GardenGuardian

Who This Is For

Developers curious about the practical limits of AI coding agents for hardware projects, or anyone wanting to build a similar automated deterrent without learning electronics or Python.