A webcam made of LEGO. Because of course.

An old Creative USB webcam, an ESP32, a tiny servo, and an excellent excuse to play.

What do you do when you want to close your laptop during a Zoom call but still need a webcam? Build your own out of LEGO, of course.

I put an old Creative USB webcam inside a LEGO build, added an ESP32 and a tiny servo, and gave it a moving cover. The board runs a small HTTP API over Wi-Fi. macOS Automator sends the requests, with keyboard shortcuts mapped to the custom buttons on my mouse. One click opens the cover. Another closes it. One mouse click and I physically disappear.

Along the way, I learned how to write an API that can run on an ESP32. Not bad for an excuse to play with LEGO.

Could I have just bought a regular webcam? Sure. But where’s the fun in that?

Overengineered? Yes. Regrets? Zero. LEGO, electronics, automation. I’m having a great time.

Thanks, M5Stack, for making hardware hacks this simple.

The LEGO webcam on the desk, with its M5Stack servo on the side and a blue minifigure on top. — The finished contraption. Pilot included.

Front view of the LEGO webcam on top of a monitor, with the lens exposed and the cover raised. — Ready for a call.

The webcam with the top removed, revealing the old USB camera circuit board inside the LEGO housing. — Old webcam, new home.

Rear view showing the LEGO bracket holding the camera on the monitor, the servo wiring and the USB cable. — The mount is LEGO too. Naturally.

You have to see it in action.