A lot of people try to cheat in exams which is why several measures are put in place to catch cheaters. One of them is banning the use of gadgets. However, basic calculators are still allowed in examination halls.
But to be honest, cheating isn’t easy and you need to be smart enough to cheat successfully. So a YouTuber decided to put his hacking skills to use and upgraded a regular Casio calculator with a secret OLED screen, Wi-Fi, and a chat feature to create the perfect cheating device.
Hacking A Regular Casio Calculator
The Indian YouTuber who goes by the name ‘Neutrino‘ on the platform decided to upgrade his Casio fx-991MS scientific calculator. He replaced the small solar panel on the calculator with a tiny OLED display which looks quite similar. To the unsuspicious eye, it might even go undetected.
Next, he added an ESP8266 wifi module and a rechargeable battery to the device. The best part is that he managed to add all of that without modifying the physical appearance of the calculator.
You must be wondering what a Wi-Fi functionality could do in a calculator that you can’t actually program. But Neutrino cleverly used this functionality to fetch pre-uploaded data from the mobile development platform Firebase. From there, one can fetch any data like mathematical formulas, laws, sentences, or anything that can help you clear your exams.
He even added a basic chat functionality to the calculator with pre-programmed questions and responses.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B_kMcycDqLR/
Using The Cheating Calculator In Real Life
The most important question is how does one use these impressive new cheating capabilities of the calculator without drawing attention?
He could have manipulated the calculator’s keypad to this end, but it would have killed or limited its ability to perform its basic operation — and that is crunching numbers. Not to mention the fact that it could easily blow up his cover if someone decided to use the calculator.
So Neutrino came up with a covert interface using hidden sensors and magnets. He used a small magnet hidden in a pen cap or beneath a pencil’s eraser to trigger a switch which turns the OLED display on.
He used another sensor that also responds to the strength of a magnetic field. It allows you to navigate menus, select items, and scroll the content by tapping on the top edge of the calculator with the magnetic end.
https://youtu.be/xGjS5958g1g
Overall, I must say that the design and execution of the device is outstandingly clever. And in no way is this a quick hack that can be whipped up in minutes. The YouTuber did spend a lot of time in assembling and programming the perfect cheating device.
In fact, one might even argue that actually studying for an exam might take less time than this. But we gotta admit that this was nevertheless a brilliant hack! 😁
