Hackers are buzzing with ideas from Pi-powered arcade machines and drones to the home automation and low-cost tablets. 10 coolest uses for the Raspberry Pi article tells that TechRepublic has delved into the Raspbery Pi’s developer forums, and here’s our round-up of the best ideas so far, ranging from the eminently achievable to the massively ambitious. You can use your Raspberry Pi for example as media streamer, arcade machine, tablet computer, robot controller and home automation controller. Rasberry Pi homepage offers also some more interesting projects like Retro games and a retro joystick.
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Tomi Engdahl says:
Real-World Pokémon Pokédex Uses OpenCV and a Raspberry Pi to Identify Objects
Designed to mimic the functionality of a “real” Pokédex, this handheld gadget has something to say about a range of objects.
https://www.hackster.io/news/real-world-pokemon-pokedex-uses-opencv-and-a-raspberry-pi-to-identify-objects-45a1e8b746e0
Tomi Engdahl says:
This “Raspberry Pi 100″ Hides a Raspberry Pi Zero Inside an Official Keyboard for Spectrum Emulation
Designed to replicate the core Raspberry Pi 400 concept at a lower cost, this simple build will serve as an eight-bit gaming box.
https://www.hackster.io/news/this-raspberry-pi-100-hides-a-raspberry-pi-zero-inside-an-official-keyboard-for-spectrum-emulation-76a183aa03ff
Tomi Engdahl says:
Raspberry Pi Creates Melody
https://hackaday.com/2022/03/28/raspberry-pi-creates-melody/
For those who are not into prog rock in the 70s or old radio shows from the 40s, the Theremin may be an unfamiliar musical instrument. As a purely electronic device, it’s well outside the realm of conventional musical instruments. Two radio antennas detect the position of the musician’s hands to make a unique sound traditionally associated with eeriness or science fiction.
Normally a set of filters and amplifiers are used to build this instrument but this build instead replaces almost everything with a Raspberry Pi Zero 2, and instead of radio antennas to detect the position of the musician’s hands a set of two HC-SR04 distance sensors are used instead. With the processing power available from the Pi, the modernized instrument is able to output MIDI as well which makes this instrument easily able to interface with programs like GarageBand or any other MIDI-capable software.
Tomi Engdahl says:
A Power Button For Raspberry Pi, Courtesy Of Device Tree Overlays
https://hackaday.com/2022/04/04/a-power-button-for-raspberry-pi-courtesy-of-device-tree-overlays/
As a standard feature of the Linux kernel, device tree overlays (DTOs) allow for easy enabling and configuration of features and drivers, such as those contained within the standard firmware of a Raspberry Pi system. Using these DTOs it’s trivial to set up features like as a soft power-off button, triggering an external power supply and enable drivers for everything from an external real-time clock (RTC) to various displays, sensors and audio devices, all without modifying the operating system or using custom scripts.
It’s also possible to add your own DTOs to create a custom overlay that combines multiple DTO commands into a single one, or create a custom device tree binary (DTB) for the target hardware. Essentially this DTB is loaded by the Linux kernel on boot to let it know which devices are connected and their configuration settings, very similar to what the BIOS component with x86-based architectures handles automatically.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Devicetree
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.tomshardware.com/features/best-raspberry-pi-projects
https://www.tomshardware.com/best-picks/best-raspberry-pi-accessories
Tomi Engdahl says:
Raspberry Pi and Raspberry Pi Pico Team Up for Robot Lawnmower Project
https://www.tomshardware.com/news/raspberry-pi-mows-lawns
A DIY project sees the electronics of a robot lawnmower drastically upgraded using two Raspberry Pi boards
Tomi Engdahl says:
PISQUARE LETS YOU RUN MULTIPLE HATS ON A RASPBERRY PI
https://hackaday.com/2022/04/13/pisquare-lets-you-run-multiple-hats-on-a-raspberry-pi/
The Raspberry Pi’s venerable 40-pin header and associated HAT ecosystem for upgrades has been a boon for the platform. It’s easy to stack extra hardware on to a Pi, even multiple times in some cases. However, if you want to run multiple HATs, and wirelessly at that, the PiSquare might just be the thing for you.
The PiSquare consists of a board featuring both RP2040 and ESP-12E microcontrollers. It interfaces with Raspberry Pi HATs and even lets you run multiple of the same HAT on a single Raspberry Pi, as it’s not actually directly using the UART, SPI, or I2C interfaces on the host Pi itself. Instead, the PiSquare communicates wirelessly with the Pi, handling the IO with the HAT itself.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Signapse Aims to Turn a Raspberry Pi Into an Artificially Intelligent Tutor for Sign Language
https://www.hackster.io/news/signapse-aims-to-turn-a-raspberry-pi-into-an-artificially-intelligent-tutor-for-sign-language-ec1a08d0fc36
Designed to automate ASL education, Signapse runs on a Raspberry Pi and monitors your progress with a CNN via the Camera Module.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Ben Akrin’s Script Lets You Flash Raspberry Pi SD Cards Automatically Over Your Local Network
In active use to manage a 70-node Raspberry Pi deployment, this handy tutorial makes keeping your OSes up to date as easy as possible.
https://www.hackster.io/news/ben-akrin-s-script-lets-you-flash-raspberry-pi-sd-cards-automatically-over-your-local-network-389eaa98f656
Tomi Engdahl says:
Raspberry Pi Powers Retro TV Gaming Console
By Ash Hill published 18 days ago
A beautiful Raspberry Pi project inside and out.
https://www.tomshardware.com/news/raspberry-pi-retro-tv-gaming-console
Tomi Engdahl says:
SOMEONE MANAGED TO FIT AN ENTIRE RASPBERRY PI COMPUTER INSIDE THE BODY OF A CASSETTE
https://www.yankodesign.com/2022/04/04/someone-managed-to-fit-an-entire-raspberry-pi-computer-into-the-body-of-a-cassette/
This isn’t a throwback. If nothing, it’s actually a throw-forward. Designed to show how far we’ve come in a span of 4 decades, this cassette has a fully-functioning Raspberry Pi computer inside it running a ZX Spectrum emulator inside it.
Stuart would write programs on the ZX Spectrum and store them on cassette tapes. 40 years later, the entire ZX Spectrum computer can practically fit inside the same cassette’s plastic body, with a few minor adjustments made to allow the parts and ports to line up perfectly.
The 5mm interior of the cassette meant Stuart had to hack together his solution. To ensure that the PCB of the Raspberry Pi Zero W didn’t end up peeking out through the cassette’s two holes, he ended up carving out a portion of the PCB, ensuring the illusion was complete. Thankfully, this didn’t affect the functionality of his computer. “I lost some GPIO ports, but it was well worth it to get the tape looking right.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
MiniDexed is a FM synthesizer closely modeled on the famous DX7 by a well-known Japanese manufacturer running on a bare metal Raspberry Pi (without a Linux kernel or operating system). On Pi Raspberry 2 and larger, it can run 8 tone generators, basically creating an open-source equivalent of the TX816/TX802 (8 DX7 instances without the keyboard in one box).
https://github.com/probonopd/MiniDexed
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2022/04/19/bare-metal-gives-this-pi-some-classic-synths/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Bare Metal Gives This Pi Some Classic Synths
https://hackaday.com/2022/04/19/bare-metal-gives-this-pi-some-classic-synths/
We’re used to seeing the Raspberry Pi crop up in a wide range of the projects we show you here, but it’s fair to say that they usually feature some sort of operating system. There’s another way to use a Pi, more akin to using a microcontroller such as the Arduino: by programming it directly, so-called bare-metal programming. MiniDexed is an example, and it copies a classic Yamaha professional synthesiser of the 1980s, by emulating the equivalent of eight of the company’s famous DX7 synthesisers in one unit. It takes almost any Pi, and with the addition of an audio board, a rotary encoder, and an LCD display, makes a ready-to-go unit. Below the break is a video of it in operation.
https://github.com/probonopd/MiniDexed
Tomi Engdahl says:
MINIDEXED – honey, I shrunk my DX7 collection
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z3t94ceMHJo
MINIDEXED is a superb implementation of 8 instances of DEXED, the free DX7 emulator, on a “bare metal” Raspberry PI. Think of a TX816 in mini format. In this video, I walk through the installation, setup and navigating the menu. Table of contents:
00:00 introduction
01:00 assembling the PI setup (LCD and rotary encoder)
01:32 other hardware needed
02:45 installing and configuring the software
03:30 navigating the menu, setting up a performance
06:34 important considerations
06:54 demo (synthwave… )
09:36 bye-bye
Resources for this project:
MINIDEXED https://github.com/probonopd/MiniDexed
Audio hat (“soundcard”): https://raspiaudio.com/
LC Display: https://bit.ly/3L6NF8N
Rotary encoder: https://bit.ly/3KSts6o
GPIO expander: https://amzn.to/3M8Kduf
You can also buy one of the sets by Freenove: https://amzn.to/3rtuvBR – these will get you a lot of components useful for synth projects.
Tomi Engdahl says:
This Raspberry Pi Baby Monitor, Integrated with Home Assistant, Includes Environmental Monitoring
Designed to include as many features as possible, this 3D-printed monitor offers everything from motion detection to a musical nightlight.
https://www.hackster.io/news/this-raspberry-pi-baby-monitor-integrated-with-home-assistant-includes-environmental-monitoring-d4f81bcf9cf1
Tomi Engdahl says:
Free Your Pi With This Bare Metal Programming Environment
https://hackaday.com/2022/05/08/free-your-pi-with-this-bare-metal-programming-environment/
[Rene Strange] has graced these fair pages a short while ago with a sweet Raspberry Pi software based poly synth, with a tantalising reference to it being a bare metal application. So now, we’ll look into circle, the bare metal programming environment that it is based upon. The platform consists of a large set of C++ classes to access the hardware as well as perform tasks such as task creation and scheduling in the cooperative multitasking, multicore environment. Supporting all Raspberry Pi boards from version 2 onwards (not including the Pico!) in both 32-bit and 64-bit flavours, the environment is pretty complete. Classes are provided for USB, networking, FatFS, as well as more mundane tasks such as dealing with interrupts. On top of these classes there are a pile of application-specific libraries, covering functions such as display interfacing, GUIs using a variety of frameworks, and some more esoteric applications such as interfacing to a Pico, and even sending the system log to a remote web browser!
https://github.com/rsta2/circle
Circle is a C++ bare metal programming environment for the Raspberry Pi. It should be usable on all existing models (tested on model A+, B, B+, on Raspberry Pi 2, 3, 4, 400 and on Raspberry Pi Zero), except on the Raspberry Pi Pico, which is not supported. Circle provides several ready-tested C++ classes and add-on libraries, which can be used to control different hardware features of the Raspberry Pi. Together with Circle there are delivered several sample programs, which demonstrate the use of its classes. Circle can be used to create 32-bit or 64-bit bare metal applications.
Circle includes bigger (optional) third-party C-libraries for specific purposes in addon/ now. This is the reason why GitHub rates the project as a C-language-project. The main Circle libraries are written in C++ using classes instead. That’s why it is called a C++ programming environment.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Nabto TCP tunnel example and Raspberry Pi setup guide
https://www.nabto.com/tcp-example-raspberry-pi-setup-guide/
In the following example we will go through the Tunnel Step-by-Step Guide with an extra setup guide for the Raspberry Pi (RPI).
The idea is to make a Nabto P2P connection to make a TCP tunnel to the SSH server on a Raspberry PI so you can remote connect to the RPI using this TCP tunnel and SSH.
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2022/05/24/hal-9000-becomes-a-helpful-voice-assistant/
Tomi Engdahl says:
This Raspberry Pi Can Save Lives
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fcuX1FTfeaA
For decades, researchers had to rely on paper, ink, and couriers to study earthquakes.
The Raspberry Shake lets you participate in citizen science. It can even help geophysicists save lives using more data!
Contents:
00:00 – Meet Raspberry Shake
01:21 – An actual expert
01:57 – Smoke paper and sesimographs
03:16 – More data, less travel
05:08 – Seismic vaults
07:18 – A sensitive subject
09:26 – How’s the Shake stack up?
11:06 – My First Earthquake
12:08 – Who cares about seismology?
15:11 – Citizen science on a global scale
Tomi Engdahl says:
ZeroPhone – a Raspberry Pi smartphone
https://hackaday.io/project/19035-zerophone-a-raspberry-pi-smartphone
Pi Zero-based open-source mobile phone (that you can assemble for 50$ in parts)
Tomi Engdahl says:
Roomba RPi
iRobot Roomba 690 enhanced with a Raspberry Pi Zero 2W and IMU.
https://hackaday.io/project/178565-roomba-rpi/discussion-175981
The purpose of this project is to enhance the functionality and capabilities of my iRobot Roomba 690 robot vacuum by adding a Raspberry Pi Zero 2W and IMU. One of the goals of this project is to be a ‘stealthy’ mod; I don’t want there to be any external changes to the Roomba that could interfere with its primary purpose of, well, vacuuming. I have several goals in mind for this project:
No external changes to the Roomba, or changes that would adversely affect its vacuuming ability.
Enable remote control via a Bluetooth controller.
Use this enhanced Roomba as a platform for learning the Robot Operating System (ROS).
Connect the Roomba RPi ROS instance to Home Assistant Note: I know that the Roomba 690 has built-in WiFi and that there is a Roomba plugin for Home Assistant, however I was only able to get it to work for a short time before the Roomba Home Assistant plugin inexplicably ceased to work.
Use the added IMU plus the Roomba’s built in sensors to improve the cleaning routine with inertial navigation.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Nicolas Hammje’s Ball-Balancing Bot Uses OpenCV on a Raspberry Pi to Stop a Ball Dead in Its Tracks
Driven by Python, this 3D-printed robot catches a ball and then adjusts its cardboard plate to keep it from rolling off.
https://www.hackster.io/news/nicolas-hammje-s-ball-balancing-bot-uses-opencv-on-a-raspberry-pi-to-stop-a-ball-dead-in-its-tracks-f8748c394bde
Tomi Engdahl says:
Raspberry Pi Temperature Sensor using the DS18B20
https://pimylifeup.com/raspberry-pi-temperature-sensor/
In this tutorial, I will be going through the steps on how to set up your very own Raspberry Pi temperature sensor.
Tomi Engdahl says:
The gpib4pi – GPIB for Raspberry Pi hat
Simple GPIB interface hat for Raspberry Pi with open hardware
https://www.hackster.io/lightside-instruments/the-gpib4pi-gpib-for-raspberry-pi-hat-4b3e9a
Tomi Engdahl says:
Shenzhen Xunlong’s Orange Pi 800 Aims to Offer a Speedy Alternative to the Raspberry Pi 400
Resolutely refusing to hide its inspiration, the Orange Pi 800 includes a six-core Rockchip RK3399 SoC and 4GB of RAM.
https://www.hackster.io/news/shenzhen-xunlong-s-orange-pi-800-aims-to-offer-a-speedy-alternative-to-the-raspberry-pi-400-4fd3200a9620
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2022/06/20/raspberry-pi-simulates-the-real-analog-tv-experience/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Putting A Little More Juice In Your Emulation Station
https://hackaday.com/2022/06/22/putting-a-little-more-juice-in-your-emulation-station/
After you’ve built a snazzy Raspberry Pi-powered retro gaming console, you might be wondering if you could have just a wee bit more power and run some of those other games you might remember, such as Xbox, Wii, or PS3. Perhaps in the future, a later revision of an RPi could handle it but currently, to emulate the 6th/7th generation of consoles, you need something a little beefier. Luckily, [Zac] got his hands on an old gaming laptop and turned it into his own game console.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cYrbpdru800
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://pimylifeup.com/raspberry-pi-dslr-camera-control/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Tony DiCola’s Freq Show Turns Any Raspberry Pi and RTL-SDR Dongle Into a Signal Visualization Tool
Compatible with Raspberry Pi boards going right back to the original Model B, this project gives you insight into the invisible world of RF.
https://www.hackster.io/news/tony-dicola-s-freq-show-turns-any-raspberry-pi-and-rtl-sdr-dongle-into-a-signal-visualization-tool-840bfcd8af41
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.mousejiggle.org/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Routernetes Uses the Power of Kubernetes Operators to Turn a Raspberry Pi Into a Flexible Router
Compatible with the Raspberry Pi 4 as well as x86-64 systems, Routernetes deploys a Kubernetes-managed router operator with ease
https://www.hackster.io/news/routernetes-uses-the-power-of-kubernetes-operators-to-turn-a-raspberry-pi-into-a-flexible-router-f9377cd41fc5
Tomi Engdahl says:
Simulate Changing the Channel on an Old-School Television with This Modified Set
The Raspberry Pi TV simulator is a monument to when a person had to rotate a dial in order to access the next station.
https://www.hackster.io/news/simulate-changing-the-channel-on-an-old-school-television-with-this-modified-set-cc326518bcf0
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://pimylifeup.com/raspberry-pi-vpn-server/
Tomi Engdahl says:
World’s first Raspberry Pi-powered CubeSat celebrates record-making orbit
https://www.raspberrypi.com/news/worlds-first-raspberry-pi-powered-cubesat-celebrates-record-making-orbit/
Mission complete! The NASA-sponsored GASPACS (Get Away Special Passive Attitude Control Satellite) CubeSat deorbited last month, following a record-making 117 days in space.
Running smoothly through solar flares
Despite facing numerous potentially mission-ending challenges, GASPACS completed all mission objectives within the first 72 hours of deployment. These challenges did allow for a good run at the craft’s secondary mission — to test whether Raspberry Pi is a cost-effective and functional substitute for much more expensive space-rated flight computers.
What did the Raspberry Pi hardware do?
GASPACS was the world’s first CubeSat to use a Raspberry Pi as its flight computer. Raspberry Pi Zero W was responsible for all onboard computing, running Python scripts developed by the team. A secondary mission of the satellite was to “test the viability of affordable commercial microcontrollers such as the Raspberry Pi.” Looks like it all went well to me!
A Raspberry Pi Camera module visually confirmed the successful deployment of the AeroBoom. Eighteen hours after deployment, GASPACS transmitted the first photograph taken by the camera, confirming the AeroBoom was working properly. Many others followed, including some with Earth visible in the background.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Retrofitted tube TV loops black and white movies
https://www.raspberrypi.com/news/retrofitted-tube-tv-loops-black-and-white-movies/
https://www.raspberrypi.com/news/play-your-retro-console-on-a-modern-tv/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.raspberrypi.com/news/raspberry-pi-zero-powers-cubesat-space-mission/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.raspberrypi.com/news/iss-mimic-a-raspberry-pi-powered-international-space-station-model-that-syncs-with-the-real-thing/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Classic Amp Revived With A Pi
https://hackaday.com/2022/07/05/classic-amp-revived-with-a-pi/
Guitar amplifiers have a hard life, and as anyone who’s run a venue can tell you, they often have significant electrical issues after a life on the road. [Dsagman] had a Vox amplifier with fried internals, and rather than repair the original he rebuilt it with a Raspberry Pi inside to provide a fully-loaded array of effects.
Though the subject is the Vox, it’s best to see this as more a tale of how to create a guitar effect array in a Pi than specifically put it in an amplifier. The Pi has an audio board and an MCP3008 ADC added to it, and using those two it takes its inputs from a series of potentiometers and process the audio passing through the audio board. In addition there are a series of LED indicators and an LED bar graph to keep the user in touch with what’s going on.
https://github.com/dsagman/guitarpedal
Guitar Pedal for Raspberry pi using Python and PYO library Technical documentation being worked on here: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1GgiD2UTEGcz-SC2rGDjdIljaK2Yn0Rs03TDFOu3duUw/edit?usp=sharing
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2022/07/07/a-mostly-fair-deal-for-all-with-a-raspberry-pi/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.tomshardware.com/news/raspberry-pi-zero-2-w-submarine
Tomi Engdahl says:
Building a Raspberry Pi HUD Headset
Redditor Zoemaestra used a Raspberry Pi to build their own low-cost HUD headset similar to Google Glass.
https://www.hackster.io/news/building-a-raspberry-pi-hud-headset-e5d0a521cfe1
Tomi Engdahl says:
Funcron’s SmallPi Packs a Raspberry Pi Zero W, Display, Battery, and More Into a Compact Cuboid
Built using off-the-shelf add-on boards, this compact portable squeezes a lot of functionality into a very small space.
https://www.hackster.io/news/funcron-s-smallpi-packs-a-raspberry-pi-zero-w-display-battery-and-more-into-a-compact-cuboid-151271b48b60
Tomi Engdahl says:
Jordan Wildon’s Pocket-Friendly OSINT Cyberdeck Packs a Raspberry Pi and Ultra-Compact Keyboard
Built around a Raspberry Pi 4, a Pimoroni HyperPixel display, and a PocketType keyboard kit, this black-and-yellow fellow packs a sting.
https://www.hackster.io/news/jordan-wildon-s-pocket-friendly-osint-cyberdeck-packs-a-raspberry-pi-and-ultra-compact-keyboard-9a390e356219
Tomi Engdahl says:
Pi Coil winder
From Hammond music coils to old Miller plug ins, it seems this style is a lost art. Lets keep it alive and open source.
https://hackaday.io/project/184012-pi-coil-winder
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://pimylifeup.com/raspberry-pi-vpn-access-point/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.hackster.io/ruialves/pi-based-real-time-arrivals-and-departures-board-7d60a6
Tomi Engdahl says:
Embedded Raspberry Pi Compute Module 4 KVM Card Offers Full Remote Control
By Ian Evenden published 3 days ago
KVM, over IP, for less than $200?
https://www.tomshardware.com/news/blicube-blikvm-remote-access-raspberry-pi
Tomi Engdahl says:
A Solenoid and an Amplifier Allow This Raspberry Pi to Sing You a Song While It Works
By picking up electromagnetic interference with the solenoid and amplifying it into audio signals, you too can hear your machine think.
https://www.hackster.io/news/a-solenoid-and-an-amplifier-allow-this-raspberry-pi-to-sing-you-a-song-while-it-works-ee8b090e42c9
Tomi Engdahl says:
Adafruit and Raspberry Pi parts monitor building materials on the Space Station https://blog.adafruit.com/2022/07/29/adafruit-and-raspberry-pi-parts-monitor-building-materials-on-the-space-station-iss-space-piday-raspberry_pi-adafruit/
The Biopolymer Research of In-Situ Capabilities is an experiment developed by Nanoracks and Stanford University. This research will be used to determine how microgravity affects the process of creating biopolymer soil composite (BSC).