Raspberry Pi Pico board

Interesting new micro-controller board and custom chip from Raspberry Pi: Raspberry Pi Pico.

Pico provides a single push button, which can be used to enter USB mass-storage mode at boot time and also as a general input, and a single LED. It exposes 26 of the 30 GPIO pins on RP2040, including three of the four analogue inputs, to 0.1”-pitch pads; you can solder headers to these pads or take advantage of their castellated edges to solder Pico directly to a carrier board.

It is programmable with Python and C/C++. Cross-platform toolchain for development on Windows, macOS, and Linux — including, naturally, the Raspberry Pi family itself Supports TensorFlow Lite.

Raspberry Pi is looking to do for the microcontroller market what they’ve already done for single-board computers with the launch of the Pico. The board — priced at just $4 — is based on the RP2040, a dual-core Cortex-M0+ processor designed in house. It designed to be easy to taken into use.

Announcement at Facebook says:

It’s been a big week. We launched something tiny, something new – Raspberry Pi Pico, just for you.

Read all about it, plus everything else that went down at Raspberry Pi in the last few days, in Raspberry Pi Weekly.

https://www.raspberrypi.org/weekly/raspberry-pi-pico-has-landed/

Raspberry Pi’s just-announced Pico board! Powered by RPi’s first custom silicon, the RP2040, this little board breaks out 26 GPIO pins and is designed to be embeddable. Let’s take a look!

More information:
https://www.hackster.io/news/hands-on-with-the-rp2040-and-pico-the-first-in-house-silicon-and-microcontroller-from-raspberry-pi-effc452fc25d
https://www.raspberrypi.org/blog/raspberry-pi-silicon-pico-now-on-sale/
https://www.raspberrypi.org/documentation/pico/getting-started/
https://projects.raspberrypi.org/en/projects/getting-started-with-the-pico
https://github.com/raspberrypi/pico-tflmicro
https://www.hackster.io/gatoninja236/raspberry-pi-pico-hackster-spotlight-69ccb1
https://www.hackster.io/news/hands-on-with-the-rp2040-and-pico-the-first-in-house-silicon-and-microcontroller-from-raspberry-pi-effc452fc25d

743 Comments

  1. Tomi Engdahl says:

    This Pico-W IoT Starter Project Gets You Into Home Assistant Quick As A Flash
    https://hackaday.com/2022/09/03/this-pico-w-iot-starter-project-gets-you-into-home-assistant-quick-as-a-flash/

    Many of us hacker types with some hardware knowledge and a smattering of embedded experience would like to get into home automation, but there can be quite a learning curve. If you’re looking for a hackable starting point; something to deploy, learn about and then later expand upon, then look no further than the PicoW Home Assistant Starter project from [Danilo Campos].

    The project is based upon the arduino-pico core, which supports a whole pile of RP2040-based boards, so you don’t need to restrict yourself to the “official” Pico-W, so long as you have working networking, Wi-Fi or otherwise. Integration is provided by the arduino-home-assistant library, which acts as the bridge between your sensors and other widgets, MQTT, and thence the network beyond.

    https://github.com/daniloc/PicoW_HomeAssistant_Starter

    Reply
  2. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Canique Pico Gateway
    An 868MHz to MQTT message gateway using a Raspberry Pico
    https://hackaday.io/project/186999-canique-pico-gateway

    Reply
  3. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Using CircuitPython, this compact machine learning project takes camera input and looks for digits to classify.

    Ashish Patil’s TinyML Raspberry Pi Pico Project Handles Handwritten Digit Recognition On-Device
    https://www.hackster.io/news/ashish-patil-s-tinyml-raspberry-pi-pico-project-handles-handwritten-digit-recognition-on-device-d22373eee680

    Using CircuitPython, this compact machine learning project takes camera input and looks for digits to classify.

    Software developer Ashish Patil has put together a step-by-step guide to computer vision work on the Raspberry Pi Pico, processing the image from a camera sensor to recognize handwritten digits.

    “[This is] a project using Raspberry Pi Pico, an [Omnivision] OV7670 camera module, a 120×160 TFT LCD display, and machine learning” Patil explains of his creation, “to build a portable handwritten digit classification system. [It] analyzes photos received from a camera and tries to infer what digit was present in the image.”

    Reply
  4. Tomi Engdahl says:

    RP2040-Gamepad
    https://hackaday.io/project/187139-rp2040-gamepad

    A +Control_Pad compliant gamepad utilizing the RP2040 microcontroller. Used for teaching noobs how to reflow solder at my university!

    Reply
  5. Tomi Engdahl says:

    David Johnson-Davies’ Raspberry Pi Pico W Messenger Is a uLisp-Powered Wireless Display
    https://www.hackster.io/news/david-johnson-davies-raspberry-pi-pico-w-messenger-is-a-ulisp-powered-wireless-display-a6b1cb9c7da2

    Eschewing MicroPython or CircuitPython, this project gives you an easy way to send eight-character messages to your loved ones.

    Reply
  6. Tomi Engdahl says:

    DeepPicarMicro Crams NVIDIA’s PilotNet Autonomous Vehicle Neural Network Into a Raspberry Pi Pico
    Clever optimization approaches take a CNN model designed for high-end GPUs and run it on the low-cost RP2040.
    https://www.hackster.io/news/deeppicarmicro-crams-nvidia-s-pilotnet-autonomous-vehicle-neural-network-into-a-raspberry-pi-pico-2a0b8a38e18e

    trio of scientists from the University of Kansas have published a paper on DeepPicarMicro, an autonomous vehicle testbed, which crams a fully-functional convolutional neural network (CNN) onto a Raspberry Pi Pico microcontroller board.

    “Running deep neural networks (DNNs) on tiny Microcontroller Units (MCUs) is challenging due to their limitations in computing, memory, and storage capacity,” the team admits. “Fortunately, recent advances in both MCU hardware and machine learning software frameworks make it possible to run fairly complex neural networks on modern MCUs, resulting in a new field of study widely known as tinyML. However, there have been few studies to show the potential for tinyML applications in cyber physical systems (CPS).”

    Reply
  7. Tomi Engdahl says:

    L6EXP – L6 Relay Rattler – Perfboarded Circlular Test Build
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6aXU6CzP1Dk

    This is the Relay Rattler. It is a simple circuit anyone can build and was designed to add sequenced and manual rhythms to a Noise Box I am building. It is Raspberry Pi Pico based, but could easily be ported to any microcontroller. It currently has three modes: 1=Manual, 2=Pattern 1, 3=Pattern 2. The rotary knob will rifle through the 8 relays in Mode 1. In the pattern modes, it determines delay timing.

    The relays run no actual load, but only get their coils triggered on/off by the GPIO lines of the Pico, giving that distinct electro-mechanical “clack”.

    This is the perfboarded circular build to test whether I can get “doppler effect” or even just subtle volume differences with a pickup mic in one corner of the Noise Box.

    GitHub: https://github.com/lleevveell66/RelayRattler

    Reply
  8. Tomi Engdahl says:

    A new path from hobbyist to embedded and IoT development: Raspberry Pi Pico W
    https://www.arm.com/blogs/blueprint/raspberry-pi-pico-w

    Eben Upton, Founder and CEO at Raspberry Pi, introduces the new Arm-powered Raspberry Pi Pico W, a microcontroller board aimed at hobbyists and professional design engineers.

    Reply
  9. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Dr. Tom Tilley’s Paw Patrol Toy Is a Real Racer, Playing Super Hang-On via a Raspberry Pi Pico Mod
    Having picked up a Paw Patrol-themed motorcycle toy for just $5, Tilley set about making it a usable input device for Super Hang-On.
    https://www.hackster.io/news/dr-tom-tilley-s-paw-patrol-toy-is-a-real-racer-playing-super-hang-on-via-a-raspberry-pi-pico-mod-50a501545e3c

    Reply
  10. Tomi Engdahl says:

    DeepPicarMicro Crams NVIDIA’s PilotNet Autonomous Vehicle Neural Network Into a Raspberry Pi Pico
    Clever optimization approaches take a CNN model designed for high-end GPUs and run it on the low-cost RP2040.
    https://www.hackster.io/news/deeppicarmicro-crams-nvidia-s-pilotnet-autonomous-vehicle-neural-network-into-a-raspberry-pi-pico-2a0b8a38e18e

    Reply
  11. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Stefan Lenz built a Nano RP2040-based standalone computer running a BASIC dialect that’s suitable for IoT and interactive work.

    A Arduino RP2040 Standalone IoT Computer Running BASIC
    https://www.instructables.com/A-Arduino-RP2040-Standalone-IoT-Computer-Running-B/

    This instructable is about building standalone computers running a BASIC dialect suitable for IoT and interactive work. It uses low cost components that are readily available and can be integrated without much difficulty.

    So why running BASIC on a microcontroller? Everyone who has programmed on 80s microcontrollers misses one thing on modern computer. It is the ease of use when you want to do something quickly. You could just type in a small program interactively, debug it and step by step extend it. No compiler, IDE, and other stuff in your way. Many IoT programs are really simple. Read a sensor and transfer the data. This can very well done with a really simple programming language.

    The computer which is the main character in this story is based on an Arduino RP2040 connect. It has an SD card filesystem, and a 480×320 colour display with 30×20 text character and a 16×16 default font. It has a real time clock for exact time and a PS2 keyboard for input. A thermo printer can be connected serially. Any 7-12V power supply can be used as the board has a 5V voltage regulator. There is 64kB of usable BASIC memory and 2 GB disk space.

    Reply
  12. Tomi Engdahl says:

    PicoPad
    A gamepad utilizing the RP2040 Microcontroller. Comes in low-cost and high-performance versions.
    https://hackaday.io/project/187139-picopad

    This project contains the development log, instructions, source files, and additional information about a gamepad designed utilizing the Raspberry Pico’s focal microcontroller, the RP2040.

    The gamepad was originally designed as a board to teach reflow soldering at my university makerspaces, but also contains a second variant of the design that I made for myself.

    The gamepad was originally intended to be a microcontroller breakout board, students taking the soldering practice exercise get given a useful microcontroller that they can utilize in their projects after being inducted into the makerspace. After its initial revisions, I expanded the scope of the project to allow for something I would want to use (The type A version, made for students, is limited).

    Reply
  13. Tomi Engdahl says:

    PicoGamePad
    A gamepad utilizing the RP2040 Microcontroller. Comes in low-cost and high-performance versions.
    https://hackaday.io/project/187139-picogamepad

    This project contains the development log, instructions, source files, and additional information about a gamepad designed utilizing the Raspberry Pico’s focal microcontroller, the RP2040.

    The gamepad was originally designed as a board to teach reflow soldering at my university makerspaces, but also contains a second variant of the design that I made for myself.

    Variants:

    Type A: Designed for the UNSW Makerspaces, as a soldering induction board. Low cost (literal bare minimum), intended for large scale manufacture.
    Type B: Designed for a general audience (and myself), larger board, better quality components, better firmware, higher performance.

    Features (A):

    Raspberry Pi compatible* 2×20 Pinheader
    Functional D-Pad (4-button) & A+B controls
    Functions as a NES style game controller over USB-C
    Can be programmed to perform as a microcontroller for general purpose applications
    16Mbit Flash Memory
    Firmware has been designed for minimal user interaction (less configuration)

    Reply
  14. Tomi Engdahl says:

    ComputeDeck-B3
    Raspberry Pi Zero W 2 Arm mounted Cyberdeck with a Chorded Keyboard
    https://hackaday.io/project/182590-computedeck-b3

    Reply
  15. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Low-Cost 3D Printed Robotic Arm
    A low cost 6 degree of freedom robotic arm with an overall reach of 4 feet
    https://hackaday.io/project/173249-low-cost-3d-printed-robotic-arm

    Reply
  16. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Open Book Abridged: OSHW E-Reader Now Simplified, Pico-Driven
    https://hackaday.com/2022/09/29/open-book-abridged-oshw-e-reader-now-simplified-pico-driven/

    If you ever looked for open-source e-readers, you’ve no doubt seen [Joey Castillo]’s Open Book reader, but you might not yet have seen the Abridged version he’s building around a Raspberry Pi Pico.

    The Open Book project pairs a 4.2″ E-Ink screen with microprocessors we all know and love, building a hacker-friendly e-reader platform. Two years ago, this project won first place in our Adafruit Feather contest — the Feather footprint making the Open Book compatible with a wide range of MCUs, giving hackers choice on which CPU their hackable e-reader would run. Now, it’s time for a RP2040-based reboot.

    https://github.com/joeycastillo/The-Open-Book/tree/reboot

    Reply
  17. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Thomas Poll’s Poly Keyboard Packs a Raspberry Pi Pico to Drive a Display Under Every Key
    Designed as a split ortholinear layout, the Poly Keyboard can speak any language — by adjusting its keycaps on the fly.
    https://www.hackster.io/news/thomas-poll-s-poly-keyboard-packs-a-raspberry-pi-pico-to-drive-a-display-under-every-key-0f28a5d69ff8

    Reply
  18. Tomi Engdahl says:

    PICOmputer ZX – Pocket ZX Spectrum
    Powered by Raspberry Pi PICO
    https://hackaday.io/project/184965-picomputer-zx-pocket-zx-spectrum

    Reply
  19. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Designed to run from 6V up to 40V, this handy board aims to simplify your automation projects in MicroPython or C++.

    Pimoroni’s Automation 2040 W Mini Packs a Raspberry Pi Pico W for Up-to-40V Automation Projects
    https://www.hackster.io/news/pimoroni-s-automation-2040-w-mini-packs-a-raspberry-pi-pico-w-for-up-to-40v-automation-projects-29b70f8b02a1

    Designed to run from 6V up to 40V, this handy board aims to simplify your automation projects in MicroPython or C++.

    Sheffield, UK-based Pimoroni has announced the latest device in its Raspberry Pi RP2040-powered range: The Automation 2040 W Mini, built around the Raspberry Pi Pico W development board-slash-module.

    “Automation 2040 W Mini is a compact Pico W/RP2040 powered monitoring and automation board,” the company explains of its latest launch. “It has a host of useful features for controlling other bits of electronic and industrial kit – analog channels, powered outputs, buffered inputs and a relay. Perfect for controlling fans, pumps, solenoids, chunky motors, electronic locks, or static LED lighting (up to 40V).”

    From this, the board exposes three 12-bit analog to digital converter (ADC) inputs suitable for up to 40V, two digital inputs safe to the same voltage, two digital sourcing outputs, which operate at supply voltage with 4A continuous current or 2A when configured as a 500Hz pulse-width modulated (PWM) signal, and a single relay with normally-closed and normally-open terminal supporting up to 2A at up to 24V or 1A at up to 40V.

    As the W-suffixed variant, it also includes 2.4GHz Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity — though, at the time of writing, only Wi-Fi was supported in the device’s firmware.

    Reply
  20. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Raspberry PICO Nixie Clock Lcd
    Make Nixie Clock for ST7735+Raspberry PICO
    https://hackaday.io/project/187676-raspberry-pico-nixie-clock-lcd

    Reply
  21. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Raspberry Pi Pico Guitar Pedal #raspberrypi #pico
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihGe2fSsduo

    ilcardella /
    pico-pedal
    https://github.com/ilcardella/pico-pedal

    RasPi 8: Guitar Pedal Effected by Raspberry Pi Pico (Frequently Anticipated Questions)
    https://ukulele.jimmykenmerchant.com/internet/?raspi_8

    Reply
  22. Tomi Engdahl says:

    How To Make Your Own Pedal Stream Controller with Raspberry Pi Pico
    By Les Pounder
    published January 30, 2022

    Build your own DIY stream control pedal using the Raspberry Pi Pico.
    https://www.tomshardware.com/how-to/pedal-stream-controller-raspberry-pi-pico

    Reply
  23. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Jonathan Pallant’s Neotron Pico Personal Computer Hits Beta with a 25-Board Production Run
    Designed to fit in modern PC cases, the Raspberry Pi Pico-powered Neotron Pico boasts expansion slots and a Rust-based CP/M-like OS.
    https://www.hackster.io/news/jonathan-pallant-s-neotron-pico-personal-computer-hits-beta-with-a-25-board-production-run-f9427a89bdf5

    Reply
  24. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Learn how to connect your Raspberry Pi Pico W board to AWS IoT Core using MicroPython and MQTT.

    Connect your Raspberry Pi Pico W to AWS IoT Core
    https://www.hackster.io/sandeep-mistry/connect-your-raspberry-pi-pico-w-to-aws-iot-core-8868b7

    Learn how to connect your Raspberry Pi Pico W board to AWS IoT Core using MicroPython and MQTT.

    Reply
  25. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Solder Party’s Latest FlexyPin Board Gives a Raspberry Pi Pico or Pico W an Arduino Uno Form Factor
    https://www.hackster.io/news/solder-party-s-latest-flexypin-board-gives-a-raspberry-pi-pico-or-pico-w-an-arduino-uno-form-factor-5f51126cc0bb

    At just $1.50, Solder Party’s latest open-hardware board design is a quick way to bring Uno-style shield support to the Raspberry Pi Pico.

    Reply
  26. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Chen Liang’s Wireless Thin Client Takes the Concept to the Limit with an ESP32 or RP2040 Heart
    Designed to connect to a VNC server running on something more powerful, this low-cost build could be the thinnest thin client ever.
    https://www.hackster.io/news/chen-liang-s-wireless-thin-client-takes-the-concept-to-the-limit-with-an-esp32-or-rp2040-heart-7d0cab94a9cf

    Reply
  27. Tomi Engdahl says:

    CircuitPython 8.0.0 Beta Brings New “Wi-Fi Workflow,” Initial Raspberry Pi Pico W Wi-Fi Support
    Other improvements include bulk analog input support, new board compatibility, and a smart status line to aid troubleshooting.
    https://www.hackster.io/news/circuitpython-8-0-0-beta-brings-new-wi-fi-workflow-initial-raspberry-pi-pico-w-wi-fi-support-f4be17b63db5

    Reply
  28. Tomi Engdahl says:

    RPi Volume Controller
    RP2040 and CircuitPython powered volume controller
    https://hackaday.io/project/187936-rpi-volume-controller

    An RP2040 microcontroller running a script which allows for analog input from a potentiometer to control volume as well as capacitive pin registering which allows for a touch based mute option.Currently a work in progress. All the functionality and logic in the code works but there is one small issue in the LED light logic which needs to be sorted. Once the mute button is triggered and the red/green LED pattern is set, it does not revert back to other red/green LED patterns once the mute option is broken out of by setting a new volume position with the potentiometer. Also, a casing solution and better wiring needs to be designed and implemented in order to create a more cohesive and rugged peripheral device.

    Reply
  29. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Need An USB-I2C Adapter? Use Your Pico!
    https://hackaday.com/2022/10/31/need-an-usb-i2c-adapter-use-your-pico/

    Given its abundance and simplicity, the RP2040 has no doubt become a favourite for USB peripheral building – in particular, USB-connected tools for electronics experiments. Today, we see one more addition to our Pico-based tool arsenal – a USB-I2C adapter firmware for RP2040 by [Renze Nicolai]. This is a reimplementation of the ATTiny-based I2C-Tiny-USB project and complies to the same protocol – thus, it’s compatible with the i2c-tiny-usb driver that’s been in the Linux kernel for ages. Just drag&drop the .uf2, run a script on your Linux system, and you will get a /dev/i2c-X device you can work with from userspace code, or attach other kernel drivers to.

    The software will work with any RP2040 devboard – just connect your I2C devices to the defined pins and you’ll have them show up in i2cdetect output on your Linux workstation.

    https://github.com/Nicolai-Electronics/rp2040-i2c-interface

    Reply
  30. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Packing the height of 1990s network document sharing technology onto a microcontroller, the PicoGopher is retro networking on-the-go.

    Davide Eynard’s PicoGopher Puts a ’90s Network Protocol on a Raspberry Pi Pico W — and in a Backpack
    https://www.hackster.io/news/davide-eynard-s-picogopher-puts-a-90s-network-protocol-on-a-raspberry-pi-pico-w-and-in-a-backpack-dd3cc41995a6

    Packing the height of 1990s network document sharing technology onto a microcontroller, the PicoGopher is retro networking on-the-go.

    Reply
  31. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Using a Raspberry Pi Pico to Convert Keyboard Input to Morse Code
    https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=9ong3hrKNIg&feature=youtu.be

    Reply
  32. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Jeff Epler’s Quick-and-Easy CircuitPython Adapter Brings an Old IBM Model F Keyboard to USB PCs
    Using a classic IBM buckling-spring keyboard isn’t as easy as just plugging it in, but Epler’s adapter is nearly as quick.
    https://www.hackster.io/news/jeff-epler-s-quick-and-easy-circuitpython-adapter-brings-an-old-ibm-model-f-keyboard-to-usb-pcs-1d7b73b49134

    Reply
  33. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Educational coding network non-profit Hack Club is hoping to get people developing their own games in JavaScript, offering a free Raspberry Pi Pico-powered handheld console on which they can run to every interested “teenage hacker” who can write a game for it: the Sprig.

    Hack Club’s Sprig Is a Raspberry Pi Pico-Powered JavaScript Games Console — Free for Teen Coders
    https://www.hackster.io/news/hack-club-s-sprig-is-a-raspberry-pi-pico-powered-javascript-games-console-free-for-teen-coders-6bee5774d8e6

    Write a game and win a console — if you’re a teen or younger, at least.

    Reply
  34. Tomi Engdahl says:

    A Pi Pico Oscilloscope
    https://hackaday.com/2022/11/06/a-pi-pico-oscilloscope/

    At the budget end of the oscilloscope range lie the so-called pocket ‘scopes. About the size of a deck of cards, they combine a microcontroller and an LCD screen to make an instrument with a bandwidth in the tens of kilohertz and a not-too-sparkling performance. They’re something of a toy, but then again, if all that’s needed is a simple ‘scope for audio frequencies, they make a passable choice in a small package. Now [jgpeiro] has made one which is light years ahead of the toy kits, using a Raspberry Pi Pico, a 100 MHz ADC, and an effort to design a better input circuit.

    https://hackaday.io/project/188051-rpscope

    This project is a dual channel oscilloscope based on RP2040. It has a 100MSps ADC, a 480*320 IPS TFT and a dual channel 100MHz BW front-end.
    The software is based on MicroPython and LVGL and DMA and PIO are used to achive the highest possible througput.

    Reply
  35. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Raspberry Pi Pico: Tutorials, Pinout, What You Need to Know (Updated)
    By Les Pounder last updated June 30, 2022
    How to make the most of the Raspberry Pi Pico and Raspberry Pi Pico W
    https://www.tomshardware.com/news/raspberry-pi-pico-tutorials-pinout-everything-you-need-to-know

    Reply

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