Best Projects Created With Raspberry Pi – Part 10

Raspberry Pi is rated as one of the best computing devices for the dynamic world of prototype experimentation and Do-It-Yourself projects. The PI is a very versatile computer praised for its ability to enhance computing activities in any niche from astronomy, computer science to environmental science.

From the start of this series, we have been reviewing the PI and offering information ranging from the best Raspberry operating systems, how to use python with the PI  to ten things lists rating best raspberry products and add-ons. Today is a continuation of the ten things list which was kicked off by ten Raspberry Linux distros to watch out for in 2018. We will review five of the best Raspberry projects that have already experimented with. Some of them you can try out yourself or use as a benchmark for your own projects.

raspberry pi project

Best Projects Created With Raspberry Pi

Raspberry GPS

raspberry pi gps

Thanks to Linux and Adafruit you can easily set up a position tracking system on your PI. This is simple and inexpensive for you only need basic circuit connection skills and the open source GPS daemon. A USB to TTL adapter cable or a direct connection wire to connect to the PI’s pre-built UART pins. With this, you can navigate your way through a system that will bring to your device location information,  universal time and date as well as speed and altitude.  

Raspberry FM radio

raspberry pi fm radio transmitor

I have heard people wish they would have their own radio station from which they would listen from the stereo, an audio playlist serving from their room. This is possible. You can build your own cost-effective radio station and once set you could run your own shows. Though its illegal in some countries to own radio stations without a license. All you need to make this a reality are jump wires, solder and soldering iron, heat shrink tubing, and a PiMF image.  

Raspberry CCTV

Ever thought of coming with a state of the art high performance but cost-effective security system? The raspberry pi could save the government millions of shillings, just half the price required to set up a city’s CCTV base by just acquiring a few raspberry PIs and HD webcams.  

RaspMower

raspmower

Did you know you could build your own self-controlled low cost, solar-powered mower? The PI comes once again to save the day. We all know how expensive and complex it is to implement high artificial intelligence and robotics concepts to build a self-moving lawn mower. This mower uses a 360-degree front camera to navigate around your lawn and you just need your smartphone to control it. This is enabled by motor control and web interface that is enabled through the Raspberry.


PI-sat

raspberry pi satellite

The Pi-sat is a NASA sponsored project focused on creating a low cost and easy to use testbed for distributed spacecraft mission.  This will be facilitated by the Raspberry seen as a tool that has the capability to support the development of DSM technologies and concepts. The astronomy industry is facing a rapid shift in satellite architecture from large single satellite missions to small distributed satellite missions. Hence the goal of the research is to facilitate this shifts. This project is based on the concept that since the Raspberry runs on a Linux system it can easily run the Goddard-developed core flight system software. You can check the official NASA website for more information about project PI-sat.


Conclusion

We have rated these projects according to simplicity, cost, and skills. Their minimalistic nature makes them suitable for beginners and students alike. of course, there are other projects out their, millions of them in fact but what separates all of these from the best is the level of expertise required to set them up. A good project should be simple.

video credit: youtube/hackershouse

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3 Comments Text
  • I’m working on balloon project with a raspberry pi. When we potentially recover the raspberry pi, it will most likely be in a rural location and I’d like to turn off the pi at that point safely. Without a router or network nearby, I was wondering if there is a way to hook up a raspberry pi with an ethernet cable directly to a laptop?

    • You just need a “crossover cable”. It is an Ethernet cable with certain pairs reversed. It can be purchased or you can make one by Googling what pairs need to be reversed. Obviously, your IPs have to be set up manually on each side.
      An alternative would be adding a USB WiFi dongle and setting up a Hotspot from your phone. You would use a negligible amount of data just sending a shutdown command. This could be a bit easier as the Pi could grab an IP from the phone. No manual IP work required.

      • Correction, Zero data. It is your own hotspot and unless you go out to the Internet for something else, connecting to the Pi won’t use your data. (I need more coffee.)

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