January was a huge month for Raspberry Pi. The Raspberry Pi Foundation released the Raspberry Pi Pico, a brand new board that serves as a microcontroller and uses the organization’s first custom silicon, the RP2040 CPU. There’s now an entire ecosystem of Pico products to go along with all the traditional best Raspberry Pi accessories and HATs.Â
While the influx of Pico projects is just getting started, the onslaught of awesome innovations based on traditional Pi models continues unabated. February’s best Raspberry Pi projects list includes an Etch-a-Sketch, an intercom and a Lego sorter.
Star Wars-Themed Raspberry Pi Terminal
Cyberdeck projects provide a fun way to be creative and productive. This maker decided to pay homage to Star Wars by theming this Raspberry Pi cyberdeck after the classic sci-fi movie franchise. It can be used for basic things like browsing and coding.
Why we love it:
The force is strong with this Raspberry Pi project, what's not to love? The concept is fun enough in itself but the final execution makes for a quality machine that can actually be used in a practical manner.
Read: Raspberry Pi Star Wars Terminal
Raspberry Pi Intercom
Keeping up with everyone while working from home can be tricky. This project bridges the at-home communication gaps that come with remote working by using a Raspberry Pi to control a custom intercom. It has multiple buttons and relies on Telegram to transfer audio.
Why we love it:
This is a simple and fun project that brings people together in a time when we're living at a distance. It's well-designed and hits every marker for an at-home DIY project with the kids. All you need is a Raspberry Pi Zero, a speaker, some buttons and a little bit of patience.
Read: Raspberry Pi Intercom
Raspberry Pi Pico Tetris Demo
While we wait for more Pico projects to roll in, there's already a couple we can show off! This maker was eager to get the Pico running and developed a quick Tetris demo using Pimoroni's Display Pack Module. The buttons control the piece direction, speed and orientation.
Why we love it:
We're super excited for the Pico projects that are coming and this one is a delicious taste of what's to come! For something thrown together in a few hours, it looks great and like fun to play. We could easily sink an hour into some Pico Tetris if we aren't careful.
Read: Raspberry Pi Pico Tetris Demo
Raspberry Pi Monitors Your Power Usage
Keeping an eye on your bills is one thing, but anticipating them by monitoring your own power usage is an entirely new level! This project uses a Raspberry Pi to help monitor power usage and solar panel data.
Why we love it:
Raspberry Pis are a popular choice for smart-home makers and it's projects like this that demonstrate why. This is an incredibly useful and fascinating application of the Raspberry Pi.
Read: Raspberry Pi Power Monitoring System
PiStation 2
This PlayStation 2 looks like your average, beloved, unsuspecting console from the '90s but, in fact, it's home to our favorite SBC. That's right! This PlayStation 2 is a retrogaming emulator running on the Raspberry Pi.
Why we love it:
It's a beautiful meld of retro hardware and modern technology. If you've got an old, broken console that can't be refurbished, projects like these are a great way to bring a little life back into them.
Read: Raspberry Pi Playstation 2
Raspberry Pi Etch-A-Sketch
We know you've probably seen an Etch-a Sketch before but have you ever seen one so huge? This Raspberry Pi operated board has working knobs and  can automatically draw a pre-programmed image for you. The housing was 3D printed while the image displayed is a custom app running in a browser window on the Raspberry Pi.
Why we love it:
We've never seen a Raspberry Pi project quite like this one! It's wonderfully creative and makes for a well-finished piece of art that can be displayed inside your home.
Read: Raspberry Pi Etch-a-Sketch
Raspberry Pi 4-Track Looper
This groovy Raspberry Pi project is cool enough to make you get up and dance. This maker used a Raspberry Pi to make a 4-track audio looper. He even provides a real-time demo which we absolutely recommend our readers check out.
Why we love it:
Why spend money on specialized hardware when you can make it yourself and even customize your experience along the way? This project is really cool and looks like it would be plenty of fun to recreate at home.
Read: Raspberry Pi 4-Track Looper
Raspberry Pi PlottyBot
Plotters are fun and all, but this one copies your handwriting and can even memorize it as a custom font! This awesome Raspberry Pi project is known as PlottyBot and can also be used to reproduce images. The pen can be replaced with a fountain pen which provides more options for specialized ink.
Why we love it:
We're writers, what did you expect? It uses fountain pens and a Raspberry Pi. This project is brilliantly crafted and demonstrates the power of creative discipline. Excellent work!
Read: PlottyBot Raspberry Pi Plotter
Raspberry Pi Universal Lego Sorter
Can't find the Lego brick you need? We feel you. That's where this Lego brick sorting Raspberry Pi project comes in! It's beyond thorough, using AI and machine learning to predict and sort unfamiliar brick shapes.
Why we love it:
It's made of LEGO bricks for LEGO bricks. There's just too much fun in this project not to love it! The sorting process is extremely well designed and the final LEGO design is a nice finishing touch.
Read: Raspberry Pi LEGO Brick Sorter
Custom Raspberry Pi Compute Module 4 Tablet
Makers have tried to make Raspberry Pi tablets before, but the thick form factor of models like the 3 B+ and 4 always gets in the way. This custom PCB solves that issue by providing a platform for the CM4 module to operate a touchscreen panel.
Why we love it:
This Raspberry Pi project provides all the power of a CM4 module with the user-friendly experience of a tablet interface. It's one thing to build your own Pi project but designing an open-source PCB is an extra step that gets points in our book.
Read: Raspberry Pi CM4 Tablet
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