This summer has been huge for the Raspberry Pi community. With many people working from home, makers are turning to the Raspberry Pi for fun and helpful projects to improve life around the house.
This month, creators brought out some of their best ideas yet to make life cleaner, safer and a lot more entertaining. Will these innovations be in your house any time soon? If you have a spare Pi lying around and need something to do with it, these should inspire you.
Raspberry Pi Scoreboard
This scoreboard project was created by Ty and Gig Builds. It uses a Raspberry Pi Zero to drive seven individual message boards. Each board is made with a series of LEDs that are wired and placed into a grid configuration on the scoreboard.
Why we love it: This is a fun idea that Ty and Gig Builds made easily accessible with their tutorial. You can adapt this project for practically any game. The scoreboard design can be customized, painted or finished with a variety of professional options. Check out the full post to explore the code used in this project.
Raspberry Pi Geiger Counter
Let's face it—2020 has been strange. You might as well be prepared for anything, like Chris Crocker-White with his Raspberry Pi Geiger counter project. The machine actually detects radiation and features a cool steampunk design complete with Nixie tubes.
Why we love it: This project takes function and creativity to a new level. If you explore Crocker-White's original post, you'll see how much time and work was put into the construction of every piece and module. It's one thing to create a working project; it's another to do it in style.
Raspberry Pi Remote Car Starter
Grab your phones and start your engines—this Pi project, by InsaneInventions, makes it possible to start your car remotely using a smartphone. The command is transmitted via Telegram and uses multiple relays to start the engine.
Why we love it: This is one of the coolest ways to spruce up your car with a fun modern feature. The project is simple enough with an end result that just can't be beaten in the winter. If you want a functional project to work on, this is one to consider.
Raspberry Pi Gyroscopic Handheld
PC streaming handhelds aren't new when it comes to the Raspberry Pi. This one, however, takes the experience to a new level by adding a gyroscopic element used to look around in-game. It was created and developed by a Reddit user known as Penkamaster.
Why we love it: Streaming handhelds are pretty cool, but this gyroscopic camera rig was way too creative to gloss over. There just isn't much like it around, even in the gaming sphere. Is it useful when actually playing? Your mileage may vary. At the end of the day, it's a neat concept and it's cool to see it working.
Raspberry Pi Balance Bot
This balancing bot was created by Harry from Raspibotics. It was inspired by a similar robot from Boston Dynamics but introduces a few different features to set it apart. It has two legs with wheels at the bottom that help adjust the stability of the unit when tipped.
Why we love it: It wobbles, but it doesn't fall down! It's obvious Harry put a lot of work and passion into this project. It's an impressive build and looks great. We couldn't miss the opportunity to highlight this project.
Raspberry Pi Biscuit Dipper
It's happened to all of us, you dip your biscuit (or cookie in North America) and it falls to the bottom of your cup—soaked way too much. This Pi-powered biscuit dipping project from TheMysticChicken solves this problem entirely by always performing a perfect, pre-programmed dip.
Why we love it: Anyone who works toward improving tea time with a perfect biscuit is worthy of praise in our book. The project even uses image recognition to properly identify biscuits. The level of expertise required to pull this off shouldn't be overlooked. This is an excellent project!
Raspberry Pi Card Shuffler
If you're down for a game or two of Texas Hold 'Em, you may want to hold out and work on this cool deck shuffling project by 3DPrintedLife. It not only shuffles cards, but can be rigged to deal specific hands to players.
Why we love it: This project is clever! It uses a hidden camera to check each card as it passes by, allowing the machine to shuffle the deck into any order. We don't condone cheating, but we have to admire the ingenuity required to pull off this build.
Raspberry Pi Trash Delivery Bot
Keeping your house clean is easier than before thanks to this trash delivery robot by Jason Luk's Tech! It's sort of like a Roomba, roaming the floor of your house keeping it a cleaner place. It dumps any trash placed in the basket on top into a predetermined trash receptacle before returning itself to a charging dock.
Why we love it: Staying at home can be overwhelming. This project looks great and helps make life a little bit easier. It's awesome to see the Pi community develop and share projects that can make a fun and noticeable difference in one's home.
Harry Potter Weasely Family Clock
Do you know where your family is? While this project doesn't run on magic, it definitely appears that way. This project, created by Bryn Dole, is a working replica of the Weasley family clock in Harry Potter. It uses location tracking information to update the clock in real-time.
Why we love it: Whether you're a fan of the series or not, this creativity of this project is too glaring to ignore. It's an amazing use of modern technology to simulate a little magic in the real world.
Raspberry Pi Cocktail Maker
If you're a fan of Blade Runner, join us in a toast to creator MakerDonald and his awesome Raspberry Pi-powered cocktail machine. This project design was inspired by Blade Runner and created for a robotics challenge in San Diego. After the event was cancelled, MakerDonald shared it online.
Why we love it: This machine is very well-finished. The physical components look excellent, from the 3D printed assets to the RGB panels. It's obvious the user experience was carefully considered through every step. Overall this project is a winner and deserves every bit of praise. Cheers!
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