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Raspberry Pi Memory Box Plays Videos with NFC Cards
First-time Raspberry Pi projects can yield serious creativity as they often stem from specific needs. In this case, we have a lovely creation by a maker known as Kind-Rope5478 over at Reddit. Their first Pi project has been dubbed Memory Box, and it features some creative uses of the Raspberry Pi’s ability to use external hardware as well as a well-executed case design.
According to Kind-Rope5478, the project idea came from a desire to develop a custom video player box. Instead of just choosing a video from a menu, they wanted to introduce an outside element requiring users to make a physical selection. The box would use NFC cards to trigger the video in this case.
Although the NFC cards are used to select folders of videos, you can use the button on the front to skip between videos. A dial is also available for volume control that, when pressed, will switch the box between video mode and an idle mode that displays random quotes as well as the time. A feature also allows you to copy video files from a USB drive to the Pi.
All the hardware is housed inside a custom frame made from red oak with a slit on the side to help with cooling. It’s powered by a Raspberry Pi 4 4GB model, but you could get away with a Raspberry Pi 3B+ or maybe even a Pi Zero for this project. It has a 10.1-inch touchscreen panel secured behind an 8” x 12” acrylic panel. Connected to the Pi is an NFC reader along with a 5V Noctua Fan.
In an interesting twist, Kind-Rope5478 revealed that the software for the project was written using ChatGPT. More makers are opening up their creative potential thanks to AI, and this is an example of how newcomers can adapt the technology to bring their ideas to fruition. That said, it’s not without pitfalls. Kind-Rope5478 went on to explain that the software occasionally crashes, so some tinkering will be necessary to clean up the code.
If you want to get a closer look at this Raspberry Pi project, check out the original thread shared to Reddit, and be sure to follow Kind-Rope5478 for any future updates.
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Ash Hill is a contributing writer for Tom's Hardware with a wealth of experience in the hobby electronics, 3D printing and PCs. She manages the Pi projects of the month and much of our daily Raspberry Pi reporting while also finding the best coupons and deals on all tech.
