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This Raspberry Pi Pico protractor has all of the angles covered!
The Raspberry Pi maker community never ceases to amaze us and today we have a project that's no exception. Maker and developer Yaluke demonstrates with their latest creation how easy it is to create a Raspberry Pi Pico-powered protractor module from scratch. This isn't the same as the static measuring tool you might find in a school but rather is an electronic component that's surprisingly useful in the world of gaming.
This Pi-powered protractor is intended to be used to calculate rotational angles in real time. This particular module is able to convert said measurement into a USB signal which makes it an excellent go to device for simulating steering wheels. If you want to emulate a driving game, this is the sort of setup you could use to make a controller from scratch.
According to Yaluke, the Pico relies on a rotary encoder module to determine the rotation data. This information is fed to the Pico using a GPIO connection. The precision of the measurement can be tuned to specific use cases so you can make the steering wheel as sensitive as you need it to be.
The project page indicates that the main board powering the operation is a Raspberry Pi Pico but you could likely get away with using the latest Raspberry Pi Pico 2 instead. The Pico is connected to a DFRobot incremental photoelectric rotary encoder along with a Pimoroni Pico Proto Board. Data can be viewed in real-time using a 4-digit 7-segment TM1637 display module. All of the hardware is housed inside of a custom, 3D-printed case.
The software for the protractor was created using C++ for its USB support and extensive compatibility with the PIO (Programmable IO) on the Pico. However, Yaluke mentions experimenting with both MicroPython and CircuitPython before settling on C++.
Yaluke was kind enough to create a build guide for this Raspberry Pi project so you can follow along and make your own. Check it out over at Hackster for more details and an in-depth look at its creation.
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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.
