Motorola and Element 14 have launched a development kit for creating add-ons for the new Moto Z mobile phone. As well as this kit, they’ve also announced that there will be a Raspberry Pi HAT adapter board (pictured above). It converts the Moto’s 80 pin interface into the Pi’s 40-pin and features a small prototyping area. There are also connectors in the right places for the Pi’s camera board and official display. As reported by Hackerboards.com, the software isn’t ready and you may need to port the code yourself, but it’s an interesting development. Read more here.
Enviro pHAT reviewed and used with the Raspberry Pi and the Initial State dashboard
Jamie Bailey has written a great review of Pimoroni’s Enviro pHAT. He’s evaluated the sensors on-board and has then integrated them, using Python, with the Initial State dashboard. He’s used the temperature sensor and accelerometer to provide data and has then graphed the results. It’s a great example of how to use this great new add-on board with the Initial State Internet of Things platform.
You can buy the Enviro pHAT from Pimoroni or The Pi Hut.
Cross curriculum whole-school activity day featuring the Raspberry PI
Eastlea Community School, located in the London Borough of Newham, recently ran a whole-school activity day which featured a variety of computers and micro-controllers, including the Raspberry Pi. Clive Beale from the Raspberry Pi Foundation was invited along and you can read his account of the day, including an encounter with a Raspberry Pi Weather Station, on the Raspberry Pi blog.
Raspberry Pi home automation stops fumbling in the dark (more’s the pity!)
The bloggers over at WhiskeyTangoHotel have been investigating home automation solutions. They’ve come up with a Raspberry Pi-based solution which detects, via Bluetooth, the presence of a device (in this case an iPad) and switches on some LEDs to save the house owner from fumbling in the dark looking for the light switch. After a while, the Pi triggers a relay to turn the lights on automatically. Find out more and see how they did it here or view their video below.
Affordable ROV solution uses Raspberry Pi in advanced electronics package
California-based Blue Robotics has developed an affordable ROV solution using a Raspberry Pi. The Pi is used in their advanced electronics package for extra computing power and to stream 1080p video up the tether. You can read a lot more about it on their website.
New Kickstarter seeks to raise funds for UART boards
Tony Chang from Pridopia has been in touch. They are currently running a Kickstarter (which I must admit I missed!) to raise money to fund the development of a series of boards to expand the Pi’s UART capabilities. The boards come in various shapes and sizes and give an additional 1, 2, 4 or 8 UART ports. You can read more on the Kickstarter here.