This in-depth interview was recently published online. Read it here
BrickPi for LEGO MINDSTORMS and #RaspberryPi now available for pre-order
Dexter Industries had a successful Kickstarter recently for “BrickPi”… Well, that’s underplaying it – they reached a whopping 6,751% of their funding, which is the biggest over-fund I think I’ve ever seen.
Simply put, BrickPi turns the Raspberry Pi into a LEGO robot. Here’s what they say about their own product:
BrickPi is a system that converts Raspberry Pi into a robot. The project is a board and case that connects LEGO® Mindstorms Sensors, motors, and parts to turn your credit card size computer into a robot. The BrickPi allows you to connect up to 4 NXT Motors and 5 Sensors. It has a 9V battery power source that powers the motors, sensors, and Raspberry Pi, un-tethering the Pi from the wall. Finally, it has a sturdy case with holes that snap with LEGO parts. The brains of a Raspberry Pi joined with the LEGO building system.
You can buy a basic kit and a case for $65 and other options are available. Read more here and pre-order if you want one!
Lincoln University’s #RaspberryPi powered digital garden
The Foundation have just posted about the Gold Medal winning garden from Lincoln University that was presented at the Chelsea Flower Show. This remarkable project changed shape and configuration depending on Tweets and was powered by a Raspberry Pi. Read the Foundation’s article or read a bit more about the garden itself at the Times Educational Supplement.
Find out who is ringing your doorbell by email with a #RaspberryPi
Martin over at harizanov.com has hacked into a wireless doorbell and used his Raspberry Pi to take a picture of the person ringing the doorbell and then sending an email notification, including the picture. This project requires some soldering and electronics knowledge but is a neat way of showing how the Pi can do some fairly simple home automation. Perhaps a further improvement could be made by using a Pi’s camera module? Read more here
More GPIO basics from RasPi.TV – inputs and outputs on the #RaspberryPi
Alex continues his series on the GPIO by looking at using inputs and outputs together. His insight into granny stairlifts are particularly enlightening! 🙂 Read the article here
The GWR Locomotive Sketchpad for the #RaspberryPi
Lovely story on the Foundation site today, and of particular interest to me. My wife and I love to ride steam locomotives and her grandfather actually drove the legendary City of Truro. (She rode the footplate of the same engine at a steam gala… a few years later!) So here’s an excerpt from the Foundation:
Alec Bray built the GWR Locomotive Sketchpad to allow you to design and mock-up steam locomotives based on the design principles of the Great Western Railway. (Not the most unexpected use of a Pi we’ve come across yet, but it’s right up there.) It’s a graphics-intensive, interactive program using the Lazarus IDE and the Free Pascal Compiler downloaded onto the Raspberry Pi and compiled natively.