Just been listening to Pimoroni’s excellent Bilge Tank video cast. They’ve announced a few things to keep an eye on. First of all, the pHATs currently displayed on their website are not actually in stock yet and are due Monday/Tuesday, so get ready to order! They’re awesome 🙂 Secondly, they unveiled some future pHATs as well as a full-sized HAT.
The first was a card to power the Pi from a LIPO (at the top of the screen below).
The first version will not have a charging circuit but a later version, already planned, will. But you can get something like a USB charger for LIPOs which will do nicely. I think I’ll get one of these when I re-tool the Picorder to make it extra small!
The next one is the Enviro pHAT which contains various sensors including a barometer, a light/colour sensor and an accelerometer. Here it is in prototype format:
Next up is the IoT pHAT which is a way of connecting to the Internet through a little add-on card via an ESP8266 chip. It’s not designed as an ‘Internet connection’ but you will be able to do things like “get me this URL” and have it respond. Ideal for Internet of Things projects where you are polling an API.
The next thing was the “Cheepy” which is a low-resolution GPS pHAT for around £20:
Another one in the melting pot is the POV pHAT that can be used to write messages in the air!
And remember: all these pHATs can be used with the normal Raspberry Pi. So much excellent Pi goodness coming out of Sheffield!
They also showed (again) their STS Pi which is a very imminent robotics kit with custom parts and a mini chassis that works with the Explorer HAT Pro.
And lastly, they showed off a new normal-sized HAT – the DrumHAT! Presumably similar to the PianoHAT with capacitive pads to create a mini electronic drum kit!
All that and I won a Pi Zero! (I know, I know, rotten veg is being thrown at the screen now!)
Really great show as always, pirates!
They will be doing another live show tomorrow (with more chances of winning a Zero!) at 3pm. So, head over to their channel.
