Gallery: Celebrate Pi Day With These 9 High-Tech Raspberry Pi Hacks
0101-bike
Just hitting its one-year anniversary on the market, and already eclipsing a million units sold, the tiny Raspberry Pi computer board continues to grow as the maker's platform of choice. It has been used to make a [pyrotechnic stage show](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/design/2013/01/even-more-raspberry-pi-projects/?pid=1811) that can fit in a backyard, [mini videogame cabinets](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/design/2012/12/raspberry-pi-roundup/?pid=1386), and even [prototype medical devices](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/design/2012/12/more-raspberry-pi-please/?pid=1627), but those applications only the first sprouts of what the platform can grow in to. The [$35 DIY platform](http://www.alliedelec.com/lp/120626raso/) is as small as a credit card, but has a 700 MHz processor, 512 MB of ram, and a rich array of input and output ports that allow the diminutive device to be augmented with sensors and displays. Unlike competitive platforms, it runs Linux and allows makers to leverage expertise in Python, PHP, Javascript, and other common languages reducing the friction required to make amazing projects. While Pi Day celebrates the world's most intriguing mathematical constant, Liz Upton, the head of communications for the Raspberry Pi project, will be spending March 14th traveling from the UK to PyCon in Santa Clara. She nonetheless is excited about how far the board has come in such a short time. "We didn't expect anything like the level of interest or the level of sales we've experienced in this first year," Upton writes via email to Wired Design. "It's strange and humbling to see people take up and respond to the idea we put out there: that access to the basic tools of computing is fundamental in keeping our society moving." The project has been so successful, naming the most impressive product becomes a serious challenge. "There's so much stuff out there that we're able to write a blog post about a new project every day, so it's very hard picking a favourite," she writes. "I loved the [Beet Box](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/design/2012/12/more-raspberry-pi-please/?pid=1625) where root vegetables were hooked up as capacitive-touch controllers for a synthesised drum kit. I hope it leads to a baked-bean piano. Beans: the musical fruit." Her husband, Eben Upton, is a founding trustee of the Raspberry Pi foundation and has slightly different project preferences. "Eben's favourite projects are always the space ones: Dave Akerman's [high-altitude pictures from the edge of the atmosphere](http://www.daveakerman.com/?p=873) are wonderful, and the great thing about the Pi is that it makes a project to collect pictures like this something that's within financial and technological reach of every school. Imagine coming home and telling your parents that today in your science lesson, you sent something you'd made yourself to space. I wish I'd had that sort of opportunity at school; the closest we came when I was a kid was arranging appropriately sized spherical objects on the hockey field to represent the solar system!" While the last year has been thrilling, Upton is excited about the future of the platform, especially the camera board that is being released in April. "We live in an environment where ubiquitous surveillance by government agencies via CCTV is something we're becoming used to," she writes. "I'd like to see the tables turned, so that individual people can easily and unobtrusively record and surveil their interactions with the world." "I'd like to see more work done to bring girls into computing," she adds. "It's such a creative subject; and so many schools and adults characterise it as a dry, academic, maths-y field. We're trying hard to spark teachers as well as kids off and show them that physical computing, wearables, games programming and the like are relevant to every kid, not just the ones with a Y chromosome." In honor on Pi Day, Wired Design has collected nine of the latest maker projects that utilize this diminutive microprocessor. Click through the gallery for inspiration for a celebratory creation of your own. __Above__: __Raspberry Pi Dynamic Bike Headlight Prototype__ ------------------------------------------------- Pedal power, a battery-powered projector, and a Raspberry Pi transform a boring speedometer into an interactive piece of street art. Created by [Matt Richardson](https://twitter.com/mattrichardson), author of *[Getting Started with Raspberry Pi](http://shop.oreilly.com/product/0636920023371.do),* this bicycle-mounted creation projects the rider's speed onto the street. The project is still in the prototype phase so documentation is light, but Richardson is soliciting ideas for other applications the rig could be used for. Proposals include projecting GPS information to help with navigation in cities, a real-time view of what is happening behind the rider, and a rig that would charge the projector's batteries by pedaling. [#iframe: http://www.youtube.com/embed/Nfk1-XMASrk](660x371)|||||| *Photo: [Atif Ateeq](www.AtifAteeq.com)*
0205-pinball-wired-design
Raspberry Pi Pinball -------------------- Some kids take a gap year after high school to travel the world, but recent high school graduate Mark Baldridge is using that time to scratch build a pinball machine inspired by his YouTube heros [Rhett & Link](http://www.youtube.com/user/RhettandLink). His build uses a Raspberry Pi controls the flippers, drop targets, buzzers, and other whirlygigs on the board, its parts salvaged from eBay and fabricated in Baldridge's parent's garage. The project combines the flexibility of today's modern technology with the electromechanical charm of days gone by. For those that want to track this pinball WIP, it's being documented on Baldridge's [blog](http://www.markbaldridge.com/) and [YouTube](http://www.youtube.com/user/markthomasb/videos) channel. [#iframe: http://www.youtube.com/embed/pkK3kRFPE4o](660x371)|||||| *Photo: [Mark Baldridge](http://www.markbaldridge.com/)*
0311-robots-wired-design
__Internet-Controlled Robots__ ------------------------------ [Livebots](http://livebots.cc/) is a platform that allows people to control robots over the internet. Users simply visit the website where buttons in the browser can control a remote [LED matrix](http://livebots.cc/Robot/View/24) or more advanced prototypes like "[Puppet Bob](http://livebots.cc/Robot/View/23)," who can walk, dance, jump, pose in a ballet stance, or urinate — which looks basically the same as the ballet pose — on command. It's a bit silly, but is extremely fun to watch a mouse click turn into robotic action thousands of miles away. Technically, the system translates button presses into Python code that can be input into a Raspberry Pi, Arduino, or any computer with a serial port. The creators of this project would ultimately like to see more complex applications for their technology emerge, like a MarioKart-esqe racing series where players control physical cars instead of sprites, and have provided technical details at [Instructables](http://www.instructables.com/id/Create-an-internet-controlled-robot-using-Livebots/). [#iframe: http://www.youtube.com/embed/5JoARkj7XMA](660x371)|||||| *Photo: [Instructables](http://www.instructables.com/id/Create-an-internet-controlled-robot-using-Livebots/)*
0409-cnc-mill-wired-design
__Raspberry Pi CNC Mill__ ------------------------- We've already seen a 3-D printer with a [Raspberry Pi powered interface](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/design/2013/02/raspberry-pi-3-d-printer/). This CNC system performs a similar service for subtractive manufacturing. A project is set up on a tablet and then relayed to a Raspberry Pi which feeds the cutting commands to a CNC controller. [Detailed instructions](http://wiki.linuxcnc.org/cgi-bin/wiki.pl?RaspbianXenomaiBuild) are available for those that want to take a hack at the latest in fab lab technology. [#iframe: http://www.youtube.com/embed/WLIo7TA82xE](660x371)|||||| *Photo: [Kinsa Manka](http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxuSd316RUmLwEinrhowblw)*
0506-led-string-wired-design
__LED Lighting Framework__ -------------------------- The combination of the Raspberry Pi and addressable RBG LED's creates exciting opportunities for interactive light art — anything from luminous pixel art to the world's greatest Christmas tree light display is possible. The only problem is that working through the elements of the tech stack required to pull off these projects can be difficult for those without serious technical chops. Alexander Weber, creator of the "[Almost Useless Machine](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/design/2012/10/almost-useless-machine/)," has attempted to address this problem by creating a software framework that reduces the complexity required to get creative with light. The project has been [impeccably documented](http://tinkerlog.com/2012/12/21/raspberry-pi-with-rgb-pixels-and-node-js/) and Weber provides links to good background sources if the intricacies of Node.js or other enabling technologies are too complex. There will be no shortage of innovation in Raspberry Pi lighting, an [8x8 grid](http://www.raspberrypi.org/archives/3364) and [4x4x4 rainbow cube](http://www.devicehive.com/samples/rainbow-cube) have recently come on the market. [#iframe: http://player.vimeo.com/video/56024800?title=0&byline=0&portrait=0&color=ffffff](660x371)|||||| *Photo: [Alexander Weber](http://tinkerlog.com/2012/12/21/raspberry-pi-with-rgb-pixels-and-node-js/)*
0604-wii-nunchuk-wired-design
__RC Race Car Controlled by a Raspberry Pi and Wii Nunchuck__ ------------------------------------------------------------- Conor O'Neil has already made a Raspberry Pi-powered RC car that uses [cheese](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/design/2013/01/rc-car-raspberry-pi-cheese/) as the user interface, so his latest mod that uses a [Nintendo Wii Nunchuck](http://conoroneill.net/using-a-wii-nunchuck-instead-of-cheese-to-control-i-racer-rc-car-on-raspberry_pi-and-arduino/) as a remote may seem less adventurous, but far more hygienic. This Irish maker has taken an otherwise scrapped [Nunchuck](http://conoroneill.net/using-a-wii-nunchuck-instead-of-cheese-to-control-i-racer-rc-car-on-raspberry_pi-and-arduino/) and, with a little soldering and firmware hacking, transformed it into the coolest looking remote an amateur racer could ask for. He's made his code [available on Github](https://github.com/conoro/iracer-controllers/tree/master/iracer_nunchuck_arduino) and promises that a touchscreen control, using parts salvaged from a Nintendo DS, is in the works. *Photo: [Conor O'Neil](http://conoroneill.net/using-a-wii-nunchuck-instead-of-cheese-to-control-i-racer-rc-car-on-raspberry_pi-and-arduino/)*
0707-3d-camera-rig
__3-D Camera Rig__ ------------------ When the Raspberry Pi foundation announced they were developing a camera, most cheered, but some bemoaned its underwhelming specs. However, the true power of the platform is not megapixels, but the many purposes it can be customized for. Raspberry Pi employee [Gordon Hollingworthy](http://www.raspberrypi.org/archives/3376) has created a proof of concept that demonstrates how the unpowered camera could be turned into a cost-effective 3-D video rig with just a little bit of modification. Two cameras were mounted on a bicycle helmet and Hollingworthy wrote some code that could sync the two video streams and output it into a 3-D friendly format. With the Raspberry Pi camera slated for release next month, Hollingworthy plans to make the code for his project available on GitHub. [#iframe: http://www.youtube.com/embed/emsTA2pY3Og](660x371)|||||| *Photo: [Raspberry Pi Foundation](http://www.raspberrypi.org/archives/3376)*
0803-nasa-circidian
NASA Style Circadian Lighting ----------------------------- We can thank NASA for Velcro, Tang, and now an [$11 million dollar alarm clock](http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-20753888) that helps astronauts maintain their circadian rhythms. Fortunately for the Earth-bound, maker Chris Fane has created a passable facsimile of that clock that can be had for a hundred dollars' worth of parts from AdaFruit and a few weekends of spare time. This high-tech horologe attempts to support our natural sleep patterns by projecting colored light in a way that mimics the daily pattern we experience — warmer sunnier colors in the morning and cooler darker colors at night. Spacefarers in training can follow the [construction log](http://rasathus.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/circadian-lighting-part-one.html) and find the code on [Github](https://github.com/rasathus/circadianLighting). *Photo: [Chris Fane](http://rasathus.blogspot.com/2013/02/nasa-style-circadian-lighting-wrap-up.html)*
0902-message-board
__Pi + Node = Interactive, Internet Connected LED Message Board__ ----------------------------------------------------------------- Email autoresponders are efficient, but soulless. Luke Berndt has raised the bar for intraoffice messaging with his Raspberry Pi status board. It has way more panache than a corkboard and enough geek cred to make the nerdiest IT administrator nod in appreciation. Technically, the system is set up to display messages that are added to a dedicated website and can be modified by anyone in the office. It seems like a classic case of geek overkill, but just imagine the productive (and prank) uses a tool like this would afford. A detailed [mechanical tutorial](http://lukeberndt.com/2013/raspberry-pi-to-led-message-board-via-spi/) is available and the code is on [Github](https://github.com/robotastic/pi-place). *Photo: [Luke Berndt](http://lukeberndt.com/2013/pi-node-interactive-internet-connected-led-message-board/)* *HT: [AdaFruit](http://adafruit.com/)*
