Innehållsförteckning för #131 från Raspberry Pi Official Magazine

Thomas graduated from UCCS with a major in Computer Science and a minor in Statistics, He's an outdoors enthusiast dog dad, and music junkie, magpi.cc/ohsillyscope MAKER Watch the official video for the Arctic Monkeys’ Grammy-nominated single, Do I Wanna Know?, from 2013 and you’ll see sound-waves vibrating in synchronisation with the percussion, lead guitar, and singer Alex Turner before turning into an animation. It’s a simple yet compelling effect and it certainly struck a chord with music fans, surpassing more than a billion views on YouTube in 2020. “My favourite part of going to concerts is always going to be the visuals and the music video definitely inspired me,” says Thomas McDonald. It’s led to the creation of an open-source version of an oscilloscope which displays live audio as a…

Dan is a DevOps and infrastructure engineer in Northern California who enjoys hiking and building stuff magpi.cc/chonkypocket MAKER On-screen keyboards work well, but a physical set of keys remains preferable, certainly if you’re going to be entering a lot of text. With this in mind, Dan Norris began to work on his Chonky Pocket computer. He believed that, in order to create a device comfortable to use, jamming in a full-size Qwerty keyboard wasn’t going to work. Instead, he has limited his pocket-sized computer to just ten keys and, as well as being able to type straightforward documents with it, it’s geared up specifically to allow users to code in Python. What’s more, it’s wrapped in a beautiful enclosure that makes the Chonky resemble a Nintendo Game Boy handheld. It…

Robots become infinitely cooler when arms and legs power them. This feature has them all, including walking dogs, humanoid replicants, and grasping robot arms. These robots all share one thing in common: servo motors, also known as ‘servos’. This type of motor rotates back and forth, unlike the DC motors of wheeled robots that spin endlessly around. " This feature will equip you with a real-world, hands-on understanding of articulated robotics" Dive into an enriching journey of Python programming and robotics with this feature. We will explain how servo motors work, how you can control them in Raspberry Pi and look at some of the fantastic robotic kits on the market. Whether you’re a hobbyist or an aspiring robotics expert, this guide will equip you with a real-world, hands-on understanding…

Housed in a Tupperware box as weatherproofing, this project makes use of an infrared camera with IR LEDs to light up the night. Not only that, but it teaches you how to set up MotionEyeOS to sense movement and take photos and/or video in the process - something you’ll be able to customise to your own specifications if you plan to tweak the build. Like My Naturewatch, it makes use of an air-tight food container, although we’re not so sure about how weatherproof the camera is in that configuration. If you have an IR camera but not one with IR LEDs, you can actually get IR LEDs as individual components from most online electronics stores. Simple Raspberry Pi Camera Trap magpi.cc/simplecamtrap BIRDBOX A project from the Raspberry Pi Foundation (magpi.cc/birdbox)…

HiWonder hiwonder.com £445 / $559 SPECS DIMENSIONS: 226 x 149 x 190mm (Length x width x height), 720g, aluminium alloy body COMPONENTS: Raspberry Pi 4 4GB, eight HPS-0618SG coreLess servos, Raspberry Pi expansion board, 480P/8DOF camera CONTROL METHODS: iOS/Android apps, PC application, Python API, PuppyPi V1 software, Lab tooL, PS2 controller There’s no denying that PuppyPi is an eyecatching robot. Inside its black aluminium alloy frame this quadruped features eight high-quality HPS-0618SG coreless servo motors with metal joints, and a six-axis IMU sensor chip MPU6050 for robot posture detection. PuppyPi (magpi.cc/puppypi) is assembled by HiWonder, who created the larger SpiderPi robot (magpi.cc/119) and TonyPi (magpi.cc/111), all strong contenders in the robotics space. At the front of PuppyPi sits a 480 p camera and inside is a Raspberry Pi 4 running…

Elecfreaks magpi.cc/wukong2040 £8 / $10 SPECS SIZE: 55 8 * 87.8 * 36.3mm, 50g (without Pico or battery) POWER: 18650 Lithium battery 6o-minute battery tife 2.8V ~ 4.2 V INTERFACES: 2 * buttons, 2 * LEDs, 1 * buzzer, motor interface, GPIO interface, I2C interface Verdict Small, reasonably priced, and packed with functionality, this board is a fun way to learn and grow with Pico. 9/10 One of the more popular type of Raspberry Pi Pico add-ons that we hadn’t quite foreseen was the educational breakout board. Pop your Pico onto a board and start coding it to control different components and read various sensors - it’s a great educational tool for people of all ages, and usually dirt-cheap too. At under £10, the WuKong 2040 certainly keeps prices low…

Programming from the ground up AUTHOR Robert G. Plantz Price FREE magpi.cc/introarm Assembly language is the lowlevel coding language used to control computers. When you program in a higher-level language, like C or Python, it is converted into Assembly so that the computer can run it. Assembly is nearly one-toone with machine code, the series of instructions made up of zeros and ones that make up the data and logic commands that all computers run. It can be baffling, but learning (or at least attempting to learn Assembly) is a noble pursuit for all coders and computer users. This website, Introduction to Computer Organization: ARM Assembly Language: Using the Raspberry Pi, is a resourceful guide to learning ARM Assembly. The online book provides a comprehensive learning path to understanding computer…

Every Monday we ask the question: have you made something with a Raspberry Pi over the weekend? Every Monday, our followers send us amazing photos and videos of the things they have made. Here’s a selection of some of the awesome things we got sent this month - and remember to follow along at the hashtag #MagPiMonday!…

AlterD creates retail displays for clients and shares office space with interactive design agency Kakapo Labs, which routinely uses Raspberry Pi in its creations. magpi.cc/kakapolabs MAKER Last issue, we brought you details of the Love Machine ChatGPT project which dished out compliments and sometimes sweets based on cutesy WhatsApp exchanges. Raspberry Pi staffers and TheMagPi magazine readers weren’t the only ones to fall for its AI charms. A company that shares office space with Love Machine makers Kakapo Labs were equally entranced, and soon made a move, proposing a coupling up and a glow-up! The result: Olga The Fortune Teller, a shiny new ChatGPT model designed to appeal to the Insta-savvy influencer keen to check out both the latest skincare options and receive reassuring messages about their future fame and…

SG (Servo Gear) Servo gear units like the SG90 and newer SG92 (£4/$4) are inexpensive and light with precise movement control. The SG92R can rotate approximately 180 degrees (go in each direction). You'll find them in entry-level robotics projects where cost and weight is a concern. magpi.cc/sg92 MG (Metal Gear) The next step up in servos is to switch out the plastic gears for metal. Servos such as this MG92 (£7/$7) offer more durability and strength than the entry-level SG models, and are better where the servo is going to lift weights or move loads. They are a bit heavier and noisier than their plastic counterparts. magpi.cc/mg90 Brushless In a typical motor, brushes are used to switch the polarity of the magnetic field, which is necessary for the motor to…

Weidmüller magpi.cc/umaker £21 / $27 SPECS DIMENSIONS: 120.4 mm x 120.4 mm x 35.5 mm WEIGHT: 93.2 g FASTENERS: Magnetic Verdict A unique and very cool way to customise or prototype a case for your Raspberry Pi projects. 10/10 Choosing a case for your Raspberry Pi can be a little tricky when there are many competing products on the market. You can always make one with LEGO, 3D-printed parts, cardboard, etc. if you have the means, making the choice even more complex. The u-maker Box may not solve that issue, but it is at the very least quite unique in its approach to Raspberry Pi case design. You can plonk a Raspberry Pi 4 inside it and be done if you want, and with magnets fastening the whole thing and…

Pimoroni magpi.cc/badger2040w £27 / $28 SPECS DISPLAY: 2.9-inch e-ink, 296*128, monochrome FEATURES: Pico W, 5 * user buttons, reset button, LEDs, Qwiic/STEMMA QT port DIMENSIONS: 85.6 x 48.7 * 10 mm Verdict An interactive badge that doubles as a versatile mini e-ink display with a reasonably quick refresh rate and Wi-Fi connectivity. 8/10 The Badger 2040 W is a mini monochrome e-ink display with wireless connectivity. Unlike the original Badger 2040 (reviewed in issue 116, magpi.cc/116), this new model is based around a Pico W pre-soldered to the rear. Another improvement is the inclusion of a realtime clock (RTC), enabling it to keep time even when in ‘super deep sleep’ mode, with Pico W powered down - in which it draws a minuscule 20 pA of current. Talking of power,…

ARM ASSEMBLY LANGUAGE FROM GROUND UP This Udemy course, by Israel. Gbati, is well-structured and covers the fundamentals and advanced concepts of ARM Assembly language, making it ideal for beginners and intermediate learners. ▶ magpi.cc/udemyarm EMBEDDED SYSTEMS WITH ARM This Coursera course, provided by ARM, dives deep into Assembly Language programming, focusing on ARM Cortex-M microcontrollers. ▶ magpi.cc/courseracortexm ARMV8-M ARCHITECTURE FUNDAMENTALS This course focuses specifically on the Armv8-M version of the Arm Architecture, used in Raspberry Pi 4. It's another one created by ARM and describes the instruction set and architecture in detail ▶ magpi.cc/courseraarmv8…

ASSEMBLY LANGUAGE TUTORIAL Derek Banas is known for his dear and thorough style, making compLex topics accessibte to beginners. This video serves as a great introduction to Assembly with Raspberry Pi. ▶ magpi.cc/assemblytutYT ASSEMBLY LANGUAGE PROGRAMMING WITH ARM This extensive video tutorial from freeCodeCamp covers ARM Assembly Language with ARMv7 from the basics to more comptex concepts. ▶ magpi.cc/freeCCARM INTRODUCTION TO ASSEMBLY PROGRAMMING WITH ARM This series of 16 tutorials by OtiveStem demonstrates ARM memory layout, arithmetic, and logical operations. ▶ magpi.cc/OliveStenrcARM…

Way back in issue 79 of The MagPi, we spoke to Brett White about how he has been trying to get more computer science education into his home state of West Virginia in the US. Since then, he’s been putting on Raspberry Jams and is now a professor at the University of Charleston’s Computer Science department. In March this year, the fifth Raspberry Jam WV went ahead - here are some photos.…

01. Cornwall Tech Jam Saturday 1 JuLy FibreHub, Pool, UK magpi.cc/ctj131 Cornwall Tech Jams are run by volunteers working in IT and education throughout Cornwall. They are supported by Software Cornwall, its members, and other local businesses. Our volunteers give their own time and expertise to plan each Cornwall Tech Jam and to the regular maintenance of all our equipment. 02. Melbourne Raspberry Pi Meetup Sunday 2 JuLy Docklands Makerspace and Library, Melbourne, AUS magpi.cc/mrpm130 This meetup is open to everyone with ah interest in electronics, robotics, home automation, 3D printing, Laser cutting, amateur radio, high altitude balloons, space tech, etc. Makers are invited to bring along their projects and project ideas, and come Connect with other makers. Get your guestions answered, show off the work you are doing, and…

01 Use a tripod, or other fixing mechanism, to train your camera on a single spot. You will need plenty of footage samples of whatever you’re photographing to train the software to autorecognise their presence. 02 Use Jonathan’s Go code to train the system and stitch together the images it recognises as belonging to the same vehicle or object: magpi.cc/trainbot. 03 Set up the camera, Raspberry Pi 4, and connectors in a sturdy weatherproof case where photos can be taken without the lens getting wet. Use FTP and SQLite to automatically upload photos to a web server for everyone to view.…

01 Olga’s look is very much down to you. Create the fortune teller’s face with or without a computer using items such as cardboard and Perspex, adding micro servos and Pico W if you’d like to include changing facial expressions. 02 Pico W controls the LED lights around Olga’s make-up mirror, as well as the servo motors I creating her facial expressions, while another connects to the Zebra printer to produce the allimportant fortune readings. 03 Use the instruction in the main article to get ChatGPT to tell a fortune. Connect everything to a web server and thermal printer to print them out on demand.…

Artist Bruce Shapiro creates mesmeric kinetic art that constantly undulates, fascinating the viewer. He grew up “enchanted by music, electronics, and making things” and took tentative steps towards his own creations using motors from unwanted floppy disk drives and a 286 computer. He quickly realised that discarded industrial automation parts could be picked up for peanuts via surplus outlets, and that CNC machines and motors were effective for motion-control tasks. Bruce’s knack for creating kinetic art as a means of self-expression took off and, after originally working in medicine, his experiments in electronics and computing control led to a new career. He became a solo kinetic artist and science educator, using motion control technology to create large scale installations for museums. (His eye-catching artworks continue to be displayed in museums…

MeArm Maker Kit This is the kit that we are using to explain servo control for the main part of this feature. MeArm Maker (£3g/$50) is a very low-cost robot arm that can be assembled with just a hex key “and a dash of enthusiasm” The kit includes laser-cut acrylic parts and four servo motors. It's basic, but that simplicity makes this a great place to start before moving on to more complex walking robots. magpi.cc/mearmmaker Marty V2 Marty the Robot V2 (£415/$449) is a charming two-legged robot that brine coding to life. Developed by Robotical, it features lots of accompanying educational projects and this friendly robot is controlled using Scratch or Python. Robotical claims that it is suitable for children aged seven and up to university level. Marty is…

TUTORIAL Dr Andrew Lewis is a specialist fabricator and maker, and is the owner of the Andrew Lewis Workshop. Scooters are fun, and can be a good alternative to cars and bikes when considering the daily commute. They can even be useful while at work if your job involves moving between campus buildings several times a day, or travelling back and forth in large warehouses or hangars. Electric scooters are even more fun, but they are also expensive. In this project, you'll see how to take an ordinary manual scooter and make it electric without resorting to expensive hub motors or conversion kits. This is a two-part project. In the first part, well take a look at the components we'll use and how we'll need to modify our scooter to…

Rob unabashedly loves hedgehogs thanks to a blue one with attitude, and as it’s his feature, he’s decided to have a page dedicated to these ancient, spiky, and cute garden dwellers.…

Pimoroni magpi.cc/impression7 £70 / $72 SPECS DISPLAY: 7.3-inch e-ink, 800x480 pixels, seven colours FEATURES: 4 x user buttons, I2C and SPI breakout pins, booster header, stand-offs DIMENSIONS: 170,2 x m, 2mm Verdict A whopper of an e-ink screen with full colour and plenty of room to display images and/or data. 8/10 The Inky Impression 7.3" is a new supersize version of Pimoroni’s full-colour e-ink/e-paper HAT for Raspberry Pi. We reviewed the original 5.7-inch model in issue 102 (magpi.cc/102); there’s also a 4-inch version. " The big draw here is the size of the screen, measuring 7,3 inches diagonally " The 7.3-inch display is considerably larger than a full-size Raspberry Pi board, so is supplied with an extra female header to boost its height, along with some metal stand-offs and screws…

Raspberry Pi is hardly fragile, but it really is recommended to get some kind of case for your microcomputer (or microcontroller), even if you’re just cutting some holes in the cardboard box it comes with. Here are ten great cases that are a little more sturdy though. SmartiPi Touch Pro Case, stand, display With an official touch screen and a Raspberry Pi, you can create a quick interactive display that needs very little space and is extremely customisable. magpi.cc/smartipipro | £30 FLIRC case Media shelf ready Designed for use by your TV, this range of cases doesn’t lookout of place next to Blu-ray players or satellite boxes. magpi.cc/flirc | £12 Argon EON NAS File server The price may be eye-watering, but this enclosure allows you to add four hard drives,…

PiBeam “Step into the future with us and witness the birth of a device that seamlessly merges the unrivalled computing power of Raspberry Pi’s RP2040 microcontroller with the wireless capabilities of an IR transceiver. PiBeam is not just an ordinary gadget; it’s a technological marvel, enabling you to explore the endless possibilities of Python-based hardware learning.” ▶ kck.st/43klhJi Make-It-Move HAT “Make-It-Move HAT is the most user-friendly plug-n-play custom hardware, that eases the development of motor driven Robotics Applications. It provides an easy plug-n-play support to control up to 23 motors for any robotics Application, with easy to understand simplified code and Libraries in multiple Languages.” ▶ kck.st/43DPAKB…

The future is amongst us. At least according to Apple, purveyor of shiny slabs, which recently announced a new glass headset to slap in front of your face. You can dial back reality using a rotating tool on the side, and tap apps and icons in mid-air. Sounds fun. I’m not convinced by VR or AR. Does the future of technology really belong to this kind of detachment from reality? Who knows! Maybe I’ll have egg on my face and a Vision Pro headset in three years. I’ll be writing this with giant hovering buttons in front of my face while you read it, in thirty-foot-high letters being beamed into your retinas from an inch away. " Maybe, when I'm hooking up dual tiny screens inside a 3D-printed headset, it'll…