DIY 17 Raspberry Pi Uses in List

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raspberry pi a microcontroller

This article specifically lists a large number of uses of Raspberry Pi and provides related tutorials. Most of these items can be run on older models or even Pi Zero. Next, I will explain it in detail.
Raspberry Pi Setting

As a Desktop Computer

The simplest use of Raspberry Pi is as a desktop computer. In addition to the Pi itself, microSD card and power supply, you also need an HDMI cable and a suitable display. Like a traditional computer, you also need a USB keyboard and mouse.
Raspberry Pi 3 and later have built-in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. If you are using an older model, you need a compatible USB. However, if you prefer to use Ethernet, all models (except Pi Zero) are equipped with an Ethernet port. After installing your preferred operating system, you will find that LibreOffice exists. Use Chromium browser. In short, everything needs to run Raspberry Pi like a desktop computer.

Print

Do you have an old printer that you really like to use, but can’t connect wirelessly? You have to handle it safely, but you don’t actually need to do so. What you need is a Raspberry Pi connected to your home network and some print server software. This is done by installing Samba file sharing software and CUPS. The Universal Unix Printing System provides drivers for your printer and provides a management console.
After setting up, please configure Pi to ensure that any computer on the home network can access the printer. Everything here is its. Please note that this actually depends on whether the printer has a USB cable. If not, you can use an adapter.

AirPrint Support is Added to Your Pi Print Server

The above items are only applicable to the current situation. It is ideal for printing from Windows, Mac or Linux computers. But what about tablets and mobile phones? To do this, you will need Air Print support added through a single script.
Although IOS devices can print on their own, Android tablets and phones will require dedicated apps. Most new printers support printing from mobile devices. With Raspberry Pi, you can extend this functionality to older printers.

Raspberry Pi Media Center

The main purpose of Raspberry Pi is likely to be used as a Kodi media center. Available as a disk image, several Kodi builds have been released, of which OSMC and OpenElec are the most popular.
If you wish to keep the Raspberry Pi for other projects, you can install Kodi on Raspbian. The retro game system can use it (see below). However, there are a few things you need to pay attention to when installing Kodi. Not all add-ons are available, and many of them are designed to stream pirated content.
Therefore, we recommend that you only install safe and legal add-ons from Kodi official repositories. However, like any device, the Raspberry Pi running Kodi is vulnerable to certain security issues.

Set Up Retro Game Console

This device is one of the most popular uses, and is very suitable for use as a retro game console. It is small and powerful enough to be used in many ways. Not only is it suitable as one of the lightest components of a full-size arcade machine, but also as a Game Boy kit.
There are two main options for retro games, Recalbox and RetroPie. Other controllers can be used, but all require a suitable controller, which requires some initial configuration. Many platforms can be simulated, from classic MS-DOS PC games to Commodore64. Raspberry Pi can reproduce many popular 16-bit game consoles.

Build a Minecraft Game Server

It is not limited to retro games. You may know that Pi’s default operating system, Raspbian, comes with a special version of Minecraft. But did you know that your Pi can also be used as a game server?
The most effective is that Pi is an excellent game server for Minecraft, allowing you to play anywhere on your home network. In addition, use one as a dedicated server will give you an excellent gaming experience.
In addition to Minecraft, other multiplayer online games can also be set on the Raspberry Pi. The open source ports of Quake, Civilization, Doom and Open TTD can employ the Raspberry Pi as a game server.

Control the Robots

There are so many Raspberry Pi projects for robot controllers. For example, you might rely on a dedicated robot package for the Pi. And use the device battery to power it and use it to communicate and control the robot.
Or you might prefer your own design, which is built on existing components. have. For example, Pi 4 will provide you with more processing power, while Pi Zero W is more compact. The ultra-thin version of Pi has on-board wireless connectivity, which is ideal for lightweight robots.
Need some inspiration? We should be helpful to the appearance of movie and TV robots that can be built with Raspberry Pi. Otherwise, if you want to get started right away, you can buy the robot car kit online.

Make a Stop-motion Camera

Everyone likes stop-motion videos, from Wallace and Gromit to Terry Gilliam’s early Monty Python’s Flying Circus works. But how to freeze frame? You can use Pi and a dedicated camera module to find it.
Using the Python programming language, suitable brackets (for overhead for Gilliam style paper model animations, standard tripods for clay or toys) and well-lit areas, this is a time-consuming process. It takes some practice to get good results, and you need to add a soundtrack.
You also need a breadboard to install the buttons (unless you already have a suitable plunger button to connect to the Pi GPIO) and Python scripts to capture each image.

Make Time-lapse Video

Combining the Pi camera module with other scripts can bring another use: capturing time-lapse movies. This is done by shooting one frame at a time. Then how to use the Raspberry Pi to shoot the passage of time is up to you. You may need a portable battery solution, and a tripod may be useful again. This time, you may prefer to use a smartphone tripod. The clip should fit perfectly to the Pi’s case to stabilize the device.
But what should you shoot? Flowers in the garden, fruits in a bowl, people passing by… Maybe it is the clouds in the sky, or the weather changes? You are only limited by your imagination and how far you are willing to go to get quality videos.

FM Radio Station

Do you have a message you want to share? Need to communicate with people who cannot access the Internet? The answer is broadcasting. Pi can broadcast on the FM band. However, these is a warning: it is illegal to broadcast via FM without permission. Fortunately, Pi can only be played within short distances. Indeed, this is a proof of concept project. Although it may be useful in some remote areas of the world, it is not suitable for use in cities.
This requires portable battery solutions and welding skills. All the audio you want to broadcast needs to be pre-loaded into the microSD card and then played in a loop.

Build Pi Web Server

Another wonderful use of Raspberry Pi is to set it as a web server. This basically means that it can be configured to host a website. For example, it might host your blog.
There are several methods. You need to install the correct software first: Apache and its related libraries. Alternatively, you can install the full LAMP stack, and install PHP and MySQL along with Apache.
After completing these steps, you can save the HTML file in the /www/ directory, and then the web server can be used. Or you can install some specific network software, such as WordPress. To make your website online, you need the static IP address of the internet provider.

Create a Twitter Bot

Twitter is meaningless, because most of them are provided by bots. They are programs created to publish messages. For example, they may be updates to your favorite website. However, there are also many annoying and even unpleasant things.
Most of these automated accounts are just for spam. However, using Twitter bots can do some useful things. You can use Python applications on Pi without having to use online services to publish these messages. If your Pi has a permanent connection to the Internet, you can create a Twitter bot.
You need to register a Twitter application through the Twitter website. This way you can access the Twitter API, and with some code, your robot can use it. Then, all you need to do is to specify the type of content you want to publish. From CPU temperature to a randomly selected quote of the day, or just a photo.

Establish a Security System

Who is violating your property? Who thinks they can break into your room and check your things? What are they doing with toothbrushes? The only way to find answers to these questions is to use some kind of security system. After installing a Pi camera module or a universal USB webcam, you can build a motion capture security system.
Please note that you will need a large-capacity microSD card (or USB storage device). It stores the motion software from this Raspberry Pi project combined with uvccapture. And it is a tool that can capture material from a webcam. The ffmpeg software is also used to manage the bit rate and the elapse of time. After everything is up and running, you can expect the system to start recording as long as motion is detected. Also you can configure email alerts.

Digital Frame

Even with restrictions on space, storage and usage, digital photo frames are attractive. They can not only show your favorite family photos, what else can they do?
With this version, you can create a digital photo frame to deliver inspiring messages next to beautiful landscape photos. With Pi touchscreen display, any compatible LCD display should be suitable.

Night Photography

If having time-lapse and motion capture security of your Pi camera module is not enough, why not try night photography? For this, you need a Pi No-IR camera module. After removing the infrared filter, the camera can provide better night effects. When you sleep below, you can take pictures of what is happening above. This way you can capture stars, meteors, moons, planets, etc.
For example, you can use time-lapse photography to track the path of the stars and moon overnight. Or use a slower shutter speed to get the tracking effect. No matter what night photography plan to undertake, the Pi should perfectly suit your requirements.

Build a Network Monitoring Tool

Monitor devices on the network? Worried about the lack of connectivity, or want to notify us quickly when your blog or website is offline? The answer is a network monitoring solution. Although several are available, the most popular is the open-source tool. It is easy to install and configure. After installing this program, you can monitor the time, view the visualization of devices on the network, etc.
Traditionally, it has been on a Linux machine, but it actually wastes the server. All you need to do is download the Nagios disk image and store it to the Pi’s SD card. For best results, please use Pi 2 or higher for this project. Because Nagios may consume a lot of resources.

Transmit Live Videos to YouTube

Utilize the Pi camera module is updating on YouTube in real time. This applies to Pi 3 or higher. Although a compatible USB camera can be used, the best results can be obtained on official equipment. To start this project, you need to prepare to use your YouTube channel and the libav tool package.

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