Learn to build software and hardware projects featuring the Raspberry Pi!

Congratulations on becoming a proud owner of a Raspberry Pi! Following primers on getting your Pi up and running and programming with Python, the authors walk you through 16 fun projects of increasing sophistication that let you develop your Raspberry Pi skills. Among other things you will:

Write simple programs, including a tic-tac-toe gameRe-create vintage games similar to Pong and Pac-ManConstruct a networked alarm system with door sensors and webcamsBuild Pi-controlled gadgets including a slot car racetrack and a door lockCreate a reaction timer and an electronic harmonographConstruct a Facebook-enabled Etch A Sketch-type gadget and a Twittering toy

Raspberry Pi Projects is an excellent way to dig deeper into the capabilities of the Pi and to have great fun while doing it.

Dr Andrew Robinson (Manchester, UK) worked at the University of Manchester School of Computer Science, where they have just launched the Great British Raspberry Pi Bake Off, a competition to get people making projects with the Pi. Andrew has quickly become a leading expert on the Pi and its astounding capabilities, including guest posts on raspberrypi.org, the official mouthpiece of Raspberry Pi. He is the creator of PiFace, which makes interfacing with the Raspberry Pi significantly easier. He is currently utilizing the Raspberry Pi as part of the team behind the BBC's Springwatch.

Mike Cook is is the co-author ofRaspberry Pi For Dummies. Mike is a veteran tech author and a freelance consultant for all things to do with Physical Computing. A former Lecturer in Physics at Manchester Metropolitan University, he has written more than three hundred computing and electronics articles for the pages of computer magazines since the 1980s. Mike patrols the forums as Grumpy Mike, though he is anything but!

Introduction  1

A History of Making   1

Consumer Computing   2

Why Everyone Should Learn About Computing   2

Enter the Raspberry Pi   3

About This Book    4

How to Use Th is Book   4

The Future 6

Part I: Getting Started with the Raspberry Pi

CHAPTER 1 Getting Your Raspberry Pi Up and Running   9

The Operating System  10

Connecting Your Raspberry Pi 16

The Boot Process    25

Starting the Graphical Desktop 26

Starting a Terminal under X 26

Troubleshooting    26

Let the Fun Begin!    28

CHAPTER 2 Introductory Software Project: The Insult Generator 29

Running Your First Python Program   30

Saving Your Program   33

Generating an Insult    36

Insult Your Friends by Name! 39

Create a Stream of Insults! 41

Putting It All Together  45

Part II: Software Projects

CHAPTER 3 Tic-Tac-Toe 49

Errors  50

Making a Start 51

A Two-Player Game    55

Getting the Computer to Play 59

Over to You 70

CHAPTER 4 Heres the News    71

Early Teleprompters    72

The Pi Prompter   73

What You Need to Do  73

A Step Closer to a Usable Program    78

Your Final Pi Prompter Code    84

The Physical Setup for Your Prompter   89

Over to You 92

CHAPTER 5 Ping    93

Early Commercial Products 94

The Ping Game 94

Improving the Ping Game 99

A Single-Player Game 104

A Two-Player Game  111

Over to You    118

CHAPTER 6 Pie Man   121

The Pie Man Game   122

Gather Your Resources 123

Setting the Stage   127

The Game Action   133

Drawing the Screen   141

The Final Function   144

Over to You    150

CHAPTER 7 Minecraft Maze Maker   151

Installing Minecraft  152

Starting Minecraft 153

Playing Minecraft  154

Preparing for Python 156

Using the Minecraft Module    156

Over to You    174

Part III: Hardware Projects

CHAPTER 8 Colour Snap 177

Implementing the Game 178

The Software for Testing the Game  193

The Software for the Game    196

Over to You    202

CHAPTER 9 Test Your Reactions    203

Welcome to the Embedded World! 204

Obtaining Components 205

Setting up PiFace Digital 206

Connecting PiFace Digital 210

Using the Emulator   210

Interfacing with Python 211

The Reaction Timer   214

What Will You Interface? 226

CHAPTER 10 The Twittering Toy   227

Hacking the Toy   228

Making It Talk   232

Making It Move   235

Connecting to Twitter 239

Putting It All Together 245

Wrapping Up    248

CHAPTER 11 Disco Lights 251

Defining Your Sequence 252

Getting the Code to Do More    254

A Small Detour into Theory    256

Designing the Sequencer 257

Implementing the Sequencer    258

The Lights 265

Using Longer Strip Lights 268

Making the Lights Move 269

Designing the Circuit 270

Building the Circuit   273

Running the Circuit  273

Over to You    274

CHAPTER 12 Door Lock 275

The System Overview 276

Safety-Critical Systems 276

The Door Lock Hardware 277

The Initial High-Level Software Simulation   278

The Output Block  281

The Input Block   283

The Authentication Block 284

Unlocking Doors Without Touching  286

Testing the Program and Fitting the Lock   292

Networking Multiple Doors    293

Over to You    294

The Art of Programming 295

CHAPTER 13 Home Automation    297

The Internet Of Things 298

Project 1: How to Create a Motion Sensor and Door Switch   298

Project 2: How to Monitor Your Home with a Webcam    305

Project 3: How to Make a Temperature Gauge  312

Project 4: How to Send an E-mail Alert    317

Project 5: How to Send an E-mail Using a Wireless Remote   324

Over to You    331

CHAPTER 14 Computer-Controlled Slot Car Racing    333

Obtaining a Slot Car Racer 334

Hacking Your Slot Car Racer    334

Getting the Player Input 336

The Software    346

The Game 348

Over to You    354

CHAPTER 15 Facebook-Enabled Roto-Sketch 355

The Concept    356

Rotary Encoder Types 356

The Encoder Output  357

Posting to Facebook  366

The Final Roto-Sketch Program   369

Creating a Symmetrical Pattern   375

Over to You    381

CHAPTER 16 The Pendulum Pi, a Harmonograph    383

The Concept    385

The Hall Effect   385

Enter the Arduino  387

Putting It Together   388

Programming the Arduino 399

Programming the Pi  412

Using the Pendulum Pi 418

Over to You    419

CHAPTER 17 The TechnoBird Box, a Wildlife Monitor   421

Building Invisible Light Beam Sensors 423

Mounting the Sensors 427

Recording Activity to a File    431

Processing the Data  442

Dealing with Sensor Noise 448

Drawing a Graph   454

Putting the Nest Box into Service   458

Over to You    458

The Possibilities Are Endless    460

Index  461