What are the best projects and ideas for Raspberry Pi to realize its full potential? 2022 list

To say that a developer can be 100% expert in Raspberry Pi is completely false. Always start with the simplest projects before doing a complicated undertaking with this board.

This is a mini computer with which you can do thousands of productive and entertaining things. With practice, you will know that you can turn your Raspberry Pi into a mining field for crypto assets. or at an arcade game station. each project, it has a level of complexity and in each one you take a step to be a professional.

In this article, We leave you a series of projects at the low, medium and high levelswith which you can gradually become an expert programmer.

List of the best Raspberry Pi projects for beginners that you can do yourself to learn how to develop from scratch

Although you may have a gift of genius, you will always need a guide like this to know where to start with your Raspberry Pi equipment. Check out these low-complexity projects you can do at home.

Do not try to skip this section, you will be surprised by the projects on this list for beginners:

Add power button

Why would you want to do this project? Well, Raspberry devices do not have an on or off button on their board, which is a risk trying to turn off the device by disconnecting the power, that could damage some component and cause you to lose data. The complexity is that an accessory (button) is required that can be connected and learn python which is the programming language with which you will make that button work.

LED control

This is a typical university project, in the first years of the degree, of course. It is about converting your board into a console that allows you to vary the lighting of LED lights to simulate a stage.or, for example, the lights used on airport runways. You require a Raspberry computer, in any of its versions, learn programming (it is done with C++ or the one you prefer) and the amount of LED lights that you want.

sensor with alarm

It may not have a real use, but will allow you to practice until you improve with a Raspberry board. we propose create a motion sensor and that, upon detecting any eventuality, it sounds an alarm. Cabling, IR sensor, GPIO board required and a Raspberry computer, no matter how discontinued it is, like the Pi 1 and Pi 2 versions.

a digital frame

So that it stays at your height, small LCD screen required that can be connected to your Raspberry. However, as a practice you can use any type of monitor such as your computer. You need a short tutorial on how to program this project in Python, a set of images, and time to do the programming that is required. And, as we mentioned, This frame can be both photographs and videos. The limit is your creativity.

wireless printer

Perhaps this is the highest level among projects for beginners. Its usefulness is high because at the end you can keep your old printer and send documents to print remotely. The only thing you have to ensure is that the connection is via USB. In this case, the Raspberry becomes a local server that it will receive the documents via Wi-Fi and will ask the printer to do its job. The idea is that the printer is only connected to power, without being connected to the computer.

binary clock

This is another project that reaches almost medium intensity, because programming and additional board with 64 RGB LEDs required. This will be used to display the time with binary code, and it also works as an ideal practice scenario to increase the complexity of the projects.

With this idea you will get the year, with the last two figures. You will also have access to the month, day and precise time. Of course, you will have everything through LED lights that must be programmed so that they perfectly fulfill their function. Do you dare?

Get to know the best projects with Raspberry Pi for intermediate users that you can carry out to continue learning

After you finish all the beginner projects, then you can dare to go to the next level of complexity. You can set as a goal to make several projects, with the same device, so that you have at home and show off to your friends that this new device was made with your ingenuity. Check out this list of advanced ideas to do at home with your Raspberry PI.

These ideas will take you to the extreme of analyzing if it is really what you want to do with your life:

a media center

East It will be a device where you can access streaming services and play on a television, which will be connected to the Raspberry via an HDMI cable.. You need to learn to program and run OPenELEC for it to be feasible. Does not require a lot of investmentall you need is an HDMI cable, a Raspberry board, and a keyboard and mouse for you to access the new media center and control what you see and hear on your TV.

pet monitor

You will say that the Raspberry boards do not have an integrated camera and it is so, but you can buy one officially from the same manufacturer. In short, when you need to see what your pet is doing, you can do it by connecting the camera and recording what she does. The connection is made via SSH and you can monitor with your smartphone what the camera is recording. The downside is that if you don’t have a board, you have to get the new version and a PiCam so there are no compatibility issues.

home firewall

This is useful when you have multiple computers connected to the same network at home. It will protect you from external attacks and the best thing is that at low cost. Physically, only a Raspberry Pi is required. Additionally, you must have installed the Tor program for Raspberry and a Hub, when there are more than five or six computers connected. It only requires configuring the programs within the device and voila, you can be connected safely.

Google Home

This Google project is not tied to hardware, because the application fits any device, even a Raspberry. You can prepare your computer to install Google’s virtual assistant and manage to control the smart equipment in your home from a Pi. a few years ago, Google and MagPi launched a testing initiative which was made out of cardboard, proving that any device can become a command center.

FM Radio

Without wishing to denigrate professional radio stations, it’s easy to get into a broadcast frequency with a Raspberry Pi, a cable that serves as an antenna and Python programming. The frequencies you can enter range from 1 Mhz to 250 Mhz. Although the signal will not be extensive, you can do it by way of learning to develop projects like this and move on to the next step of complexity, all for the sake of science and your learning as a programmer.

Mail server

All that is required is a wired internet connection, a computer Raspberry Pi and a couple of programs that will help turn your computer into a mail server with which you can make an account work, then you can expand the number of users. Over time, you fine-tune your security and make your ciphers stronger to prevent attacks. Also, you will be able to make your smartphone can synchronize with this serveras you would with gmail, for instance.

The best Raspberry Pi projects for advanced users that you can do to test your knowledge

when we say that everything can be done with a Raspberry Pi, in reality it is almost everything except a time machine or a coffee pot. Nevertheless, there are varied projects that you can carry out only with your ingenuitysome cables and a Raspberry board, yes is from PI 4 version, it is better.

We leave you a list of the most advanced projects that you can achieve if you study and practice to the fullest with the board you have in your hands:

garden alarm

This project was born as a game by a youtuber who wanted to know when people stepped on grass when passing in front of his house. As boredom overwhelmed him, preferred to create this alarm with a Raspberry and a speaker that connects via USB.

Every time someone steps on the alarm, an infrared sensor is activated that emits an audible signal to its creator, so he could go to the window and see the moment when people step on his lawn:

• Is a kind of artificial intelligence.
• serves for increase the security of your home.
• serves for flaunt your qualities as a developer.

PICO Computer

This is a advanced project you can do to remember when the first pocket computers were made They did basic tasks like scheduling appointments, doing calculations, and creating mini reminder notes. They are the most distant ancestors of smartphonesbut it’s worth remembering if you want to practice with a Raspberry.

A special board called Raspberry Pico is required, which provides an all-in-one console with the required hardware and an integrated mini-keyboard:

• with this project you will become an expert programmer.
• Maybe have no profitbut yes a lot of experience.

iMac Mini

This is a project that involves several things: first, 3d printing; second, advanced programming; third, adjust the components of the board (disassemble). With a lot of work and ingenuity, developer Michael Pick was able to make an exact replica of an iMac that’s no bigger than a soda can. The 3D printing of the monitor, keyboard and touch of this mini computer was necessary. also had to emulate the iMac interface within the Raspberry features.

In addition, he split the board to fit its components into the 3D printed case:

• At this level, You can already say that you are an expert in the use of Raspberry.
• It is required of a great investment for 3D printing.
• After completing something similar to this, you can capitalize on social media and have global respect.

VR viewer

Virtual reality is an industry that generates billions of euros every year and it attracts many people who are willing to pay huge sums to have the latest accessories. However, this virtual reality project is more personal, as a challenge in life. With the support of special headphoneswhich are used in a drone, virtual reality glasses and a Raspberry set, it is possible to emulate a scenario in which people feel like they are on an adventure.

To prevent overheating, the developer placed several heat sinks on the processor and the rest of the integrated chips:

• Graphics are not the bestbut there is functionality in the design.
• The helmet it is not connected to other components.
• It is required of a great investment of time and resources to finish this ingenious project.

supercomputer

Perhaps it is not possible to do this project with a single mini computer, but it is possible to do it with more than a thousand Raspberry PI boards at the same time, mounted on a server platform. This was an innovative idea from the Oracle people and it was shown in the Oracle Open World 2019, in order to demonstrate the power that these devices have when people know how to work with them. They are on a two-meter-high cluster and together they function as a storage place.

To complete this idea, they had to create 3D printed brackets to hold each board and enable USB power:

• It’s about a exhibition project.
• There is more of 1,060 Raspberry boards.
• they all work under Oracle Autonomous Linux.