Google and MagPi (the official Raspberry Pi magazine) have released a project in the magazine using the Google API engine. This is known as AIY and was released with issue 57 of the magazine. The finished project is a cardboard box with a button switch on top. It includes a audio card and a microphone, […]

In the UK, Year 9 (age 13 to 14) is an important stage which can influence the student’s future career. It is during this year that the students first decide on what subjects to pursue, and in particular whether they will continue to study computer science. I recently attended a computing and IT careers fair […]

Around Halloween 2016 Element 14 ran a Costume Competition for wearable tech projects. Boo! Pi Costume Contest I was already working on a Wizard of Oz costume so I submitted my project to the competition. You can find out more about the Raspberry Pi – PiZero NeoPixel bow tie here. My costume was one of […]

I decided to create a Wizard of Oz costume for Halloween this year. As you probably know The Wizard of Oz wasn’t really a wizard at all. He used a mechanical machine to convince the citizens of Oz about his magical abilities. What you may not know is that he was more than just a […]

These are some of the Halloween Projects I’ve created. Haunted House A scary haunted house, using a Raspberry Pi, home automation, electronics and scary music. Raspberry Pi Haunted House Raspberry Pi MotionSensor Jack-O-Lantern Pumpkin My son’s Motion Sensor based Light Up Pumpkin project Halloween Motion Sensor Pumpkin Wizard of Oz Costume A Wizard of Oz […]

My 8 year old son has now completed another Raspberry Pi project. This project is a Halloween Pumpkin, or jack-o’-lantern, which is triggered whenever someone comes near. It uses a PIR motion sensor to detect someone entering the room and then lights up a sequence of NeoPixels. In this case these are static green and […]

Another year and another Pycon UK. For 2016 the UK’s community Python Conference was held in Cardiff, Wales. It’s also the fourth year that they’ve included a special Children’s day on the Saturday. This included a day of kids coding on Raspberry Pi computers (Pi-Top CEED) and this year each child received a micro:bit to […]

During my visit to the Raspberry Pi factory arranged by RS I also entered into a competition to win a Pi-Top computer. After a close run vote, I won. So I now have a Pi-Top Raspberry Pi laptop. The Pi-Top is a similar size to a regular laptop, but involves some assembly and uses a […]

I’ve recently been to visit the Sony UK factory where the Raspberry Pi is made. This was made possible thanks to RS Components and a competition to win a tour around the site. The site known as the Sony UK Technology Centre is based in Pencoed Wales. At the site they manufacture high-end video cameras […]

RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) and NFC (Near Field Communication) provide the ability for devices to talk to each other by touching them together. This could be between two smart devices or between a smart device to a simple tag embedded into a card or sticker. In my case my requirements were quite basic as I […]