10 Clever Uses For Raspberry Pi, According To Reddit
Whilst Raspberry Pi is one of the best tools for learning basic computer skills without having to spend too much. That doesn’t mean it can’t be used in advanced and sometimes very clever ways. Ever since the first model was released, users have been testing the limits of what the small single-board computers can be used for.
From automating household appliances to putting a futuristic spin on ordinary objects. All kinds of fascinating applications have been found for Raspberry Pi. Some Redditors found some approaches for its use very clever.
Automating Your Home
Whilst smart homes are becoming more common, it’s still a costly investment to make. Luckily, by making clever use of a Raspberry Pi. It’s possible to get some of the best features of home automation without breaking the bank. Redditor insomniacc explains how they made their home smarter with the computer.
With the help of remote sockets, relays, and a web server, they were able to put all of “the ceiling lights around my house” on a timer. As well as being able to control them remotely at all times. Open-source programs like “Home Assistant” can also make home automation a lot more achievable and can be run on Raspberry Pi. Making it a strong resource when it comes to this area.
Creating A Small Solar-Powered Server
There are a ton of advantages to hosting a private server. Including a greater degree of control over its use as well as keeping data secure. Redditor jammmet needed a server to run a “pre-school maths apps” for example and found that Raspberry Pi presented the perfect solution to this.
This came with an advantage over setting up a larger dedicated server or using a remote one. And they were able to keep it running using solar power. Although neither of these uses alone is particularly innovative. Combining them in order to solve their problem in an environmentally-friendly way impressed other Redditors.
Running A Sprinkler System
Whereas a lot of clever uses for Raspberry Pi don’t always end up being useful in the real world. Being able to control a sprinkler system remotely is one application many people could benefit from. Redditor zimm0who0net considers “OpenSprinkler Pi” one of the coolest uses for Raspberry Pi.
With an extension board that allows the Rasberry Pi pins to control sprinklers directly. They describe it as a “full-featured irrigation controller” and mention that, crucially, it can be operated from the user’s smartphone. Those who are learning to code can even develop their own interface for it.
Building An Infinity Table
Whilst many people have found cool ways to make Raspberry Pi interact with lights. The Infinity Table stands as one of the coolest and cleverest that anyone has managed to do. It makes use of 50 RGB LED lights to make what one Redditor described as their “favorite raspberry pi project.”
The lights are set up around the interior of a table, and thanks to some clever coding that allows each light to have its color changed individually. As well as the neat use of a special two-way mirror, it can give off incredible effects. It gives them the impression that the lights stretch on infinitely downwards, giving the project its name.
Running A Black Box For Your Car
There are plenty of amazing tech gadgets to keep in a car. But not many people would put a Raspberry Pi in this category. Redditor ThisIsWhyIFold found a smart and practical way of making it a must-have for the car by turning it into a “vehicular black box.”
By connecting it to the OBD2 (onboard diagnostics) port, they set it up to collect diagnostic data along with GPS data whenever the car is running. That means all the journeys can be logged and mapped against the data. With fuel prices increasingly unstable lately, knowing exactly how long journeys are and how fuel efficient they are can be a great tool.
Building A Robot Bartender
For anyone who’s ever wished they could have a bartender in their home to serve up drinks for them, Redditor bigdogyost puts forward this clever little idea that delivers just that. The “robotic bartender” makes use of “valves that dispense measured recipes for mixed beverages” to create drinks just as a real bartender would.
Whilst it’s not a tech product for younger people, and it requires a good degree of engineering as well as programming know-how, it’s an application that gives a genuinely fun and novel use to the Raspberry Pi for those old enough to enjoy it.
Running A Home Security System
In another case where making smart use of a Raspberry Pi can save a ton of money over the industry equivalent, Redditor WearItLikeArmour thinks that “a home security system” is one of the best uses for the computer. Hooking a Raspberry Pi up to a webcam and installing it is something easy that anyone can do.
What does take a bit of ingenuity is the program used to detect when there are large variations in the images it sees, indicating an intruder may be there, which can trigger the webcam to take photos and set off an alarm. As with most Raspberry Pi applications, it can be linked with a smartphone app to make the whole thing convenient as well as practical.
Waking You Up In The Morning
Though it’s not exactly a full-scale Wallace and Gromit-style contraption to get the user out of bed and fully dressed, Redditors like MathGorges have been smart in seeing the potential of the Raspberry Pi to help get them up in the morning. With the help of some additions, they set it up so that “My curtains open automatically in the morning when my alarm clock goes off.”
It’s not as simple as it sounds as it involves using the Pi as a go-between to detect when the alarm goes off and give a signal to the infrared remote control that opens the curtains. For people who have trouble getting out of bed, it’s a neat solution that might just make all the difference.
Creating A Retro Games Console
One suggestion came up time and time again in Reddit’s discussions of fun and smart uses for Raspberry Pi, and that’s emulating retro games. Redditor cdncowboy is one user that recommends turning the Pi “into a retro game console” and mentions that all people really need is a USB controller and some kind of monitor.
Software like RetroPie exists to make the whole process easy enough that basically anyone can do it, making it one of the more accessible applications for a Raspberry Pi. With all the complicated parts taken care of, almost anyone can start playing their favorite classic games using Pi.
Building A Magic Mirror
For a use of the Raspberry Pi that’s smart, convenient, and feels incredibly futuristic, Redditors like Crunchyave recommend the “Magic Mirror project.” It’s not cheap as it requires specialized glass, but it runs on a free, open-source program called MagicMirror² that allows it to do basically anything a user could want.
Read More: 10 Clever Uses For Raspberry Pi, According To Reddit – Screen Rant