Tag Archives: RBPi

Christmas tree Lights with the Raspberry Pi

Although Christmas is still a good four months away, you can always prepare for it in advance. The project uses a tiny single board computer known as the RBPi or Raspberry Pi, but you will need some time to collect other material for the project. You will also need time to iron out software bugs, especially if you are a newcomer to the RBPi and Python programming. Additionally, although the project is meant for Christmas, you can as well use it for decorating any other occasion.

The RBPi in the project drives eight AC outlets connected to sets of light. An RGB LED star adds a dynamic range to the light show with its 25-step programming mode. Another advantage the RBPi offers is its audio out can drive the lights in time with music. With a Wi-Fi connection, you can work on the software from a remote location.

The basic ingredients you require for this project are: an RBPi, any model; an SD card containing the Occidentalis operating system; a USB Wi-Fi adapter; and an eight-channel 5V SSR Module Board. You may also use electro-mechanical relays in place of SSRs, but they will produce noticeably audible clicking sounds when switching, while SSRs are noiseless. If you use the SainSmart SSR module board, each of the eight SSRs is rated up to 2A, which will adequately power a string of lights.

Apart from the basic ingredients, you will also require a bunch of extra items: some jumper wires, JST SM Plug and receptacles; four 8ft pieces of wire; eight extension cords, two power distribution blocks; a power strip; suitable enclosure; and speakers. You will also need a few power supplies: for driving the RBPi and the LEDs – 5V, 3A or greater; and for driving the SSR module – 5V, 1A or greater.

For the star, you can use 12mm or suitable RGB LED strands. With the Adafruit WS2801 chip, the RBPi only has to pulse the LED strand once rather than pulse it continuously to keep the LEDs lit up.

It is advisable to test the RBPi and associated components before connecting the wiring. Do this before setting up everything within the enclosure and you have the advantage of easy troubleshooting. Connect the RBPi to a monitor and keyboard, so you can set the system configuration to start software development.

As the default RBPi installation does not have the necessary libraries for driving the WS2801 LEDs, it is necessary to use the Occidentalis operating system from Adafruit. Follow the steps outlined here for configuring the RBPi to get it working as required. Use GPIO 0-7 on the RBPi for driving the SSR module.

As the RBPi drives the GPIO output high, the SSR connected to that pin switches on. This allows the LED associated with the SSR to light up. Write a simple test program to cycle through all the GPIO pins, setting them high for two seconds each.
After testing for proper functioning, connect the lights to respective SSRs through extension cords, using power distribution blocks to keep the wiring neat. Use cheap night-lights to test the animation program first, since this will reduce your eyestrain.

Embedded Linux on Raspberry Pi

Developers usually have two common models of development for Embedded Linux. One of them is the cross-platform development, where the aim is to develop programs that will eventually run on platforms different from the one being used by the developer. The other is self-hosted development to generate programs to run on similar platforms as the one being used for the development. The tiny single board computer, the RBPi or Raspberry Pi, lends itself beautifully to self-hosted developments when used as a target system. Although self-hosted developments are preferably done on fast machines running Virtual Mode installations, the major difference in using the RBPi as a target system is the challenge of its limited memory and a relatively slow processor.

The RBPi is an inexpensive and complete single board computer that runs on a 700MHz Broadcom ARM processor. Sporting 512MB of RAM, the SBC displays over high definition video output, supported by a GPU. You can connect a keyboard and a mouse to the on-board USB connectors and use the SD memory card for the OS and file system. Along with an Ethernet port, the SBC has significant expansion ability.

There are several other similar single board computers in the market with some of them being better suited for specific applications. However, the RBPi was specifically designed for educational use, which makes it eminently suitable to the specific purpose of self-hosted development. If your development is targeted at commercial applications, you may look at other SBCs tailored to the specific rigorous environment required by your application.

With a tremendous support base, the RBPi has its own dedicated website, how-to guides, online blogs, magazines and even videos. Follow the Quick Start Guide on the RBPi website and its recommendations of using the NOOBs SD card to install the Raspbian distribution.

The NOOBs SD card displays all the distributions available on it when the RBPi boots up from the SD card. Select the Raspbian and be prepared for the installation since it takes a while. Select only the locale where you live, as that cuts the installation time. After the installation, you can log in with the username as “pi” and the password as “raspberry.” RBPi needs some configuration to allow it to operate without confusion.

The primary configuration required may be that for the keyboard, since RBPi may not be displaying the symbols for the keyboard connected to it. You can use the nano editor to edit the file ‘keyboard’ at /etc/default and change to the proper country code suitable for the keyboard.

The next configuration parameter required may be for the Ethernet port, which by default, is assigned an IP address using DHCP. If your DHCP server is configured to assign the RBPi a different address at each restart of the RBPi, you must change its properties to serve the same IP address to the RBPi each time it submits a request. To do that, follow the tutorial here.

Once you log in to the RBPi, you will see that the distribution is nearly complete, with most of the development tools already installed. Although normally booting up into the command line mode, you can enter the GUI with a “startx” command. For instructions for the development work, follow this.

Pico USB Scope for the Raspberry Pi

According to Pico Technology, the beta release of its drivers for the PicoScope oscilloscopes, useful for running on ARM-based single board computers, is available. That includes development systems such as the BeagleBone Black and the ever-popular Raspberry Pi, also known as the RBPi. For the RBPi, the drivers are a specialized armhf build under the control of its Raspbian OS. Pico Technology is offering this Beta release with some caveats.

Although the developers claim to have taken care of ensuring implementation of almost all the driver features, they may not work in all cases. The developers mention that the recommended systems requirement for the drivers specifies resources that most embedded systems will not be able to fulfill entirely. That means when the system is busy, the driver may not have enough resources for processing the data, which may result in the device being dropped or the application to hang. They also expect power surges, fuse blowing and port damage and to guard against this, they suggest powering the system through a separate USB hub.

All this makes it sound like the drivers are more suitable for advanced do-it-yourself people. It also suggests that the drivers are useful for working on other platforms, but Pico may not yet be in a position to offer support for these implementations. At present Pico is focusing their support for only two platforms – the RBPi and the BeagleBone Black.

The Pico USB Scope has advanced display software that assigns almost all the display area to the waveform. Therefore, the user is able to see the maximum amount of data at a time. Additionally, this makes the viewing area much larger and of a higher resolution than that available on a traditional bench top oscilloscope.

The large display area also makes it easier to create a customizable split-screen display for viewing multiple channels or for projecting different views of the same signal simultaneously. The software is capable of displaying both oscilloscope output and spectrum analyzer traces at the same time. Moreover, the software can flexibly control each waveform individually for zoom, pan and other filter settings.

Oscilloscopes frequently require using an analog or DC offset. Most PicoScope Oscilloscopes offer this valuable feature. With DC offset, you can get back the vertical resolution, which is usually lost while measuring small signals. In practice, an analog offset typically adds a DC voltage to the input signal. This is useful if the signal is beyond the range of the ADC of the scope. By adding an offset, the signal is brought back within the range and the display can use a more sensitive range.

For testing purposes, an AWG or arbitrary waveform generator is often required. This generates electrical waveforms that can be either a single-shot or repetitive. With an AWG, you can generate any arbitrarily defined wave shape to inject into a DUT or device under test for analysis by the PicoScope. The progress of the signal through the DUT confirms its proper operation and enables pinpointing any fault inside.

Deep-memory versions of the PicoScope oscilloscopes offer waveform-buffering sizes up to 2 gigasamples, which is much larger than that offered by competing scopes of traditional bench top or PC-based design. A hardware acceleration technique ensures the PicoScope does not slow down while using deep memory and displaying at full speed.

Energy Monitoring with the Raspberry Pi

If you are looking for an all-in-one device for monitoring your home energy needs, a low-cost single board computer such as the RBPi or Raspberry Pi along with an add-on shield is all you need. The emonPi board is a low-cost shield that is bereft of any enclosure, HDD and LCD.

However, when connected with an LCD for status display, hard-drive for local logging and backup and a web-connected RBPi, the emonPi makes a high-quality and robust unit. Enclose it in a suitable enclosure and you have a stand-alone energy monitoring station.

The design of the emonPi allows it to be a perfect fit for those who install heat-pump monitoring systems. Usually, these systems require several temperature sensors that must also be wired up along with power monitoring. Accompanying modules offer a myriad of options.
For example, the emonPi can also act as an emonBase, as it has options for rad
io (RFM12B/RFM69CW) to receive data from other wireless nodes. These nodes include emonTH, for measuring room temperature and humidity. Another energy-monitoring node, the emonTX V3 can send the current time to the LCD, emonGLCD.

The status LCD makes it easy to install, setup and debug the emonPi system as an energy monitor sensing mode and an all-in-one remote posting base station. This makes the emonPi a great tool for remote administration, since, with a proper networking configuration the RBPi can be accessed remotely. Thus, you may check its log files and even upload firmware onto the ATmega328 of the emonPi.

The emonPi monitors energy through a two-channel CT or current transformer along with an AC sample input. It can power up the RBPi and an external hard disk drive without using an external USB hub. Additionally, the emonPi can function even without a hard disk drive being connected to it.

The RJ45 breakout board makes it very easy to attach several temperature sensors to the RJ45 on-wire temperature bus provided by a DS18B20. This is eminently suitable for multi-sensor setups such as in heat pump monitoring applications. The RJ45 also has IRW and PWM I/Os.

The emonPi is compatible to all models of the RBPi and its options for RFM21B and RFM69CW along with an SMA antenna makes it capable of receiving or transmitting data from other sensor nodes. One can control remote plugs with the OOK or On-Off keying transmitter.

All hardware, firmware and software are open-source and the ATmega328 on the emonPi can remotely upload sketches via the serial port of the RBPi. However, compared to the emonTX V3, emonPi has some disadvantages.

The emonPi module is not capable of making measurements on three-phase systems as there is only one CT monitoring two channels. As the RBPi has high power requirements, it is not possible to power the emonPi from batteries. You cannot also use an AC-AC adapter, because, for measuring real power, you must use both a 5VDC and a 9VAC adapter. Remote location of the utility meter requires Ethernet connection or Wi-Fi connectivity. Additionally, the emonPi requires a larger enclosure as compared to what an emonTX V3 uses.

Raspberry Pi and the Intel Edison

The Intel Edison is an extremely small computing platform suitable for embedded electronics. Intel has packed the Edison with many technical goodies within its tiny package. That makes it a robust single board computer, powered by the Atom SoC dual-core CPU. It includes an integrated Bluetooth LE, Wi-Fi and a 70-pin connector. A huge number of shield-like blocks are available to stack on top of each other on this connector.

Do not be misled by its small size, as the Edison packs a robust set of features within the tiny size. It has a broad spectrum of software support, along with large numbers of IO, delivering great performance with durability. Its versatile features are a great benefit to beginners, makers and inventors. The high-speed processor, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth radio on board makes it ideal for projects that need low power, small footprint but high processing power. These features make the Edison SBC suitable for those who cannot use a large footprint and are not near a larger power source.

In addition, the Intel Edison Mini Breakout exposes the native 1.8V IO of the Intel Edison module. On this board is a power supply, a battery charger, USB OTG power switch, USB OTG port, UART to USB Bridge and an IO header.

So, how does the Intel Edison SBC compare with the RBPi or the Raspberry Pi SBC? The first question that comes to mind when starting a comparison between the two is the lack of a USB port on the Edison to plug in the keyboard and mouse. Compared to the RBPi, the Edison also lacks video output, has low processor speed, higher cost and it is not possible to use the IO connector without an extra board.

Although Intel claims it as an SBC, unlike the RBPi, the Edison is a module meant for deeply embedded IoT computing. On the other hand, the RBPi has always been a low-cost computing terminal to be used as a teaching tool. That the RBPi platform also has hardware hack-ability is a bonus feature and purely incidental.

The Edison, a deeply embedded IoT computing platform, does not have video output because usually, Wi-Fi enabled robots do not need video. Since wearables do not need keyboard and mouse, the Edison does not have a USB port. To keep power consumption on the low side for portable applications, Intel has deliberately kept the processor speed low.

Although the Edison is comparatively higher-priced as compared to the RBPi, the difference is lower when you add the cost of an SD card, a Wi-Fi card and a Bluetooth dongle to that of the RBPi. Not only does the Edison integrate all this, it is more of a bare ARM A9 or A11 SoC that can be integrated easily into a product.

Finally, three things need highlighting. The Edison has a Quark micro-controller; it operates at 1.8V and is very small. The RBPi, without the addition of the communication modules, occupies about 93 cubic centimeters, whereas the Edison and its breakout board together require only 14. The RBPi requires about 48 square centimeters of footprint, while the Edison needs only 17.

Prototyping Plate Kit for the Raspberry Pi

For new owners of the versatile inexpensive Raspberry Pi or RBPi, there is always a period of perplexity as to how they can try out an embedded computer project with the SBC. Although a breadboard helps to some extent, connecting the circuit on a breadboard to the RBPi involves many loose wires, making the experiment very cumbersome. An add-on kit, the Pi Plate from Adafruit, makes it very easy to prototype circuits for the RBPi.

The Pi Plate snaps on to the RBPi and the user can easily unplug it for making any changes to the circuitry. This is a double layer board and has a connector on the underside for fitting on to the GPIO pins of the RBPi. The specialty of the Pi Plate is the huge prototyping area, half of which is in the form of a breadboard style, and the rest in the form of a perfboard style. Therefore, users can wire up DIP chips, sensors and switches.

All the GPIO, I2C, SPI and Power pins from the RBPi are broken out to 0.1” strips along the edge of the proto area. The connections are all labeled, so the user has little difficulty in connecting them to his/her prototype circuit. In addition, all the breakout pins are also connected to 3.5mm screw-terminal blocks, all with labels. That makes it very easy to connect sensors, actuators, LEDs, etc. semi-permanently with wires. For general-purpose non-GPIO connections, there is also a 4-block terminal block broken out to 0.1” pads. For those with surface mount chips to be connected, the remaining space has a SOIC breakout area, therefore, if you can conveniently use an IC that does not come in a DIP format.

When you buy the kit, all parts come separated. Following a tutorial on how to assemble the kit, any first-time user can learn to put it together. One advantage with this process is the user learns to solder and thereby acquiring a new skill. This is in line with the philosophy of learning with the RBPi.

Those who regularly use add-ons to the RBPi will appreciate that the header breakouts on the Pi plate are taller than the typical custom header breakouts. Therefore, the prototype plate sits above the metal connectors on the RBPi, allowing for a large workspace. However, this does not prevent it from fitting within the RBPi enclosure. Therefore, the RBPi remains safe within the enclosure, with complete access to the terminal blocks, making prototyping simple. Adafruit plans to have stackable header kits, which will help in putting multiple plates on top of the RBPi.

It is very easy to use the Prototyping Pi Plate. Adafruit has designed it to be as simple as possible so that it is a good fit for any type of RBPi project – whether simple or complex. According to Adafruit, there is no extra power regulator on board and none of the pins is buffered, because that keeps the design simple and inexpensive. In addition, it also offers the maximum space for adding any circuitry for prototyping.

Raspberry Pi and Energy Harvesting Wireless Devices

Do-It-Yourself home automation enthusiasts will welcome the idea of a wireless arrangement when setting up devices for automating their homes. It would be still better if these sensors and switches did not require an external power source to make them work. EnOcean Pi makes both these scenarios possible, with the tiny ubiquitous single board computer, the Raspberry Pi or RBPi, acting as a home automation server.

Therefore, with the EnOcean Pi, enthusiasts can set up home automation systems without any cables connecting the self-powered sensors and switches. Depending on information from sensors measuring temperature, humidity and from those detecting human presence, the RBPi may switch lights on/off and control blinds on windows.

Enthusiasts may either have sensors and actuators communicating directly with one another, or control them through an intelligent and smart home server. The latter allows adding remote sensing and remote control for home automation, which can be done conveniently through a PC or a smart phone. This type of home server is ideally suited for a tiny single board computer such as the RBPi. The EnOcean Pi then acts as a gateway controller to the EnOcean radio world. Element14 offers three types of kits for this purpose – the starter kit ESK 300, the developer kit EDK 350 and the Sensor kit PSK 300.

The wireless module, EnOcean Pi, comes in three versions – 868MHz for Europe; 315MHz for Japan, India and North America; and 902MHz for North America. This wireless module connects to other self-powered EnOcean sensor modules, which generate their own power through energy converters that use temperature differences, light or mechanical motion as an energy source. Therefore, the RBPi receives necessary data for intelligent control from maintenance-free sensors and actuator solutions.

It is always possible for OEMs and developers to design low-cost gateways for embedded applications including smart home solutions. Rather than developing new products from scratch, developers now have the option of using the EnOcean Pi and RBPi for creating a ready-made smart home box. This can process and visualize the data coming from self-powered wireless sensors, thereafter providing central control of a wirelessly connected house.

Users wanting to develop and integrate quick applications can download the EnOcean Link Trial Version middleware that comes with the new Pi accessory. The RBPi acts as a gateway, automatically controlling the EnOcean-based energy harvesting wireless sensors, switches and thermostats. That ensures a comfortable management of lighting, shading and HVAC, thus helping to save energy.

For a bi-directional communication via radio and serial interfaces, EnOcean Pi also offers the EnOcean Smart Ack controller functionality. The RBPi can use the serial interface to send and receive radio messages transparently in both directions. In this case, using the Smart Ack technology, the EnOcean Pi acts as a postmaster and controls up to 20 bi-directional sensors.

The EnOcean Sensor Kit has a set of three wireless sensors that includes a temperature sensor, a reed switch and a push button. Rather than use a battery, the sensors have a solar cell that supplies them with power. Each sensor has a wireless module with a built-in antenna requiring no cables. That makes the sensors totally self-powered and maintenance-free.

Types of HATs suitable for the Raspberry Pi

Among several versions of the low-cost, versatile, single board computer, the credit card sized Raspberry Pi or RBPi as it is commonly called, the latest is the Model B+. Along with many new features, the RBPi Model B+ is designed to make intelligent use of expansion cards. Keeping in view of the appendage called a “hat” that many people place on their heads, the RBPi too has expansion cards known as HATs. These are Hardware Attached on Top, and they work by sitting atop the single board computer.

In reality, the RBPi is a bare-bones computer, where only the most essential peripherals are present on-board. This not only helps to keep the prices down, but also allows the primary user to start work with the SBC without being unnecessarily distracted. The primary objective for the makers of the RBPi was to let school children learn about computer programming. The RBPi achieves this objective excellently by allowing the students to start with the bare minimum requirements. They progress by using different HATs to get additional functionality. The advantage is the RBPi behaves as the revolutionary fundamental building block on which widely differing concepts can be easily proven.

Any sort of physical computing with the RBPi generally necessitates setting up extra hardware. Instead of soldering the components directly to the GPIO pins, it is prudent to add the necessary hardware in the form of an expansion card or a HAT, which you simply plug in. To use the HAT, the user has to modify the software suitably, mainly by installing the required drivers and configuring them.

The original models of the RBPi, the A and B, are really not conducive for expansion boards. The 26-pin ribbon cable connector provided on-board offer only the GPIO pins. However, several companies have made expansion boards suitable for direct plug-in to the connector, and they sit on the RBPi, making an electronic sandwich.

With introduction of the RBPi Model B+, the most noticeable change was the transformation of the GPIO connector to a 40-pin PCB header. The first 26 pins of the new header have remained identical to those on the models A and B – maintaining backwards compatibility. That allows HATs developed for the older models to be also used on the RBPi Model B+. The Model B+ has two new pins, ID_SD and ID_SC to allow connecting a serial EEPROM. That allows proper identification of the HAT and RBPi can load the necessary drivers for it. Therefore, as long as the manufacturer designs the HAT or the expansion board correctly, RBPi can configure it automatically.

The Raspberry Pi Foundation has issued specifications that all boards should follow for compatibility with the new model. According to these specifications, an expansion board can be called a HAT only if the board supports the two new pins and has an EEPROM for identification. This identification must include information about the vendor, the GPIO map and the device tree. The board must also conform to the mechanical dimensions specified and not overload the power supply of the RBPi. However, HATs need only meet the minimum specifications, which leave plenty of scope for innovation and stacking.

The Astro Pi in Space

For experiments to run in space, an Astro Pi board fitted with sensors and gadgets is a great way to begin. For this, school pupils in UK are being challenged to write apps for the tiny, inexpensive, single board computer, the Raspberry Pi or the RBPi. As Tim Peake readies for his rendezvous with the International Space Station in November 2015, the British Astronaut will carry with him two RBPis, fortified with Astro Pis. He will have six months to complete the experiments in space.

Analyzing the Astro Pi reveals it to be a HAT or Hardware Attached on Top for the RBPi. It is well packed with several goodies such as – sensors for magnetometer, accelerometer, gyroscope, temperature, barometric pressure, humidity, a real time clock with battery backup, several push-buttons and a versatile 8×8 RGB LED display. In addition, there is also a camera module and an infra-red camera on board the Astro Pi.

With all this gear, Astro Pi is most suitably equipped to carry out real-time science and innovative experiments in space. School children resident in the UK are being encouraged to join in the competition for setting up experiments that astronauts will conduct in space later this year.

The Raspberry Pi Foundation, along with the UK Space and the European Space Agency are organizing the contest. For this, they have devised five themes for stimulating the kids’ creativity and scientific thinking. These include Satellite Imaging, Data Fusion, Space Measurements, Space Radiation and Spacecraft Sensors.

Kids of ages under 11 in the primary school will devise and describe original ideas for application or experimenting on the Astro Pi. Teams presenting the two best submissions will be able to work with the Astro Pi team for interpreting their ideas. The team at the Raspberry Pi Foundation will code these two ideas and get them ready for flight on the ISS.

The competition in the secondary schools will run across three age categories of 11-13, 14-16 and 16+. A selection of the best 50 submissions will be made for each age category and they will win an RBPi and an Astro Pi on which they can code their original concept. From each age category, two winning teams will be selected.

During his six-month space stint, Tim Peake will be deploying the Astro Pis, uploading the winning experiment code, set them running, collect the generated data and download it to be distributed to the winning teams.

Astro Pi is also great for fun sciences. This is possible because of its Sense HAT, incorporating all the sensors on the single board. For example, with the on-board sensors, one can make a self-balancing attack robot that can also sense humans. In reality, most equipment for experimentation in schools is too expensive – the Astro Pi and RBPi combination changes that dimension.

Apart from the huge scope for fun sciences, useful data is expected to be gathered from using the Astro Pi sensors while on the International Space Station. Young people will have a unique chance to learn core computing skills and this will be extremely useful to them in the future.

Start Learning to Program the Arduino

Often, project builders are not sure of what they would like to build with their development boards. This happens mostly for two reasons – one, the user has just been introduced to the board and two, the user is unaware of the methods of interfacing and programming sensors, switches and other components. The second category of users is mostly those new to the world of development and in need of some hand-holding.

A Starter Shield
For these newcomers, Matt Wirth has proposed a Starter Shield for Arduino boards. With the Starter Shield, novices can learn how to interface components such as sensors for building their own interesting projects. Learning involves programming the IO headers of the micro-controller on-board the Arduino. Interestingly, users can do this without any assembly of intricate parts, soldering or wiring.

However, since many users may want to solder their own, Matt Wirth plans to release an optional kit, which will come with an assortment of components that the user will have to solder before starting. These will include potentiometers, multiple LEDs, digital and analog push buttons, temperature sensors and light sensors. To make it easy for beginners, Matt will provide lessons for programming these components, so that users can proceed with their unique creations – light meters, temperature sensor alarms, police lights and siren and many more.

An IoT Relay
For those who already have some experience in building projects with the Arduino, may find Wi-Fi and other home automation projects interesting. Of course, there are several kits available for automating homes, but most are expensive and limited in their functionality. This is where project builders can effectively use Team IoT’s IoT Relay for the Arduino board.
For those interested in home automation, IoT is a favorite subject. However, the relay solution provided by Team IoT is not limited to home automation alone. With the IoT Relay, apart from the Arduino board, users can work with any development board and create interesting project such as making automated feeders for their fish tanks.

On the IoT Relay, four outlets allow connecting to any number of devices. There is also a universal voltage control to handle inputs of 12-120VAC or 3.3-60VDC, protected with a thermal circuit breaker. That allows users to control power safely and not damage their devices. However, the IoT Relay, although inexpensive, does not come with an Arduino board and the users are expected to supply their own.

Makeblock’s mBot
For those beginning to learn to program, code and work with robots, there is nothing better than an educational robot such as Makeblock’s mBot. With STEM or the academic disciplines of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics being implemented widely in schools all over the world, Makeblock’s mBot is a learning robot that helps kids with their STEM curriculum.
Featuring the mCore platform of the company, Makeblock’s mBot is based on the open-source Arduino Uno featuring a simpler wiring system. There are no GPIO pins to solder. Instead, the mCore uses RJ25 connectors, color-coded to make it easier to connect other components. Additionally, the board is compatible with Mindstorms’ Lego, other Arduino boards and shields and the Raspberry Pi.