Raspberry Pi add-on board prototypes
For the 2014 Bay Area Maker Faire I decided to display the Raspberry Pi add-on prototypes we currently have in development. We created a display for Maker Faire with the prototype cards running to get people’s feedback and help us decide what projects to put into production. The goals for these add-on cards are to be small, educational and inexpensive. These add-on cards will retail for prices ranging from $8 to $15.
We got great feedback at Maker Faire and plan to put a couple of the projects into production. But we would like to get even more feedback, so have a look at the projects below and let us know what you think of them. Which ones you like, which ones should go into production and if there is anything you would change.
PI-Traffic
The Pi Traffic light is a vertical add-on card for the Raspberry Pi with three 10mm LEDs connected to the GPIO header. This add-on card could be sold as a kit or fully assembled. The LEDs are connected to GPIO pins GPIO9, GPIO10 and GPIO11.
PI-LEDSMT
The PI-LEDSMT is a vertical add-on card for the Raspberry Pi that has LEDs on all of the GPIO pins of the GPIO header. This add-on card would be sold fully assembled. Using this add-on card allows the user to see all the activity on the GPIO pins.
PI-LED4
The PI-LED4 is an add-on card for the Raspberry Pi with four right angle surface mount LEDs connected to the GPIO pins on a horizontal PCB that fits over the GPIO header. This add-on card would be sold fully assembled. The four right angle surface mount LEDs are connected to GPIO pins GPIO02, GPIO07, GPIO08 and GPIO11.
PI-LEDRAKIT
The PI-LEDRAKIT is an add-on card for the Raspberry Pi with three right angle through hole LEDs connected to the GPIO pins on a horizontal PCB that fits over the GPIO header. This add-on card uses all through hole parts and would be sold as a kit. The three right angle LEDs are connected to GPIO pins GPIO07, GPIO08 and GPIO11.
PI-LEDKIT
The PI-LEDKIT is an add-on card for the Raspberry Pi with two through hole LEDs connected to the GPIO pins on a horizontal PCB that fits over the GPIO header. This add-on card uses all through hole parts and would be sold as a kit. The two 5mm LEDs are connected to GPIO pins GPIO07 and GPIO08.
PI-BUTTON5
The PI-BUTTON5 is an add-on card for the Raspberry Pi with five input buttons and two output LEDs connected to the GPIO header. This add-on card would be sold fully assembled. The five input buttons are connected to GPIO07, GPIO08, GPIO09, GPIO10 and GPIO11. The two LEDs are connected to GPIO02 and GPIO03.
PI-IRKIT
The PI-IRKIT is an add-on card for the Raspberry Pi with an IR receiver IC to enable the use of standard infrared remotes with the Raspberry Pi. This add-on card uses all through hole parts and would be sold as a kit and fits over just half the GPIO header pins. The IR receiver is connected to GPIO18 of the Raspberry Pi GPIO header.
PI-IRSMT
The PI-IRSMT is an add-on card for the Raspberry Pi with an IR receiver IC to enable the use of standard infrared remotes with the Raspberry Pi. This add-on card would be sold fully assembled and fits over just half the GPIO header pins. A surface mount LED is included on the card that flashes when there is activity on the IR input. The IR receiver is connected to GPIO18 of the Raspberry Pi GPIO header.
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One Response to “Raspberry Pi add-on board prototypes”
Leave a Reply to Brandon S. Cancel reply
They all seem like a lot of fun. I think my favorite would be PI-LEDSMT. It would be a great way to both learn how to control each gpio pin individually, and test each pin should someone ever have reason to believe one’s not getting power. Plus, you could just make a fun little led show from it. As long as it remains less than about $20 after shipping, I’ll likely buy one as soon as it’s available.