The 30 silliest Raspberry Pi projects

By Nick Heath · July 31, 2019, 7:54 AM PST · nickjheath

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Teabag dunker

The Raspberry Pi has reimagined what's possible with low-cost computing: powering robots that clear landmines and conducting experiments in space.
The following projects are a trifle less lofty, not so much lowering the bar, as dropping it into the Mariana Trench. Here are perhaps the silliest Pi-powered creations around, projects with less 'wow' and a lot more 'why?', starting with one for tea lovers.
If your cupboards are cluttered with CD drives from long-deceased PCs, why not put them to work making the perfect cuppa.
SEE: Raspberry Pi: More must-read coverage (TechRepublic on Flipboard)

Image: Andrey Chilikin
Lickable lollipop computer controller

Thought RSI was bad? Imagine licking your way through an eight-hour stint at your desktop.
SEE: Raspberry Pi: More must-read coverage (TechRepublic on Flipboard)

Image: Nicole He
The confused camera

When you take a picture, do you ever think 'Why did I bother?'. This 'camera' throws away your photo and replaces it with one of the thousands of similar images online.
SEE: Raspberry Pi: More must-read coverage (TechRepublic on Flipboard)

Image: Salade Tomate Oignon / Vimeo
Hamster-powered drawing machine

A machine that draws hamster selfies. Alternatively, a contraption that traps unwitting creatures in a cycle of behavior to power a machine beyond their comprehension.
SEE: Raspberry Pi: More must-read coverage (TechRepublic on Flipboard)

Image: Neil Mendoza / Vimeo
Robocod

Not really a robot or a cod, but it's still a goldfish driving a vehicle by swimming around its tank.
SEE: Raspberry Pi: More must-read coverage (TechRepublic on Flipboard)

Image: Alex Kent / YouTube
Ridiculous subscriber robot

Basically an exercise in self-torture. Every subscriber to the YouTube channel of Pi tinkerer Michael Reeves' results in him being blasted by a siren louder than a jackhammer and spasms the lights in his office on and off.
SEE: Raspberry Pi: More must-read coverage (TechRepublic on Flipboard)

Image: Michael Reeves / YouTube
Laser dog minder

This greedy dog is no match for a laser-based motion sensor, which triggers a recording scolding the hound the moment it puts its paws on the countertop.
SEE: Raspberry Pi: More must-read coverage (TechRepublic on Flipboard)

Image: Dave Young / YouTube
Bark-activated door

Ever wished your dog could open doors? No. Well, someone created a bark-triggered door anyway.
SEE: Raspberry Pi: More must-read coverage (TechRepublic on Flipboard)

Image: Dave Hunt / YouTube
Whoo-Pi cushion

The Whoo-Pi cushion promises hilarity for fans of boisterous bottom burps and thunderous tush trumpets.
SEE: Raspberry Pi: More must-read coverage (TechRepublic on Flipboard)

Image: Raspberry Pi Foundation
Motion-tracking Nerf gun

Elon Musk warned us this would happen. An autonomous weapon that tracks movement and peppers intruders with round after round of high caliber, compacted foam.
SEE: Raspberry Pi: More must-read coverage (TechRepublic on Flipboard)

Image: Hacker House / hackster.io
Bicycle-powered beer dispenser

A fitting reward for the effort, or a surefire way to undo your hard work?
SEE: Raspberry Pi: More must-read coverage (TechRepublic on Flipboard)

Image: Menabrea / Grant Gibson
Wi-Fi cradle

Not a serious project in any way, but a demonstration of how not to rock your baby to sleep.
SEE: Raspberry Pi: More must-read coverage (TechRepublic on Flipboard)

Image: Useless Duck Company / YouTube
Sock-removing robot

From the same creator, this joke robot removes rather more than clothing.
SEE: Raspberry Pi: More must-read coverage (TechRepublic on Flipboard)

Image: Useless Duck Company / YouTube
Joke-telling Pi

Because nothing is funnier than staring at a screen, waiting for the punchline to a joke about C++.
SEE: Raspberry Pi: More must-read coverage (TechRepublic on Flipboard)

Image: Jo Bergs / YouTube
Coffee-replenishing system

A complex mesh of deep learning and other back-end systems work round the clock to make sure this guy never runs out of coffee.
SEE: Raspberry Pi: More must-read coverage (TechRepublic on Flipboard)
Tweeting catflap

Every time this pampered puss uses its cat flap, an image is Tweeted of its resolutely unimpressed face, alongside a computer-generated ode to the kitty.
SEE: Raspberry Pi: More must-read coverage (TechRepublic on Flipboard)
Haunted Halloween mirror

If the ravages of time aren't terrifying enough, perhaps a looming specter will give you a jolt.
SEE: Raspberry Pi: More must-read coverage (TechRepublic on Flipboard)

Image: Circuit-Help / YouTube
Hamster party cam

A hamster in its wheel, listening to party music, with disco lights--all caught on camera. A livestream waiting to happen.
SEE: Raspberry Pi: More must-read coverage (TechRepublic on Flipboard)

Image: Raspberry Pi Foundation
Pi air-drum kit

Now you don't even need a drum kit to set free your inner Phil Collins.
SEE: Raspberry Pi: More must-read coverage (TechRepublic on Flipboard)

Image: David Pride / YouTube
Eye tracker

If surveillance capitalism isn't creepy enough for you, why not build a floating eye that tracks your every movement?
SEE: Raspberry Pi: More must-read coverage (TechRepublic on Flipboard)

Image: Lukas Stratmann / YouTube
Jelly bean-pooping unicorn

Greek mythology's got nothing on this lurid creation, which, as promised, spews jelly beans from its rear.
SEE: Raspberry Pi: More must-read coverage (TechRepublic on Flipboard)

Image: Kids Invent Stuff / YouTube
Goodbye machine

Bid your friends adieu by blasting them with a verse of James Blunt's Goodbye My Lover or Lily Allen's less affectionate **** You, complete with fitting hand gestures.
SEE: Raspberry Pi: More must-read coverage (TechRepublic on Flipboard)

Image: 8 Bits and a Byte / YouTube
Toilet tracker

Say goodbye to unwelcome surprises in the bathroom, thanks to a Pi-powered system that uses radar to track what's lurking in the bowl.
SEE: Raspberry Pi: More must-read coverage (TechRepublic on Flipboard)

Image: Md. Khairul Alam/ Raspberry Pi blog
Cursing Roomba

Another Michael Reeves creation, this modified Roomba fills your home with blood-curdling screams and the harshest profanities every time it bumps into something.
SEE: Raspberry Pi: More must-read coverage (TechRepublic on Flipboard)

Image: Lukas Stratmann /YouTube
Pi voice changer

Complete your transformation into a denizen of the underworld with a suitably nightmarish rasp.
SEE: Raspberry Pi: More must-read coverage (TechRepublic on Flipboard)

Image: Oliver Ros / YouTube
Talk like a pirate translator

If pirates don't make you want to walk the plank, why not try adding the flavor of the high seas to your text?
SEE: Raspberry Pi: More must-read coverage (TechRepublic on Flipboard)

Image: Raspberry Pi Foundation
Plynth

Music connoisseurs who favor ostentatious displays over convenience can play music by placing vinyl albums in front of a camera-equipped Raspberry Pi.
SEE: Raspberry Pi: More must-read coverage (TechRepublic on Flipboard)

Image: Plynth
Pi-powered pie chart

It doesn't get much more Pi-themed than this, this Pi-powered scale tracks how much pie is left using a pie chart.
SEE: Raspberry Pi: More must-read coverage (TechRepublic on Flipboard)

Image: Mike MacHenry / Raspberry Pi blog
Santa detector

This system tasks a deep-learning neural network with the very serious matter of detecting whether that guy with the long beard really can shake his belly like a bowl full of jelly.
SEE: Raspberry Pi: More must-read coverage (TechRepublic on Flipboard)

Image: Adrian Rosebrock / YouTube
Robotic teapot

Who'd have thought a teapot could look so sinister? This robot fuses the short and stout receptacle to four distinctly insectoid legs, allowing it to stalk through your home.
Also see
Image: Paul-Louis Ageneau

Teabag dunker

The Raspberry Pi has reimagined what's possible with low-cost computing: powering robots that clear landmines and conducting experiments in space.

The following projects are a trifle less lofty, not so much lowering the bar, as dropping it into the Mariana Trench. Here are perhaps the silliest Pi-powered creations around, projects with less 'wow' and a lot more 'why?', starting with one for tea lovers.

If your cupboards are cluttered with CD drives from long-deceased PCs, why not put them to work making the perfect cuppa.

SEE: Raspberry Pi: More must-read coverage (TechRepublic on Flipboard)

Image: Andrey Chilikin

By Nick Heath

Nick Heath is chief reporter for TechRepublic. He writes about the technology that IT decision makers need to know about, and the latest happenings in the European tech scene.

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