The 20 silliest Raspberry Pi projects

By Nick Heath // August 23, 2017, 6:30 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.

Image: Andrey Chilikin
Lickable lollipop computer controller

Thought RSI was bad? Imagine licking your way through an eight-hour stint at your desktop.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Image: Dave Young / YouTube
Bark-activated door

Ever wished your dog could open doors? No. Well, someone created a bark-triggered door anyway.

Image: Dave Hunt / YouTube
Whoo-Pi cushion

The Whoo-Pi cushion promises hilarity for fans of boisterous bottom burps and thunderous tush trumpets.

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.

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

A fitting reward for the effort, or a surefire way to undo your hard work?

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.

Image: Useless Duck Company / YouTube
Sock-removing robot

From the same creator, this joke robot removes rather more than clothing.

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++.

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.
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.
Haunted Halloween mirror

If the ravages of time aren't terrifying enough, perhaps a looming specter will give you a jolt.

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.

Image: Raspberry Pi Foundation
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?

Image: Raspberry Pi Foundation
Pi air-drum kit

Now you don't even need a drum kit to set free your inner Phil Collins.
Also see
Image: David Pride / YouTube

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.

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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