Guides & Projects for Makers
-
Build Your Own AI Storyteller with a Raspberry Pi
Remember the magic of bedtime stories? What if you could build a device that generates unique, new stories for your kids with just the tap of a card? In this project, we’ll show you how to create your very own AI-powered Storyteller using a Raspberry Pi, an RFID reader, and a bit of Python magic.…
-
Raspberry Pi 5 & RC522: Reading RFID Cards without RPi.GPIO
This tutorial guides you through the process of connecting an RC522 RFID reader to a Raspberry Pi 5 via the SPI interface and reading the Unique ID (UID) from RFID cards using a minimalist Python library. Many existing tutorials for the RC522 use the RPi.GPIO library, which is no longer readily supported on the Raspberry…
-
Create Your Own ESP32 Web Server
In this project, you’ll build your very own ESP32 web server. You’ll progress step-by-step: from a simple “Hello World” to controlling an LED, and finally to displaying the current temperature. Your microcontroller will make all this available on a webpage that you can access from any device on your network. Let’s get started! Why a…
-
Retro Calling: ChatGPT on Your Rotary Phone
In this project, you’ll convert a telephone so that you can call ChatGPT with it: You dial a number with the rotary dial, and you an ChatGPT start having a phone conversation. Not just a single question and an answer from the AI – but a real conversation where ChatGPT remembers what you said previously…
-
Update for the ESP32 Internet Radio: Save Songs to Spotify
Have you ever heard a song on the radio that you wanted to remember so you could listen to it later on Spotify? Perhaps you relied on your memory or used pen and paper. But there’s a more elegant solution: In this project, you’ll build an extension for the ESP32 Internet radio that allows you…
-
MQTT (Part 4): Secure Communication Between Devices
Ensuring secure communication between devices is crucial when working with MQTT. In the previous parts of this MQTT series, you set up communication between two ESP8266 devices and exchanged sensor data. However, security measures were not yet implemented. Without proper security, an unauthorized user could intercept your data or disrupt your system. This tutorial will…
-
MQTT (Part 3): Sending and Receiving Data
In the previous part, you learned about the MQTT broker and how to set it up with Mosquitto on a Raspberry Pi. Now, it’s time to establish communication between devices. In this tutorial, you will learn how to send data from an ESP8266 to the broker and how another ESP8266 can subscribe to this data…
-
MQTT (Part 2): Setting Up an MQTT Broker on the Raspberry Pi
In the previous part, you learned the basics of MQTT. Now, we dive deeper into the central element of any MQTT application: the broker. In this tutorial, you will learn how to set up an MQTT broker on your Raspberry Pi using Mosquitto. What is an MQTT Broker? An MQTT broker is the heart of…
-
MQTT (Part 1): Introduction
This tutorial series is all about MQTT – the messaging protocol that is excellent for exchanging data between devices. Imagine you want to monitor the temperature in your greenhouse. To do this, you install temperature sensors that send their readings via MQTT to a central broker. The broker then distributes the data to all “interested”…
-
Compact Battery-Powered Plant Monitor with the ATtiny85
Do you have a green thumb? Even if you do, this project will help remind you to water your plants. Simply place the Plant Monitor in the pot with your favorite plant and calibrate it to the appropriate soil moisture level. When the soil gets too dry, the LED will start blinking, giving you a…
