instructables

CrowPi- Lead You Go From Zero to Hero With Raspberry Pi

by Elecrow

What's CrowPi? say YES or NO. You’re interested in electronics or

Raspberry Pi, but you have no idea how to start.
CrowPi is a development board equipped with 7 inch You’re passionate about STEM education, but you
display that can help you learn Raspberry Pi in an can’t find useful and easy materials to teach with.
easier way. With CrowPi, not only you can learn You’re using Raspberry Pi, but you don’t make the
basic computer science but also practice most of it. You completed some simple experiments,
programmingand complete numerous electronic and you want to explore more projects and dive
projects. CrowPi can improve your knowledge and deeper into the electronics world. If you say YES
ability in hardware and software related fields, once, CrowPi is born for you. CrowPi will help you
specially designed to help you develop python solve all the problems mentioned above.
programming skills.
IF YOU WANT TO KNOW ABOUT CROWPI
Why do you need CrowPi? PLEASE CLICK HERE TO CHECK.
Before you answer this question, let’s do a simple
quiz game. Do you face the problems below? Just

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-4Q-MSUnrY

CrowPi- Lead You Go From Zero to Hero With Raspberry Pi: Page 1
Step 1: CrowPi Lessons With Python 2.7

- Lesson 1 - Basic of GPIO and how to use GPIO Ultrasonic sensor.

Input/Output
- Lesson 11 - Controlling the LCD Display.
- Lesson 2 - Using the Buzzer for alert sound or
notification. - Lesson 12 - Read / Write RFID card using the RFID
module.
- Lesson 3 - Get input from button to control the
Buzzer. - Lesson 13 - Using the step motor and making step
movements.
- Lesson 4 - How Relay works and how to control it.
- Lesson 14 - Controlling servos motors using the
- Lesson 5 - Send vibration signal to the vibration servo interfaces. - Lesson 15 - Controlling the 8x8
sensor. Matrix LED.

- Lesson 6 - Detect sound using the sound sensor. - Lesson 16 - Controlling the 7 Segment Display.

- Lesson 7 - Detect low or bright light using the Light - Lesson 17 - Detecting touch using the Touch
sensor. Sensor.

- Lesson 8 - Detect room temperature and humidity - Lesson 18 - Detecting tilt using the Tilt Sensor.
using the DHT11 sensor.
- Lesson 19 - Using and controlling the Button Matrix.
- Lesson 9 - Detect motion using the motion sensor. - Lesson 20 - Making your own circuit board using the
Bread Board
- Lesson 10 - Getting distance information using the

CrowPi- Lead You Go From Zero to Hero With Raspberry Pi: Page 2
CrowPi- Lead You Go From Zero to Hero With Raspberry Pi: Page 3
Step 2: 19 Integrated Modules for You to Build Projects

* 1 - Buzzer sensor - Used to make a really loud signals

buzzing alarm!
* 11 - DH11 module - Used to detect the temperature
* 2 - Relay sensor - Used to open and close and humidity over the room
electronic circuits
* 12 - Ultrasonic sensor - Used to detect and measure
* 3 - Microphone sensor - Used to detect loud noise in the distance
the room
* 13 - Light sensor - Used to detect and measure the
* 4 - Tilt sensor- Used to detect right or left tilt of the straight of the light in the room
board
* 14 - LCD Module - Used to show things and text
* 5 - Vibration sensor - Used to make a strong
vibration over the CrowPi board * 15 - Segment LED - Used to show numbers and
data
* 6 - Motion sensor - Used to detect motion or * 16 - Matrix LED - Used to show text and other sort
movement around of data

* 7 - Touch Sensor - Used as a touch button that can * 17 - RFID Module - Used to detect NFC chips and
be pressed at modules, able to both read and write

* 8 - Step motor connection - Used to move things * 18 - Independent buttons - Can be used to play
and make step movements games or control a robot

* 9 - Servos connections - Used to rotate things * 19 - Matrix Buttons - Can be used as keypad or
multiple options buttons
* 10 - IR sensor - Used to send and receive Infra red

CrowPi- Lead You Go From Zero to Hero With Raspberry Pi: Page 4
Step 3: Project Sample A

Using the buzzer as an alert notification What will you need

After the previous class, we understood how to use CrowPi Board after initial installation
the GPIO pin both as output and input.
Requires switching modules using the switch :No
To test it up we will go with real-life example and
apply our knowledge from the previous class into one Location of the buzzer on the CrowPi
of the modules over the board. The Module we will
use is the “buzzer”. The buzzer, as the name states, The Buzzer is located on the right side of the CrowPi
buzz. We will use GPIO output to send signal to the board, it’s easy to be detected by the loud noise it
buzzer and close the circuit to make a loud buzzing makes when activated On the first time you’ll use
noise then we will send another signal to turn it off your Raspberry Pi, the Buzzer sensor might be
and close the circuit. sealed with protection sticker. Make sure to unseal
the sticker by simply tearing it off and expose the
What will you learn buzzer itself.

At the end of this lesson you'll be able to: Be able to

control the buzzer module using GPIO output

Step 4: Project Sample A

Activating the Buzzer Then we configure the buzzer at pin 12, we setting up
the mode of GPIO to GPIO BOARD and setting up
Just as at the previous example, we’ve prepared the pin as OUTPUT pin. We will output buzzing signal
special script with detailed comments that will explain for 0.5 seconds and then turn it off to prevent loud
how the whole buzzing process works and how we noise.
are able to control the buzzer using GPIO output.
Follow this link to download the script and try it by
At first we import RPi.GPIO library and the time yourself: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Elecrow-
library for sleeping. keen/Cr...

CrowPi- Lead You Go From Zero to Hero With Raspberry Pi: Page 5
Step 5: Project Sample B

Controlling the LCD Display What will you need

LCD (and matrix display) is probably the funniest and CrowPi Board after initial installation Requires
most exciting part when building projects using the switching modules using the switch
CrowPi, using the LCD display you could show data
that you collect using your CrowPi sensors and also *No
update it in real time depends on the change that the
modules goes through! For example: yesterday it was LCD Screen location on the CrowPi
really hot but today it’s really cold - let the CrowPi
LCD change itself automatically with the latest and The LCD screen takes the biggest part of the CrowPi
most updated info so you will not accidentally wear board so we are sure you noticed it immediately! As
the wrong clothes for school / work! soon as running the demo script and the examples,
the CrowPi will turn on with beautiful background light
What will you learn that can be seen even when all the lights in the room
are turned off
At the end of this lesson you'll be able to: What you
will learn how to control the LCD display and write
data into it.

CrowPi- Lead You Go From Zero to Hero With Raspberry Pi: Page 6
Step 6: Project Sample B

Working with the LCD For controlling the LCD we’ll use
Adafruit_CharLCDBackpack which is Adafruit
The I2C as some other sensors also doesn’t work on framework, makes things a lot of easier for us when
GPIO Technology instead we use something called working with such complicated product!
“I2C” (The same I2C we used for the light sensor in Follow this link to download the script and try it by
our previous examples), the address we’ll use for the yourself: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Elecrow-
LCD screen is 21, by connecting to this I2C address keen/Cr...
we’ll be able to send commands for example: writing
text or numbers, turning on the backlight of the LCD,
turning it off, enabling cursor etc …

CrowPi- Lead You Go From Zero to Hero With Raspberry Pi: Page 7
Step 7: Project Sample C

Read / Write RFID card using the RFID module. Requires switching modules using the switch

The RFID module is one of the most interesting and *No

useful modules in the market, used world wide in
wide variety of solutions such as: smart door lock, RFID Module location on the CrowPi
employee entry card, business cards and even on
dog collars? No matter what kind of project you’re into The RFID module is located right below the
- RFID module will definitely come in use! Raspberry Pi (either zero or 3) it looks like a small
chip with “wifi” illustration coming out of it which
What will you learn means wireless connectivity (which is what RFID
does) in order to use it we’ll need to take the chip or
At the end of this lesson you'll be able to: Control the the card that comes with the CrowPi and hand it over
RFID, Read and Write Data from it and recognise the the CrowPi RFID Chip area close enough for our
chips What will you need script to detect it. 2-4cm should be close enough,
have a try!
CrowPi Board after initial installation RFID Chip
(included with the CrowPi)

Step 8: Project Sample C

Working with the RFID successful, it will read the data and print it out on the
screen. After finished it will Deauthorize and quit the
Working with the RFID module is pretty straight script. In another script example we’ll be able to
forward. We have 3 functionalities: Authorizing, Read, Authorize, Read, Re-write the data to a new data and
Write and Deauthorizing. First step will be when you then Deauthorize. Follow this link to download the
touch the NFC at that time the module and our script script and try it by yourself:
will try to Authorize the chip using the default https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Elecrow-keen/Cr...
password configuration (if you haven’t changed it, it
should work) afterwards, when authorization is

CrowPi- Lead You Go From Zero to Hero With Raspberry Pi: Page 8
Step 9: Where to Buy CrowPi?

Our CrowPi was lauched on Kickstarter

Help us send these adorable keyrings into production at https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/elecrow/crow...

New CrowPi which is good for your child to learn RPI and it's a all-in-one RPI development platform.

Promote your Raspberry Pi now!!

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