Manchester Raspberry Jam and Python North West regular Dave Jones has been working hard on a pure Python implementation of the Pi camera module – of which he recently released a feature complete v1.0. The announcement was made by Ben Nuttall on the Raspberry Pi blog, along with example usage and demonstration of its application in a web app:
If you have a Raspberry Pi camera module, you’ve probably used raspistill and raspivid, which are command line tools for using the camera. Dave Jones, a Database Admin, software developer and SQL know-it-all based in Manchester has been working on an equivalent, feature complete implementation of these in Python. This means you can access the camera module directly from a Python script, without using os.system or executing a subprocess.
Manchester-based sysadmin Will Jessop, who presented his robot (mostly made at the Manchester Hackspace) at our 16th Jam last month – has had his story featured by Ben Nuttall on the Raspberry Pi blog:
Will Jessop is a systems administrator for 37signals and he runs the North West Ruby User Group in Manchester. I bumped in to him recently and discovered he was working on a personal project with a Raspberry Pi. The aim of the project is to solve the problem of ping pong balls on the floor at the 37signals office in Chicago. The solution is a web-enabled robot with mounted camera allowing people to collect balls in to a basket.
Andrew Robinson and the PiFace team wrote up their bullet time project, which was demonstrated at Jam 16:
Some people said we were trying to build a Raspberry Pi time machine. In some ways they were right. Others compared it to the LHC at CERN and said we would warp time and space when they saw our pictures on Facebook. They were partly right too.
And on the Friday night before the Jam it felt like we were building the LHC! With nearly half a kilometre of network cables, 48 Raspberry Pis fitted with cameras and PiFace Control and Displays we wondered if we’d finally been too ambitious with a project!
This issue of Linux User & Developer Magazine features Jason Barnett‘s robot tutorial.
Linux User & Developer is one of the world’s most successful open source authorities and attracts an enthusiastic audience of advanced users, IT professionals and developers who appreciate its unparalleled coverage of Linux and open source software. In Linux User 132 we take on our most ambitious project yet – building a Raspberry Pi robot. Over 18 pages we show you how to build your own for as little as £100.
Here’s an interview reSpace did with Ben about Raspberry Pi, Raspberry Jams and the possible use of Raspberry Pi in libraries:
Short interview with Ben Nuttall, a Web & Software Developer from Manchester, also a Linux & FLOSS advocate, Maths & Computer Science enthusiast, WW Kayaker, Organiser of Manchester Raspberry Jam & curator of Pi Weekly.
I met Ben in London just before Mozilla Festival 2013 and I asked him about what possibilities he sees with Raspberry Pi in a library setting.
An article by free software advocate, Raspberry Pi hacker and North West tech event organiser Les Pounder, including interviews with successful Jam organisers Alan O’Donahoe, Jack Wearden and our own Ben Nuttall
The Raspberry Pi has been available for over 12 months now. Its launch was met with feverish excitement, but once the initial scramble for stock was over and people had a precious Pi cradled in hand, many turned to the question of what to do with all its potential.
In response to that human need to gather over a common interest, Raspberry Jams have popped up across the UK.
Our organiser Ben Nuttall recently launched a Raspberry Pi email newsletter at piweekly.net – the emails aggregate links to news, projects and blog articles from the Raspberry Pi community.
A free weekly newsletter for Raspberry Pi news and projects – out every Friday
EDIT: In August 2013, Pi Weekly was featured on the Raspberry Pi website and we were praised and highly recommended by Liz Upton. Read the post – Pi Weekly: a free email newsletter
Manchester based inventor of the PiFace, Dr. Andrew Robinson, wrote an article for BBC Springwatch on using a Raspberry Pi to monitor bird activity in his garden. The project was also featured on Springwatch on TV.
If you’re anything like me, you’ve wondered what happens in your garden while you’re not watching. I wanted to know when birds are most active – are they busier in the evening or early morning? Thanks to the latest technology, now with a couple of taps of my smartphone I can monitor the bird activity in my garden from anywhere in the world.
This month’s edition of Wired Magazine features the Raspberry Pi, discusses its impact around the world and includes interviews with and about the likes of Eben Upton, Pete Lomas, Paul Beech and Amy Mather.
Moments before Amy Mather is due to give the closing presentation at the Raspberry Jamboree being held in Manchester, the creator of the computer which inspired her talk faces a fresh challenge.
