Raspberry Pi Pico OLED Display (SSD1306)

This is the third tutorial in a series dedicated to exploring the Raspberry Pi Foundation's groundbreaking new microcontroller: the Raspberry Pi Pico. The first entry centered on the basic principles of interfacing with the Pico and programming with Thonny and MicroPython, while the second entry focused on emulating the Google Home and Amazon Alexa LED animations with a WS2812 RGB LED array. In this tutorial, an SSD1306 organic light emitting diode (OLED) display will be controlled using the Pico microcontroller. A MicroPython library will be used as the base class for interfacing with the SSD1306, while custom algorithms are introduced to create data displays. Additionally, a custom Python3 algorithm will be given that allows users to show a custom image on the display. Lastly, a real-time plot will be created that shows an audio signal outputted by a MEMS microphone, emulating a real-time graph display. The SSD1306 is a useful tool for smaller scale projects that require real-time data displays, control feedback, and IoT testing. The power of the Pico microcontroller makes interfacing with the SSD1306 fast and easy, which will be evident when working with the Pico and SSD1306.

Electronics, Raspberry Pi, ProgrammingJoshua HriskoMarch 9, 2021Raspberry Pi, Raspberry Pi Pico, Pico, Pico Microcontroller, RPi Pico, SSD1306, OLED, OLED Display, I2C, Logo, Raspberry Pi 4, Wiring, MicroPython, Real-TimeComment

Distance Detection with the TF-Luna LiDAR and Raspberry Pi

The TF-Luna is an 850nm Light Detection And Ranging (LiDAR) module developed by Benewake that uses the time-of-flight (ToF) principle to detect objects within the field of view of the sensor. The TF-Luna is capable of measuring objects 20cm - 8m away, depending on the ambient light conditions and surface reflectivity of the object(s) being measured. A vertical cavity surface emitting laser (VCSEL) is at the center of the TF-Luna, which is categorized as a Class 1 laser, making it very safe for nearly all applications [read about laser classification here]. The TF-Luna has a selectable sample rate from 1Hz - 250Hz, making it ideal for more rapid distance detection scenarios. In this tutorial, the TF-Luna is wired to a Raspberry Pi 4 computer via the mini UART serial port and powered using the 5V pin. Python will be used to configure and test the LiDAR module, with specific examples and use cases.