Getting Started with Raspberry Pi Zero

Key Features

• Get started with Raspberry Pi Zero and put all of its exciting features to use
• Create fun games and programs with little or no programming experience
• Learn to use this super-tiny PC to control hardware and software for work, play, and everything else

Book Description

Raspberry Pi Zero is half the size of Raspberry Pi A, only with twice the utility. At just three centimeters wide, it packs in every utility required for full-fledged computing tasks. This practical tutorial will help you quickly get up and running with Raspberry Pi Zero to control hardware and software and write simple programs and games. You will learn to build creative programs and exciting games with little or no programming experience. We cover all the features of Raspberry Pi Zero as you discover how to configure software and hardware, and control external devices. You will find out how to navigate your way in Raspbian, write simple Python scripts, and create simple DIY programs.

What you will learn

• Understand how to initially download the operating system and set up Raspberry Pi Zero
• Find out how to control the GPIO pins of Raspberry Pi Zero to control LED circuits
• Get to grips with adding hardware to the GPIO to control more complex hardware such as motors
• Add USB control hardware to control a complex robot with 12 servos
• Include speech recognition so that projects can receive commands
• Enable the robot to communicate with the world around it by adding speech output
• Control the robot from a distance and see what the robot is seeing by adding wireless communication
• Discover how to build a Robotic hand and a Quadcopter

About the Author

Richard Grimmett has always been fascinated by computers and electronics since his very first programming project that used Fortran on punch cards. He has a bachelor's and master's degree in electrical engineering and a PhD in leadership studies. He also has 26 years of experience in the radar and telecommunications industries, and even has one of the original brick phones. He now teaches computer science and electrical engineering at the Brigham Young University, Idaho, where his office is filled with his numerous robotics projects.

Table of Contents

1. Getting Started with Raspberry Pi Zero
2. Programming Raspberry Pi Zero
3. Accessing the GPIO Pins on Raspberry Pi Zero
4. Building and Controlling a Simple Wheeled Robot
5. Building a Robot That Can Walk
6. Adding Voice Recognition and Speech – A Voice Activated Robot
7. Adding Raspberry Pi Zero to an RC Vehicle
8. Playing Rock, Paper, or Scissors with Raspberry Pi Zero
9. Adding Raspberry Pi Zero to a Quadcopter