Raspberry Pi enthusiasts might be interested in a new sensor interface board which has been created by Infusion Systems specifically for Raspberry Pi systems and takes the form of the aptly named PiShield.
The PiShield allows you to easily add up to 8x 5V analog sensors and 4x I2C devices to the Raspberry Pi and its form factor is in line with the Raspberry Pi Zero, but it’s functionality can be used across the entire Raspberry Pi mini PC range.
Infusion Systems explain more about the inspiration behind the design of the PiShield, which is now available to back via Kickstarter with pledges starting from just CAD $10 for earlybird backers.
Out of the box, Raspberry Pi boards do not have an onboard Analog to Digital Converter (ADC). This means that you will need additional hardware for many sensors. Additionally, the pins on the Pi are not 5V tolerant, so using 5V sensors and devices could potentially not work and damage the board! We would like to use I-CubeX and other sensors with the Pi, thereby increasing the creative capabilities of the system.
We have created an add-on, the PiShield, for the Raspberry Pi that allows plug and play support for analog as well as digital I2C I-CubeX sensors operating at 5V. Additionally, PiShield will allow you to use any analog and I2C device that operates at 5 volts. The PiShield, from the hardware specifications to every piece of software that runs on it, is completely open source. Schematics and pinouts are available for you to use your own sensors in addition to any I-CubeX sensors, or to even re-make the PiShield from scratch – although we’d like to save you a lot of time and $$ by providing you with a plug and play solution! The instructions for setting up the software environment are available, as well as tutorials for interfacing with various software environments.
If you enjoy building Pi projects you might be interested in our comprehensive list of Raspberry Pi displays, HATS and small screens.
Source: Kickstarter
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