The Raspberry Pi is synonymous with invention. Simply take a look at the tens of hundreds of initiatives which use the credit score card-sized laptop. The $4 Raspberry Pi Pico continued this custom, and now the $6 Raspberry Pi Pico W is following go well with with low-cost, Wi-Fi-enabled embedded initiatives.
The Raspberry Pi Pico W launch day additionally noticed new boards from UK Raspberry Pi reseller, Pimoroni. The brand new “Pico W Aboard” vary of kits spans small citizen science platforms for climate and air high quality sensors, to massive full-color ePaper shows and the mysterious “Galactic Unicorn.” Proper in the midst of this vary is the $32 Inventor 2040 W, the religious successor to Pimoroni’s Explorer HAT (which options on our Greatest Raspberry Pi HATs) addon for the Raspberry Pi. Inventor 2040 W is a spot the place we are able to take a look at out new challenge concepts. We are able to construct robots and science experiments with relative ease, linking them to the Web utilizing service comparable to IFTTT, Anvil or MQTT.
Will the Inventor 2040 W declare a spot in our Greatest RP2040 Boards? The quick reply is sure, however we’ll qualify that by placing it via its paces, and by constructing a challenge which takes benefit of the Pico W’s Wi-Fi, and Inventor 2040 W’s vary of features.
Inventor 2040 W Specs
| SoC | Raspberry Pi Pico W |
| RP2040 Arm Cortex M0+ Twin Core at 133 MHz | |
| RAM | 264KB SRAM |
| Storage | 2MB Flash |
| Connectivity | Infineon CYW43439 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi with onboard antenna |
| Linked by way of SPI | |
| GPIO | 2 x JST-SH connectors (6 pin) for attaching motors |
| Audio connector | |
| 6 x Servo headers | |
| 6 x GPIO pins (together with 3 analog inputs) | |
| 12 x WS2812B NeoPixels | |
| 2 x QwST (Qwicc / Stemma QT suitable) ports | |
| Person button | |
| Reset button | |
| Breakout Backyard headers (unsoldered) | |
| Energy / Information | Micro USB for information and energy |
| JST-PH (2 pin) connector for attaching battery (enter voltage 2.5V – 5.5V | |
| Dimensions | 51 x 66 mm |
| Value | $33 (£34.50) |
Utilizing Inventor 2040 W
Pimoroni has its personal MicroPython launch, which covers its vary of Pico and Pico W based mostly boards. We downloaded the most recent suitable model for Inventor 2040 W and flashed it to the board. We then went via the instance initiatives to regulate every of the options of the board.
Inventor 2040 W additionally helps C++, and Pimoroni have instance initiatives which reap the benefits of this highly effective language. Presently there isn’t a CircuitPython launch for Inventor 2040 W, nor for the Raspberry Pi Pico W. For our overview, we caught with MicroPython, particularly Pimoroni’s personal launch, and later a launch designed for Web-enabled initiatives.
Pimoroni’s MicroPython launch options an abstracted MicroPython module that makes quick work of the board’s features. Inside moments we had exact management of an MG90S servo, colourful rainbows of RGB gentle, and even managed to play a couple of bars of a sea shanty on the audio output.
Controlling motors is a breeze, thanks once more to a well-thought-out MicroPython module and a DRV8833 motor controller. There’s a caveat to keep in mind. Motor compatibility is proscribed to DC motors utilizing a JST-SH 6 pin connector, relatively than a standard two-pin breakout. Pimoroni adopted this normal for its Motor 2040 product, and it’s not at all a deal breaker. This new connection is neater and simpler to make use of. In the event you simply need to plug and play. Purchase these motors and you might be off to the races. If you have already got a inventory of micro gear metallic motors, then you should buy adaptor boards to transform two motors for round $7.
Servo breakouts are a extra conventional three-pin SVG (Sign, Voltage, Floor) configuration. We are able to management as much as six servos without delay, sufficient for a robotic arm or an animatronic puppet. The identical breakout configuration is used for the six GPIO pins, of which three are used for analog inputs. This configuration is beneficial, and offers every pin its personal devoted 3.3V and GND pin, lowering the necessity for a breadboard to create a typical GND or voltage reference. We might’ve appreciated to have seen extra GPIO pins, however after a fast dialog with Pimoroni we now have been knowledgeable that all the GPIO pins are getting used, and it’s not bodily attainable to breakout any extra.
What if it’s good to join sensors, screens, inputs? Fortunately Pimoroni has added two Qw/ST connectors. This portmanteau of SparkFun’s Qwiic and Adafruit’s StemmaQT connection is basically I2C in a neat bundle. We carried out our typical take a look at utilizing a BME688 temperature sensor, and inside moments we had stay information streaming from Inventor 2040 W.
There are additionally unpopulated headers to be used with Pimoroni’s Breakout Backyard boards. These boards use I2C, identical to Qw/ST, however use Pimoroni’s personal kind issue. Soldering the header requires an adaptor, designed for the Breakout Backyard boards. As soon as soldered you might be free to make use of any of Pimoroni’s breakouts in your initiatives.
Usually use, Inventor 2040 W is powered by way of the micro USB port current on the Raspberry Pi Pico W. However what if you wish to make your challenge transportable? For this, we’ll want a battery and by chance Inventor 2040 W has a JST-PH connector for a suitable LiPo or AA / AAA battery pack. We examined with a 1,000 mAh LiPo battery, wrote a couple of traces of code to regulate a servo, and saved into “foremost.py,” which MicroPython executes on boot. We eliminated the USB lead, related the LiPo and our servo sprang into life.
All of this performance is nice, however the coronary heart of the board is the brand new Raspberry Pi Pico W, and we are able to affirm that it’s extremely easy to get on-line. The identical 5 traces of MicroPython we utilized in our overview can join the Pico W to the world, and from there we’re free to make use of companies comparable to IFTTT to ship information to Twitter, Google Docs and so on. What if we would like two-way communication? To create a method to regulate the servos, motors, LEDs and audio, we used Anvil. This required us to make use of the customized Anvil MicroPython firmware as a substitute of Pimoroni’s. To make use of Inventor 2040 W’s features we have been completely satisfied to search out that Pimoroni has a MicroPython module that we are able to set up to the basis of the Pico W drive. We are able to then use the features as if we have been utilizing Pimoroni’s firmware. Utilizing Anvil and the MicroPython module, we created a net interface to regulate the features, even opening the app as much as most people on our stay “Tom’s {Hardware}: The Pi Solid” present.
Who’s Inventor 2040 W for?
Inventor 2040 W is the religious successor to the favored Raspberry Pi addon, Explorer HAT. It’s a playground for studying: With the code abstractions and easy-to-use interfaces, we are able to put this in entrance of a learner with minimal directions, and watch what they create. Learners and educators will profit probably the most from Inventor 2040 W, however this doesn’t low cost the remainder of us. Makers of all ranges and talents will recognize the simplicity of a well-made board and accompanying software program, and Inventor 2040 W meets each of those standards.
Backside Line
Inventor 2040 W is an apt title. With this little board, we are able to invent new initiatives, protected within the data that the simplicity afforded to us will assist our creations come to life. Consider it as a method to discover and take a look at new concepts for a product. For educators, you get loads of options with only a few wires, serving to your learners to familiarize yourself with electronics. We like Inventor 2040 W, and we are able to see it being utilized in many various initiatives.
