RPi Sensor Activity

A Sugar activity for monitoring various sensors connected to a Raspberry Pi. This educational tool allows students to visualize and understand real-time sensor data.

Overview

RPi Sensor Activity provides a modern, user-friendly dashboard that displays readings from multiple sensors:

• Temperature & Humidity (DHT11)
• Distance (HC-SR04 Ultrasonic)
• Motion (PIR Sensor)

Features

• Real-time sensor data updates every 2 seconds
• Modern card-based UI with gradient backgrounds
• Interactive hover effects
• Error handling and status display
• Clean, readable sensor value presentation

Hardware Requirements

• Raspberry Pi (any model)
• DHT11 Temperature & Humidity Sensor (connected to GPIO4)
• HC-SR04 Ultrasonic Distance Sensor
  • Trigger Pin: GPIO5
  • Echo Pin: GPIO6
• PIR Motion Sensor (connected to GPIO7)

Software Requirements

• Sugar Desktop Environment
• Python 3.x
• Required Python packages:
  • adafruit-circuitpython-dht
  • adafruit-circuitpython-hcsr04
  • adafruit-blinka
  • PyGObject

Wiring Guide

DHT11 Sensor

• VCC → 3.3V
• Data → GPIO4
• GND → GND

HC-SR04 Sensor

• VCC → 5V
• Trigger → GPIO5
• Echo → GPIO6
• GND → GND

PIR Motion Sensor

• VCC → 5V
• Data → GPIO7
• GND → GND

Usage

1. Launch the activity from Sugar's home view
2. The dashboard will automatically start displaying sensor readings
3. Readings update every 2 seconds
4. Error messages will be displayed if any sensor encounters issues

Development

File Structure

rpi-sensor-activity/
├── activity/
│   ├── activity.info
│   └── activity-icon.svg
├── activity.py
├── setup.py
└── README.md

Troubleshooting

Common issues and solutions:

1. "No module named 'adafruit_dht'"

   • Ensure all required packages are installed
   • Check Python environment

2. Sensor reading errors

   • Check wiring connections
   • Verify power supply
   • Ensure correct GPIO pins are specified