Top 20 Raspberry Pi projects to try yourself

Raspberry Pi projects: Build a smart beer fridge

Nothing says party like your own personal beer fridge, but it’s always hard to tell just how long you need to leave your beverages before they’re ice-cold and ready to drink. Fear not, this Beer/Wine Fridge of Awesomeness from Jamie Bailey has everything you need to ensure your party goes off without a hitch.

Building your own Fridge of Awesomeness requires an odd set of tools alongside your Raspberry Pi 2, including a Wii balance board to detect the number of bottles in the fridge, a door sensor to detect if the fridge is open or closed, a temperature sensor to let you know when bottles are ready to drink, and a dashboard utility to handle all the information. Oh and, of course, a beer fridge of your own…

Raspberry Pi projects: Make a PiCam

Connected IP cameras such as the Netatmo Welcome, Netgear Arlo and Google Nest Cam make it easy to monitor your home over the internet, but they’re rather pricey. If you want to experience all the benefits of the Internet of Things for a fraction of the price, why not use a Raspberry Pi 2 to make your own IP camera system?

All you’ll need is £50, along some free time to configure Raspbian – the microcomputer’s open-source OS – and you’ll be remotely checking your home in no time. Sound good? This tutorial from the Expert Reviews team will show you how it’s done.

Raspberry Pi projects: Make a talking toy

The original Fisher-Price Chatter Telephone is an iconic – if vaguely sinister – children’s toy (what exactly does it have to smile about?). When a new version of the toy was brought out to coincide with the release of Toy Story 3, one tech-savvy individual made it his weekend project to grant new powers to the grinning phone.

Using a Wi-Fi-enabled Raspberry Pi B+, UK-based web developer Grant Gibson made a “Talking Chatter Smartphone”, able to give current weather information and play radio. A tutorial is available on his website, including details about the electronics used, as well as the full Python script.

If turning a toy from the 1960s into Frankenstein’s monster doesn’t appeal, there are plenty of other toys that would make excellent hosts for a Raspberry Pi. Imagine a Furby that’s able to read you the day’s headlines. (Shudder.)

Raspberry Pi projects: Make a bitcoin-mining machine

If you’re reading this now, you’ve probably missed your chance to make millions in the Bitcoin boom, but that shouldn’t stop you trying with your Raspberry Pi. For less than £70, you can turn your Pi into a Bitcoin miner, complete with a dashboard showing the current exchange rate and much more.

READ NEXT: How to buy Bitcoin

The Raspberry Pi is great for learning about technology, and combining it with the revolutionary Bitcoin currency will make sure you’re at the forefront of tech. What’s more, there’s always a chance the project could pay for itself – and then some. 

Raspberry Pi projects: A teeny-tiny arcade cabinet

If you’ve ever wanted to build a rodent-sized arcade cabinet running MAME, you’ve come to the right place. As explained on SpritesMods, this little baby comes packed with a 2.4in display and a somewhat impractically sized thumbstick… still, might be good for a dolls’ house?

Need a bit of help first? Why not check out our guide to setting up your new Raspberry Pi B+