RAY MORTIMER

UK Web Developer

SMART LAMP

This RGB smart lamp is powered by a Raspberry Pi Pico W microcontroller and is fully controlled via a web interface.

As promised in my last hardware project, I did buy a Raspberry Pi Pico Microcontroller (I also bought the full Raspberry Pi 3 for good measure).

So, I've been spending some time recently skilling up on the Internet of Things!

I rigged up a Raspberry Pi Pico W micro-controller with an 8x led light strip and housed it within a lamp base fashioned from a (new) toilet brush holder - the frosted tube makes a good modern lamp!

I was disappointed I couldn't get a PWA (progressive web app) to run as this requires HTTPS and the Pico is currently only serving HTTP content. I refactored it as a standard web app, of course entitled "Watt's App?"

Nevertheless, I think the Pico in its wifi supporting W form opens up some interesting possibilities in the experiential space, especially when paired with traditional touchscreen frontend apps.

Tasks achieved:

  • Programming the 8 led light strip in Python
  • Configuring websockets in Python
  • Developing a PWA on the iphone (let down by current lack of HTTPS support)
  • Getting two way comms between Pico and other devices
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