Raspberry Pi-4 Based ioT Projects for Engineers

Hi learners! Welcome to the tutorial on the Raspberry Pi-4. Today we are talking about the Internet of Things or simply IoT which is a popular topic nowadays. The scale of this popularity is enhanced with the release of Apple AirTags. We will talk about IoT in detail but before that, we will try our best to elaborate on the reason why we have chosen Rasberry pi-4 for our list of projects.

This article is based on the projects of IoT that are related to different fields of daily life whether it is home automation or agriculture. The main components and ideas are shared with you and we hope you will find the perfect project for you. At the end of every project, we have given the points that can be used to make the project at an advanced level.

Why Raspberry Pi-4 is Ideal for IoT

Raspberry Pi is the most famous SBC (single-board computer) that is considered ideal for the IoT because of its small size, and low cost. In June 2019, the Raspberry Pi presented its highly efficient and powerful version of Raspberry Pi-4 which gained more fame than its predecessors. The module of this version is designed for the students of computer science so that the schools may prompt the teaching with practical implementations in a better way.

Being the latest version, the Raspberry Pi-4 has features like versatility, more power, fast processing, more RAM, ease of handling, and improved connectivity. Raspberry Pi-4 runs on Linux and is, therefore, free to use. Another reason to use is its easy-to-install and handle structure. It allows the users to customize the settings according to their choice therefore it is the best option for the engineers to make their projects.

Raspberry Pi-4 can be connected to different components with the help of  USB Ports, GPIOs (General purpose I/O Pins), display interface, and other pins. All the projects are given below

Require Raspberry Pi-4 (or other versions) as the main component of the project. Other devices are for helpful working and to add versatility to the project.

IoT Projects Using Raspberry Pi-4

The IoT refers to connecting and making a network of devices that share data and as a result, provide useful results. In simple words, the IoT allows devices to connect and work together. If you are in search of simple and useful projects related to IoT then you are in the right place because we have made a list of useful and latest projects on IoT and the usage of Raspberry Pi-4 makes the working smooth and versatile.

Agricultural Solution With Raspberry Pi-4

Not only homes and offices, but IoT also has scope in agricultural projects as well. With the help of this project, users can get rid of watering the soil regularly. This project automatically senses the moisture in the soil with the help of multiple sensors. The moisture is monitored constantly and as soon as the moisture level falls on a certain range, the system waters the soil.

This project can be started on a small scale but its functionality can be enhanced on any level with the help of the required number of components. The manual watering system is not that much efficient as the human eye can not guess the moisture level of soil accurately. With the changes in the temperature and seasons, the requirement for water and timing varies.

An improvement in this project is to connect it with cell phones and send notifications and reports of water level, moisture in the soil, timing, etc.

 

  • Moisture sensor for the soil
  • Arduino board
  • Connecting wires
  • Pipe and hose
  • Weather monitor
  • Relay module
  • Solenoid valve
  • Bluetooth H5

 

The functionality of this project can be enhanced at the next level by adding the components to sense the humidity and temperature in the environment. Not only water, but you can also enhance it for the distribution of compost and seeds.

This project can also be used as a garden care project that waters the plant even when the owner is not at home. Moreover, by adding the functionality of the timer, this project can water your soil after regular intervals.

Garage Door Opener with Raspberry Pi-4

If you want to show your instructor the connection of the mini webserver at the Pi then it is the best project for you. The Raspberry Pi-4 GPIO pins are connected to the garage door opener. The relay is required to drive the door opener. This project requires some scripts to prompt the Raspberry Pi-4 to open or close the door.

This project is a useful step towards home automation because opening the garage with some push buttons or manually is a headache. With the help of this project, users can simply use their mobile phones to open the door while sitting in the car.

Core Components Required:

  • Raspberry Pi 4
  • 5-V 2.5-A power supply
  • Wi-Fi adapter
  • 5-VDC to 250-VAC 10-A relay
  • Minimum 2-GB SD Card

As a student, you can make a model for this process and this will look creative and effective too.

 

Air Quality Monitor with Raspberry Pi-4

Maintaining the air quality in any environment is an impressive and useful idea for the project. This is one of the components of a home automation system using Raspberry Pi-4. This project helps the user to check for air quality with the help of values shown on the monitor. Raspberry Pi-4 can measure parameters such as Particulate matter (PM10 and PM25), temperature, CO2, VOC, etc. All these are the main parameters and their values vary in different weather conditions.

Components Required:

The following hardware components are required for this project:

  • Raspberry Pi-4
  • Breadboard to set the system
  • Air quality sensor (You can add any sensor that you want to include in the project)
  • LED display

To make this project live, you need the following software components:

  • Python environment for programming
  • Raspberry Pi-4 OS

Install the software and connect with the hardware components and your project is ready.

Such projects can be connected with the IoT communication platform such as DeviceHive to monitor the data on other devices.

Smart Doorbell with Raspberry Pi-4

As an engineer, home automation projects are the most suitable way to showcase your talent.  We all know about doorbells and use them daily. A person outside the door rings to inform his present. But, what if you want to monitor the areas outside your house? This project works in two ways, it monitors the presence of any live object moving outside your house or allows you to get notified whenever someone visits you even when you are not home.

Hardware Requirements:

  • Raspberry Pi-4
  • Raspberry Camera Module
  • Motion sensor or push button
  • Speakers

Software requirements:

  • Raspberry Pi OS
  • Python programming environment
  • Framework for the web application
  • Smart home assistant integration

 

This is a versatile project and you can add different features according to your budget and level of project. With the help of motion sensors, any movement outside the door is monitored and the camera connected with the doorbell is activated. You can monitor the person and directly talk to that person with the help of a microphone by remaining at your place.

You can add more components to add more features. Using different APIs helps the user to get the notification on their smartphones via email or other resources. Moreover, the speaker can also be used to record a message for the visitors. Specific settings are required for this.

Smart Energy Monitor Using Raspberry Pi-4

If you want a project that provides smart information about energy consumption then this is the best idea for you. This is a famous project that uses the Raspberry Pi-4 with the IoT and makes your life easy.

In our daily lives, we consume different sources for our living, and above all, electricity is one of the main sources. In this project, we will tell you how do you monitor the amount of electricity you are using and once you know the amount, you can manage its usage in this project.

Different sensors are used to sense the usage of energy and with the integration of these sensors and IoT, this data be interfaced online. It is up to the design whether the user will get the notifications or whether he has to check it whenever required.

Hardware Requirements:

  • Raspberry Pi-4
  • Current sensors
  • Temperature sensors
  • Humidity sensors
  • Voltage sensors
  • ADS1115 module
  • Breadboard
  • LEDs

Software Requirements:

 

To move to the next level, you can add more components and set the limits of the energy level. For instance, you can set the limit of electricity and after that limit, the devices running in the garage or gallery will be turned off automatically.

 

So we have shared many different ideas for the project that can be made by the engineers. IoT is the best topic to be used if you are related to the electrical or computer field. Students can make budget-friendly projects that can easily be designed and are equally useful. Raspberry Pi-4 is the best version of Raspberry and has faster results with versatility in use. It is designed especially for students of computer science, therefore, we encourage you to have the project on it because these are free to use and easily available.