Build cool stuff with littleBits, a Pi, and some Lego Bricks
littleBits [1] are neat little electrical components that snap together magnetically to make electrical circuits. The littleBits electronics come collected into kits, or you can purchase the components individually. We decided to combine littleBits modules, including the Arduino module, with Lego Mindstorms building blocks and a Raspberry Pi to create a hybrid rover (see the "Rover Parts List" box).
SETUP
The steps for building the project were:
- Load the Arduino software onto a PC
- Load PuTTY [2], an SSH client, on the PC
- Build the rover base layer with the wheels
- Put the Rasp Pi, USB hub, and battery on the rover base
- Build the rover top layer
- Put the littleBits Arduino module and 9V battery on the top layer
- Connect the PC to the Arduino module with a USB cable to load and test the Arduino code
- Reconnect the USB cable between the Pi and the littleBits Arduino module
- Use PuTTY on the PC to load, test, and run the Raspberry Pi code
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