Introduction: Raspberry Pi With Phidgets

By Phidgets Education
About: Education branch of Phidgets Inc. Programmable USB sensors that bring code to life. TEACHERS: TRY IT OUT FOR FREE: https://phidgets.com/education/free/

This tutorial will show you how to get started with Phidgets on your Raspberry Pi.

Supplies

  • Any Phidget (for this project, we will be using a VINT Hub and a Humidity Phidget)
  • A Raspberry Pi (Model 2 and above)

Step 1: Raspberry Pi - Models 2 and Above

Open the terminal and enter the following command:

curl -fsSL <a href="https://www.phidgets.com/downloads/setup_linux" rel="nofollow"> https://www.phidgets.com/downloads/setup_linux </a> | sudo -E bash -
sudo apt-get install -y libphidget22<br>

The above command will install the Phidgets repository on your Raspberry Pi, and then use that repository to download the latest libraries.

That's all there is to it!

Step 2: Using a Different Raspberry Pi Model?

If you are using a Raspberry Pi Zero, Raspberry Pi 1, or any other Linux machine, the instructions above won't work for you. Instead, follow these:

Install libusb:

apt-get install libusb-1.0-0-dev<strong><br></strong>

Download libphidget22 onto your device. Extract the file using the following command:

tar -xf archive.tar.gz<strong><br></strong>

Enter the following command:

./configure --prefix=/usr && make && sudo make install

Step 3: Write Code - Python

Thonny comes pre-installed on Raspberry Pi OS, you will use it in this section to write some code against your Phidgets!

  1. Open Thonny by navigating to Programming > Thonny
  2. By default, Thonny opens in simple mode. Click on Switch to reulgar mode and then restart Thonny.
  3. Click on Tools > Manage packages
  4. Search for Phidget22 and press Install

In the step above, you installed the Phidget22 Python libraries. Now you can write some code! Copy the following code into a new script:

#Add Phidgets Library
from Phidget22.Phidget import *
from Phidget22.Devices.TemperatureSensor import *
#Required for sleep statement
import time 

#Create
temperatureSensor = TemperatureSensor()

#Open
temperatureSensor.openWaitForAttachment(1000)

#Use your Phidgets
while(True):
    print(" Temperature: " + str(temperatureSensor.getTemperature()) + " °C" )
    time.sleep(0.15)

Run your program to see the temperature displayed in degrees Celisus.

Step 4: Learn More

Congratulations, your Raspberry Pi is now working with Phidgets.

If you are a teacher or student, visit phidgets.com/education for more projects and up-to-date tutorials.