There are a ton of projects for Raspberry Pi 5 out there but which are friendly for beginners or advanced users? We have curated the 11 best and most innovative Raspberry Pi 5 projects 2024 that will make sure you have a busy evening and weekend. These include source code files for those who are not that technical with programming languages and servers.
If you don’t know, the new Raspberry Pi 5 is a low-cost, credit-card-sized desktop that plugs into a monitor. Use this to explore computing, and learn to program in different languages such as Python. It can perform all a modern-day expensive desktop from Dell, HP or Lenovo can do, from casually browsing the web to playing high-definition video to making spreadsheets to playing or emulating games.
It has been designed to interact globally and used in digital maker projects. You will see this in music machines, weather stations, car parks, home automation, retro consoles and more.
It does not come with onboard storage but has an SD card that can be used to house all your operating systems and files. It is small in size hence the less power usage justifies it and it is budget friendly too, which is a plus for students.
Since it came out, new versions have also been seen in the market, a few with multiple revisions such as the previous Raspberry Pi 4 model B.
What’s New About Raspberry Pi 5
| Raspberry Pi 5 | Raspberry Pi 4B |
|---|---|
| Faster processor for CPU intensive projects | Less powerful cpu and may not be ideal for CPU intensive tasks |
| Faster DDR4X RAM | Slower DDR4 RAM |
| Supports faster Micro-SD cards for fast data transfers | No support for faster Micro-SD cards |
| USB 3.0 ports with 5 Gbps speeds | Standard USB 3.0 ports |
| Dedicated fan controller pins on board | No fan controller or active cooler |
In summary:
- Quad-Core Processor powered by Broadcom BCM2712 Chip at 2.4 GHZ.
- Support for 4Kp60 HEVC decoding.
- MicroSD card slot with SDR104 speed.
- 802.11 ac WiFi that is built-in.
- Bluetooth 5.0 with low energy mode.
- 4 and 8 GB RAM models available which is LPDDR4X.
- USB 3.0 port with speeds of 5.0 Gbps
This is a full computer that uses silicon built in-house at Raspberry Pi. RP1 Southbridge provides the bulk of I/O capabilities for version 5 and delivers a change in step in peripheral performance and function.
This is a major upgrade, on its launch 2 configurations are going to be available; a model with 4GB of RAM which sells at $60 and 8GB which sells at $80.
It marks the introduction of many manufacturing innovations among these are the intrusive flow of connectors, increased USB port throughput, and faster RAM, a reliable cooling solution that isn’t expensive and an in-house chip.
11 Best Free Raspberry Pi 5 Projects For Beginner and Advanced Users 2024 [With Source Code]
You only need to have basic knowledge of the command line to run your very own Raspberry Pi 5 projects. You can get rid of laptops or servers and replace them with this single-board mini-computer! These project ideas for Raspberry Pi 5 are great for beginner to advanced users and even if you are a student some of them have the source code provided:
Store Personal Files on your own NAS
With anyone, you can share data on the server’s hard drive. This is quite easy if you want to make files on your list available to others without using Dropbox. This can also be restricted to systems present within the household network thus making it easy to share files between members of the family. You will notice a speed improvement, especially for larger files.
If you want to know an alternative to the full-sized server, there are a few external hard drives that act as “network-attacked storage” units that you can install. You can also install a Plex server afterward on your Pi and make it a media server for all your videos and movies. This way you can save much money instead of having QNAP, Synology, or other such hardware.
Old TV To Smart TV
If you don’t have the money to get a new smart TV, don’t worry; you can build one.
Using the Raspberry Pi and monitor you can build a complete smart TV that will perform the very same functions any TV does. If the additional monitor is present at home, then use it to enhance the home entertainment system. For this project, you should use Kodi.
Mini PC in your Pocket
If you do not want to put a lot of money into building a system then what you can do is utilize it to build one.
This will be the heart of the system technically and you will need to add hardware including but not limited to a monitor, keyboard, mouse and a lot more to turn it into a system. Moreover, you can also build a custom case for the board which is quite optional.
Keep in mind that the system built will not be powerful enough for all kinds of tasks but will be usable.
Password Manager you can take anywhere
This is another great project shared by PassBolt. It is an ethernet gadget that runs Passbolt which is an unofficial but compatible with Bitwarden installations if you have one. When you plug into the system it makes the password library available through a web browser.
The project is involved and not at all difficult so take it easy with the fancy names. To run, you simply need to use the command line to install Docker, then create a self-signed SSL certificate, configure the NGINX web server, configure Raspberry Pi 5 to function as a network interface card as well and tweak some settings. Whenever you connect with the implemented device the acts like a new network and provides you access to your data through its USB connection.
PLEASE READ: Raspberry Pi SH File Examples: How To Run your own Shell Scripts on Pi Devices.
Portable Secure Mail Server
If you want to accept files without anyone knowing like as a journalist then you will find this to be useful or even if you value your privacy and want your own mail SMTP server, this is it! This is more like a dead mailbox in the woods to which anyone can add files anonymously.
Mox can also be used to communicate with sources. Since it is safe to use in the cloud, too, getting it installed on a machine present physically near you is easy to trust that no one has tampered with it.
Lightning Node for Payments
This will help you a lot if you make and receive small Bitcoin payments on a regular basis as it increases their speed and reduces cost. To run this, you also need to have a Bitcoin node but with little additional storage or computing capacity. Like others, you can also run this behind Tor.
Motion Detector Controller
This is a project for those wanting to create a motion-detecting device for their home or office, these could be for purposes such as a home security system powered by a Pi 5.0 device. You can take it further and include an HD camera that you can attach directly on the board.
This can be used in different things. Use this to watch your kids when they enter their rooms, other than this it can be used to keep an eye on the door as a security measure to keep check when someone arrives.
Measure different distances
This is a myth that electrical engineers do not use programming. If you have any interest in sensors then you will fall in love with this project. Use this to build distance sensors just like the ones in cars and other advanced systems. This will make an important achievement in your portfolio.
To create this with a Pi board you need to have an ultrasonic sensor first, you also need to control the GPIO pins of the board through RPI. GPO module plus needs a voltage driver to keep the voltage at usable levels.
PLEASE READ: Best Free Python IDEs for Raspberry Pi 3, 4 and 5.
Your own Jarvis-lile AI Assistant
This is an interesting project, yes you have heard it right, you can now create an AI assistant by using a Raspberry Pi 5. For this you can simply use Google Cloud SDK and Google Assistant, simply sign up on Google Assistant and set up audio for your account. Be sure that Pi board is authorized for the project. You can take it further and even make it smarter by setting up text-to-speech using gTTs or pyttsx3 which you can make it read web pages or PDF documents to you.
All you need to do is set up the Google Assistant and use the AI assistant. This is quite a unique project for your portfolio and will give you experience in the basic functions of Raspberry Pi. If you are a beginner then this is perfect.
This one compared to others can be made more clever if you incorporate ChatGPT in it. This way you can ask it even more advanced questions.
Print Server for your home or work office
With this, you can easily convert simpler printers into wireless printers that can be used properly through any device you connect. This helps you to try out skills and understand the workings of networks and servers.
For this, you need to use CUPS which is a Common Unix Printing System for the print server. Since you will require a wireless connection, getting the latest version 3 is mandatory. With Samba you can connect the server with Windows devices like your system.
Twitch Bot for your Stream
This is quite a popular platform among gamers and hobbyists. Being a live video streaming social media platform, it is being used by professionals to broadcast their work, events, and even performances. You might have heard of this if you have heard about Fortnite.
Your Raspberry Pi board can be turned into a Twitch streaming bot with just a few modifications. With the newly built board, you will have options of live streaming different gameplays. You need to get a Twitch OAuth token from Twitch to create the bot. After this, you will use Python to program the moderator and configure Raspberry Pi to start the bot.
Note: If you are a final-year student and use or get inspired from any of the above projects please make sure you reference it properly. Also, feel free to improve the ideas and add your own to it, oh and don’t forget to show us your final creation too. We are curious to find out!
Other projects worth considering:
- Create your own Weather Forecasting Station (Source Code Included).
- Build your own Retro Console with PacMan.
Conclusion: Best Raspberry Pi 5 Projects
These were all the best Raspberry Pi 5 projects 2024 for you to try hands-on. The projects vary in difficulty level and are great for beginner-level students and even advanced users. The Raspberry Pi 5 project ideas with source code are great for adults starting to come over to IT or even existing professionals looking for a challenge over the weekend.
We are curious to know what you have running on your new Raspberry Pi 5, please do let us know in the comments, and feel free to include photos too.
