Okay, so today I decided to mess around with this thing called “Rays City Connect Skateboard.” I’d seen some stuff about it online and thought, “Why not give it a shot?” It’s basically about making a skateboard talk to, like, city data, I guess? Sounded cool, anyway.
Getting Started
First things first, I had to gather all the stuff. I already had a skateboard, obviously. Then I needed a Raspberry Pi – that’s like a tiny computer. I also grabbed a bunch of sensors: a GPS module to know where I am, an accelerometer to track my speed and, you know, wobbles, and a distance sensor so I don’t, like, crash into stuff. I also got a little battery pack to power it all.
Putting It All Together
This part was kinda fiddly. I’m not gonna lie, I’m not the best with electronics, but I followed some tutorials online. I basically connected all the sensors to the Raspberry Pi. Wires everywhere! It looked like a mess, but hey, it’s a prototype, right? I used some duct tape to stick everything to the bottom of the skateboard. Very professional, I know.
Coding Time!
Now for the “brain” part. I used Python to write the code for the Raspberry Pi. I’m pretty okay with Python, it’s not too scary. The code basically reads the data from all the sensors. The GPS tells me my location, the accelerometer tells me how fast I’m going and if I’m turning, and the distance sensor hopefully yells at me if I’m about to hit a curb.
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I Did Following Steps：
- First init the data from the sensors.
- Second calculate all data to real meanings.
- Third connect the cloud to save the data.
Testing, Testing…
Time for the fun part! I took my super high-tech skateboard outside. It felt kinda weird, I’m not gonna lie, knowing there’s a computer strapped to my board. I pushed off, and… it worked! My laptop, which was connected to the Raspberry Pi, started showing my speed, location, and all that. It even beeped when I got too close to a wall – success!
The “City Connect” Part
Okay, this is where it gets a little more ambitious. I wanted to connect my skateboard data to, you know, the city. The idea is that maybe this data could be useful for, like, tracking traffic patterns or something. I’m still working on this part. I managed to send the data to a little server I set up, but making it actually useful for the city… that’s a whole other project. It’s like, baby steps, right?
What I Learned
This whole thing was a pretty cool learning experience.
- I learned a ton about connecting hardware and software.
- I got better at Python.
- And I realized that making a “smart” skateboard is actually kinda hard!
But it’s fun, and who knows, maybe one day my skateboard will be helping city planners make better decisions. Or maybe I’ll just use it to show off my super-accurate speed data. Either way, it’s a win!
