I'm a beginner in coding and I'm looking to use a Raspberry Pi for my science fair project. I currently have a face recognition script along with folders for known and unknown faces. The script works fine on my Windows 11 computer, but I want to set it up on a Raspberry Pi for portability. Ideally, I would like to connect a button to run the Python file. I'm not sure what hardware I need or how to get everything set up. Can anyone offer guidance on what to buy and the steps to take?
3 Answers
Just keep in mind that connecting physical buttons, cameras, and other hardware is straightforward with the GPIO pins on the Pi. Make sure to check out some basic tutorials on setting up GPIO if you're new to this. It'll help you with running your script when you press the button.
To get started, you'll need to buy a Raspberry Pi, and I'd suggest a Pi Zero if you want something basic, or a Pi 5 for more power. You’ll also need a microSD card—just remember that full-sized cards won't work directly, but they often come with a microSD to full-size adapter. Once you have that, you can flash a Raspberry Pi OS like Raspbian onto the microSD card using a tool like the Raspberry Pi Imager. After booting it up, you can either connect it to a display and input devices or access it via SSH for more advanced use.
Good point! I'm curious about that too.
You can break the process down into three simple steps. First, flash a compatible Linux distro onto the microSD card. Raspbian is the easiest option to start with, thanks to the Raspberry Pi Foundation's flasher application. Second, determine how you want to interact with it - you can either connect peripherals directly or access it through SSH. Finally, once you're set up, you can treat it like any Linux machine. Look up tutorials for running your applications at boot to automate things.
Thanks for the info! Do you think I'll be able to set it up to run the script with just a button?