Raspberry Pi Robotics
Build a camera-equipped rover controlled with Python.
Taught by Bikash Pandey · Embedded Systems Engineer
What you'll learn
- Set up a Raspberry Pi headlessly with Raspberry Pi OS, SSH and a Python environment for robotics
- Control DC motors through a motor driver using GPIO and PWM from the gpiozero library
- Wire a safe two-supply power system with a common ground for the Pi and the motors
- Capture and stream live camera video with picamera2 and view it in a browser
- Build a Flask web app that drives the rover from a phone over Wi-Fi
- Add an ultrasonic sensor and OpenCV colour tracking for basic autonomous behaviour
About this course
Build a real robot from scratch in this beginner Raspberry Pi robotics course. You will assemble a two-wheeled rover around a Raspberry Pi 5 or 4, wire DC motors to a motor driver, control them from Python with the gpiozero library, add the Raspberry Pi Camera Module and stream live video with picamera2, and drive the whole thing from your phone over Wi-Fi through a small Flask web app. The final lessons add an ultrasonic distance sensor and simple autonomy so the rover avoids obstacles and follows a coloured object on its own. The course is written for makers, students and teachers who know a little Python and have never wired a motor; every circuit is explained with safe power practices, and every script is complete and runnable. You will finish with a working rover, a clear grasp of GPIO, PWM and motor drivers, and the confidence to extend the project with your own sensors.
Course content
6 lessons- 1Meet the Raspberry Pi and Set Up for RoboticsChoose a board, flash Raspberry Pi OS, connect over SSH and prepare a Python environment with gpiozero.Preview
- 2GPIO, Motors and Motor DriversWhy motors need a driver, how H-bridges and PWM work, and driving two wheels with gpiozero's Robot class.
- 3Power and Chassis: Assembling the RoverWire a safe two-supply power system, mount everything on a chassis and protect the Pi from motor noise.
- 4Adding the Camera with picamera2Connect the Camera Module, capture stills and frames in Python, and stream live MJPEG video to a browser.
- 5Remote Control over Wi-FiBuild a phone-friendly Flask web app with drive buttons and the live video stream, plus a dead-man's stop.
- 6Simple Autonomy: Obstacles and Colour FollowingRead an ultrasonic sensor, avoid obstacles, and use OpenCV colour tracking to make the rover follow an object.