Raspberry Pi Awards 2023: Years 4-6 Finalists

This year, we challenged students to develop ingenious solutions in response to the theme: accelerating energy transition.

Out of the many innovative submissions by teams around the country, here are the finalist projects from years 4-6 students:

BOTSNBROS

Improving waste management

Waste is a significant global crisis due to running out of ways to dispose the millions of tonnes of rubbish. 90 percent of it is recyclable material that unfortunately ends up in landfill. We have come up with a solution to place the different materials into their correct place. Here we have used the Raspberry Pi computer and build hat, the Raspberry Pi camera v2.1 to recognise the different things, 3 spike prime motors for the robotic arm, a DC motor for the conveyor belt that we have dismantled from an old toy and a piece of fabric for the things to run on.

Green Warriors from Newcastle Preparatory School

Using energy efficiently

This product is designed to reward the user for using energy wisely. Our device uses a light dependent resistor attached to a Raspberry Pi which is programmed to detect when the lights in the room are switched off. The device also includes a screen interface. When the lights are switched off, the user is rewarded by being given an ‘Eco Coin’. These Eco coins can be used to buy rewards in the game such as backgrounds. There are also quizzes which the user can take part in. We hope this will encourage users to switch off the lights whenever possible and learn more about renewable energy.

Raspberry Renewables from King Edward's Junior School

Saving on energy and heating bills

The Raspberry Renewables project is based on saving water and energy by adding solar panels to create heat from them, so it doesn’t cost more money. Since the cost of living has gone up it has been harder to use energy which doesn’t cost more money. We have been thinking of ways to create natural energy and keep more money for the energy bills and we figured out that the cost of heat is major factor. We also want people to spend less time in the shower and our invention helps them to do that.

SAFE (Stalbridge Active friends of the Environment) from Stalbridge Primary School

Measuring wind speeds effectively

Our project was to investigate the best location on the school grounds to site a wind turbine to help accelerate the transition to renewable power sources. We decided to build a windspeed measuring devise (anemometer) using recycled materials and we powered the Raspberry Pi using a hand cranked portable power generator/battery pack. We looked at different styles of wind capture devices and blades to experiment with a series of different ones to see which might be the most efficient.

Team-CERC from Cambourne Electronics and Robotics Club (CERC)

Improving fuel efficiency in vehicles

CleanCar is an app to improve fuel efficiency and predict car service needs using On Board Diagnostics (OBD). OBD can report real-time data such as engine RPM, fuel consumption (estimated using mass air flow and other data), in addition to simply reporting diagnostic trouble codes. Our solution (Raspberry Pi and mobile applications) offers a pragmatic approach of lowering the running cost and carbon emissions of combustion engine-based vehicles through improved fuel efficiency, while raising awareness by frequent, app-based reporting of actual emissions.

The Light Pi from Steeple Bumpstead Primary School

Reducing the use of electricity

Our project is to set up a notification system to remind people to turn off the lights at breaks and lunchtimes at school. Controlled by the Raspberry Pi, we used a light sensor to detect when the light is on and off. If the sensor detects light at a break or lunchtime a notification is sent as a reminder to turn lights off. Also, our Raspberry Pi will be powered by a solar panel to keep it as environmentally friendly as possible.