GrovePi basic setup + reading sensor values

Open Ag Technology FIoT
1

We have identified the GrovePi as one of the best prototyping platforms for us to use in developing the FIoT suit. This is because

  1. It provides the best plug and play set of sensors we have seen
  2. It is Open Source
  3. The corresponding Raspian for Robots SD image provides a flexible easy to use starting point, including GUI wifi setup over peer to peer Ethernet, browser based VPN and terminal access, and Scratch integration.

To get started, there is a good in depth guide at https://www.dexterindustries.com/GrovePi/get-started-with-the-grovepi/ but it really only takes a few steps. Here is a short version that should get you up and reading sensor values in no time.

Quickstart

  1. Download the Raspian for Robots image and burn with Etcher
  2. Connect the Pi to the network your computer is connected to via Ethernet. (You can also connect directly to your laptop, but I haven’t tried that yet)
  3. Browse to http://dex.local/ and connect via VPN

That should get you up and running with the OS. To start reading sensor values (I have the Temperature&Humidity Sensor)…

Sensor reading

  1. Open Scratch, choose “GrovePi” from the first dropdown and “Start programming”
  2. Use these examples to pull a reading for your senor https://raw.githubusercontent.com/CleoQc/Utilities/master/Scratch_Commands/grovepi.png
2

Another option for reading sensor values is via python on the command line. For the Temperature&Humidity sensor I have, there is an example script called Home_Weather_Display.py that works after modifying it to remove the parts related to the LCD screen (since I don’t have one of those).
Here is a copy of my modified script: https://gist.github.com/chrowe/c0a7c1d9112569d9e368ba3b7e51c1a0

3

Raspian for Robots also comes with Node-RED which has https://www.npmjs.com/package/node-red-grovepi-nodes but I ran into an issue installing that. I also tried https://flows.nodered.org/node/node-red-contrib-grovepi which seems to have a similar install issue. I will keep looking into this option as well. Moving to http://forum.goatech.org/t/connecting-sensors-to-farmos-with-node-red/104

4

Here is a basic scratch with Grovepi for controlling a relay based on average temperature.

http://farmhack.org/tools/farm-internet-things-suite-raspberrypi-based