Get started with MicroPython on Raspberry Pi Pico

Create your own programmable electronic contraptions for home projects, industrial automation, or learning (or teaching!) electronics and programming.​

Learn how to use the beginner-friendly MicroPython language to write programs and connect up hardware to make your Raspberry Pi Pico interact with the world around it. Using these programmable connections, you can light LEDs, make noises, send text to screens, and much more.​

Fully updated for Raspberry Pi Pico 2 and 2 W, as well as the latest version of MicroPython, this book shows you how to:

• Get started with Raspberry Pi Pico 2 and Pico 2 W, as well as the original Pico and Pico W​
• Work with various electronic components​
• Create your own programmable electronic contraptions​
• Turn Pico 2 W into a network-connected node for the Internet of Things​
• Link your Pico 2 W to your smartphone, tablet, or another Pico 2 W with Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE)

Table of contents:

• Chapter 1: Get to know your Raspberry Pi Pico
• Chapter 2: Programming with MicroPython
• Chapter 3: Physical computing
• Chapter 4: Physical computing with Raspberry Pi Pico
• Chapter 5: Traffic light controller
• Chapter 6: Reaction game
• Chapter 7: Burglar alarm
• Chapter 8: Temperature gauge
• Chapter 9: Data logger
• Chapter 10: Digital communication protocols: I2C and SPI
• Chapter 11: Wi-Fi connectivity with Pico W
• Chapter 12: Bluetooth connectivity with Pico W
• Appendix A: Raspberry Pi Pico specifications
• Appendix B: Pinout guide
• Appendix C: Programmable I/O

Gareth Halfacree is a freelance technology journalist, writer, and former system administrator in the education sector. With a passion for open-source software and hardware, he was an early adopter of the Raspberry Pi platform and has written several publications on its capabilities and flexibility. He can be found on Mastodon as @ghalfacree@mastodon.social or via his website at freelance.halfacree.co.uk.

Ben Everard is a geek who has stumbled into a career that lets him play with new hardware. As the editor of HackSpace magazine (hsmag.cc), he spends more time than he really should experimenting with the latest (and not-so latest) DIY tech. He lives in Bristol with his wife and two daughters in a house that’s slowly filling up with electronics equipment and 3D printers.