This Raspberry Pi project has global appeal — at least as far as things like weather and daylight goes. Maker and developer Tribal2, as they’re known over on Reddit, has created a beautiful world map that’s powered by our favorite SBC and features LEDs that illuminate for a variety of functions.
According to Tribal2, this project was inspired by a similar creation — albeit Arduino-powered — put together by a maker known as Ewoolsey over ten years ago. Tribal2 decided to spruce things up a bit by throwing a Raspberry Pi into the mix and adding more functions suited to the Pi.
Tribal2’s version integrates with his smart home setup, specifically a home assistant system. The map interacts with a smart plug that is programmed so that the map only illuminates when he’s sitting at his desk. Some of the effects it has include things like a rainbow effects but also more interactive demonstrations that respond to real-time events. For example, the daylight mode will show you which parts of the world are experiencing daylight. There are also plans to add a weather mode which would indicate weather patterns through regional temperatures or events like snowfall and rain.
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The main board powering this project is a Raspberry Pi 4 (the Imgur album shows an older Raspberry Pi 3) but Tribal2 confirmed you could get away with using a smaller model like a Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W in its place. If you want to recreate this setup, you definitely want a Pi with wireless support to use some of the more advanced features. A 5V 10A power supply keeps the unit powered while a couple of 5V fans keep the hardware cooled.
The map was made by drilling holes of various sizes which are backed by white paper to diffuse the LED lights behind them. The lights are RGB LED “Neopixel” strips attached to aluminum bars mounted behind the map. At the bottom of the board is a couple of metal buttons that can be used to power the map and adjust the modes.
If you want to get a closer look at this Raspberry Pi project, you can dig into the album Tribal2 shared to Imgur which details the build process.
