I've done digital signage, controlled servos, used them as cameras, the works.
Right now I have:
- A 5-node Pi 2 cluster running k3s.io (https://github.com/rcarmo/raspi-cluster), and a separate Pi 2 I use as a Docker build box and local Docker registry.
- A Pi 4 as a "lab" desktop computer with an USB oscilloscope and FTDI cables to flash ESP8266 and Arduinos
- A Lakka.tv arcade/MAME box for the kids with a PS3 controller (no room for a proper PiCade, we just use the TV)
- A Pi 3A+ with a mic array for playing around with Google Assistant
- Another one that I carry with me as a “pocket server” to SSH into from my iPad over Bluetooth
- A Pi Zero W taped to the inside of my electricity meter trying to estimate power consumption (we have a spinning disk mechanical meter)
- Another Pi Zero W with an EnviroPi HAT that I use to demo Azure IoT solutions
- An ODROID U2 (Could be a Pi) running HomeKit and Node-Red for home automation, as well as a bastion container (all dockerized).
- A 3B hooked up to my 3D printer running OctoPi
And the list goes on. I have many older Series Bs lying around, and once used one to revive a dead synth whose MIDI keyboard still worked (I set up timidity and a sound font on it and it became the kids' piano).
I also ran a Plex server on a 3B until it became obvious that I needed to think about transcoding (but it worked fine for music).
You can do a _lot_ with Raspberry Pis.
I just hope they also beef up the 3A+ RAM at some point since 512MB RAM is too tight.
I have a zero that I carry with me and same as you I'm sshing it from my ipad but im using wifi,
most of the time I'm using DietPi.
what are you using for your pocket system?
Built a marine navigation system as a fall-back chart plotter in the event the onboard system goes down while chartering.
After rolling my own OpenCPN on raspberian install I decide to go with Sailoog after a card corruption. The project has come a long way, Ive mounted in a Pelican case with IP67 USB ports and a touch screen. Have a USB gps antenna and an rtl-sdr dongle for AIS tracking. The whole thing is hooked up to a 20kmha battery that sits behind the screen. Works great for a whole weekend. The screen is only on when I need to look at it, otherwise it just runs and keeps my tracks for my log.
Showing the build status through a green/red LED (code available at https://gitlab.com/Piskvor/buildenlights ), displaying Very Important Numbers on a 7-segment display, tailing dev logs on the HDMI output, occasional SD card reader (only needs the card at boot for kernel+initramfs).
put together a tiny wifi hacking/testing stick with my pi zero w. i added a USB plug on it so i can just plug it into my laptop, ssh directly to it (not via wireless), and then use the wifi on the pi to do my wifi hijinx :).
this way i keep my host systems wifi "clean" and can use the pi zero as a standalone device without having to worry about power cables, wifi connections, etc.
- A 5-node Pi 2 cluster running k3s.io (https://github.com/rcarmo/raspi-cluster), and a separate Pi 2 I use as a Docker build box and local Docker registry.
- A Pi 4 as a "lab" desktop computer with an USB oscilloscope and FTDI cables to flash ESP8266 and Arduinos
- A Lakka.tv arcade/MAME box for the kids with a PS3 controller (no room for a proper PiCade, we just use the TV)
- A Pi 3A+ with a mic array for playing around with Google Assistant
- Another one that I carry with me as a “pocket server” to SSH into from my iPad over Bluetooth
- A Pi Zero W taped to the inside of my electricity meter trying to estimate power consumption (we have a spinning disk mechanical meter)
- Another Pi Zero W with an EnviroPi HAT that I use to demo Azure IoT solutions
- An ODROID U2 (Could be a Pi) running HomeKit and Node-Red for home automation, as well as a bastion container (all dockerized).
- A 3B hooked up to my 3D printer running OctoPi
And the list goes on. I have many older Series Bs lying around, and once used one to revive a dead synth whose MIDI keyboard still worked (I set up timidity and a sound font on it and it became the kids' piano).
I also ran a Plex server on a 3B until it became obvious that I needed to think about transcoding (but it worked fine for music).
You can do a _lot_ with Raspberry Pis. I just hope they also beef up the 3A+ RAM at some point since 512MB RAM is too tight.