Many people love the Raspberry Pi (). Not only are computer circuit boards cheap, but there’s a lot you can do with them. Again and again wonderful projects with RPi boards as the core are created. The latest creation that caught our eye might just be one of the most incredible.: a truck transformed into a dot matrix printer.
As discovered by Youtuber Ryder Damen (who runs the channel) uses a Raspberry Pi to control his homemade “printer”, which includes a truck, water and a whole host of devices for writing messages on the ground. Damen calls it “writing in the sky but on the street”.
In the video, Damen explains how the idea came about (he watched trucks draw road markings), as well as the process of building the “printer” and the materials used. A sheet of plywood and a coupler form the frame of the machine, to which are attached solenoids, valves and hoses that serve as parts of the printer. Solenoids control the valves, which open when a 12V power supply is applied to them. Meanwhile, the hoses divide the water flow from a central point (a pump and a bucket full of water) to each valve.
The system is controlled by the Raspberry Pi, which is connected to each valve through a relay and solenoid valves. Damen has created a website on the device where you can type in the message you want and choose the speed of the print job. (Damen notes in the video that you can also choose the font, but “only one font will work.”) The message is then converted into an image, analyzed and then divided into segments based on the number of valves on the truck. The code determines whether each valve is in an area that is considered light or dark: if it is dark, the valve will spray water. When it is clear, the valve remains off.
Examples of messages from Damen’s timeline about the project on YouTube.
Examples of messages from Damen’s timeline about the project on YouTube.Ryder Ladies / YouTube
In the video, Damen recounts the ups and downs of making the project a reality, as well as troubleshooting at each stage of the process (when it looked like the first relay used killed the Raspberry Pi, I actually shuddered with pity – as Damen notes, the Raspberry Pi is hard to find and would be hard to replace). It’s a fun journey to take, especially after years of dealing with dot matrix printers.
If you want to build your own roadwriting truck, it’s already available on GitHub – and the Raspberry Pi Foundation says yes, so you’ll be able to get one again. But if that’s not your style, you can have fun chronicling Damen’s other projects. As Tom’s Hardware reports in their Dot Matrix Truck review, you might as well watch them build your own.
This message is the German translation from the English language