DFRobot Smart Meter Reading Project based on Raspberry Pi Pico

Estimated reading time: 1 minute

In factory renovation, the headache of digitizing a large amount of meter data is often encountered in order to realize factory informatization. Replacing them all with digital meters is of course a once-and-for-all solution, but sometimes it is not such an easy decision to make. For example, some equipment cannot be shut down and replaced due to the needs of the production line; digital instrumentation for some equipment is not cheap, and even if the equipment is replaced, the training of some workers in the factory cannot follow immediately, etc.

With the combination of Raspberry Pi Pico and HuskyLens, an easy-to-use AI Vision Sensor, developed by DFRobot, this situation may be resolved. The user can quickly build a digital instrumentation solution. And it can be adapted to digitize all kinds of meters.

HuskyLens AI Camera is designed to be smart. It has the built-in machine learning technology that enables HuskyLens to recognize objects. Moreover, by long-pressing the learning button, HuskyLens can continually learn new things even from different angles and in various ranges. The more it learns, the more accurate it is. 3D Print the structure to mount the HuskyLens

1. 3D Print the structure to mount the HuskyLens

2. Connect Raspberry Pi 400 and Raspberry Pico using the USB and use DFRobot 4Pin line to connect with HuskyLens via UART

3. Use Raspberry Pi Pico to control Huskylens to learn the number on the meter

• Open Thonny Python IDE
• Select interpreter and choose MicroPython (Raspberry Pi Pico) 
• Connected to Raspberry Pi Pico
• Open the learn.py Python file from MicroPython and use it to train HuskyLens to learn the number on the water meter

4. When the number on the water meter is changed, HuskyLens can read the right number and output it via Raspberry Pi Pico.

The Raspberry Pi Pico is a radical change from the previous version. It is not a Linux computer, but a microcontroller board like Arduino. And the new RP2040 chip which provides ample power for embedded projects and enables users of any age or ability to learn coding and electronics.

So, with the combination of Raspberry Pi Pico and HuskyLens, the user can easily use HuskyLens to digitize the readings of home water meters and output them through Raspberry Pi Pico, which is easy and convenient to operate.