Hand a Raspberry Pi to a maker and you can be pretty sure that sooner or later they will be hanging all sorts of sensors and output displays to it. This HAT from The Raspberry Pi foundation looks neat and combines a good range of sensors with an 8 x 8 LED matrix display. The matrix can be used to show measurement values collected from the various sensors. It can, for example be used to display the direction of geomagnetic North by programming a compass using the magnetometer, or simply be used to play games like Tetris, Pong and Snake working together with the built-in joystick. The HAT allows you to measure orientation using its accelerometer, 3D gyroscope and magnetometer. It also has sensors to measure air pressure, humidity and temperature.

Writing programs for the Sense HAT should be simple because a Python library already exists, this will make sure you can get started quickly and easily. For a truly out of world projects check out the AstroP website, containing a host of ideas and instructions for using the Raspberry Pi and Sense HAT on the International Space Station (ISS).

Technical Specification:

• Gyroscope – angular rate sensor: +/-245/500/2000dps
• Accelerometer - Linear acceleration sensor: +/-2/4/8/16 g
• Magnetometer - Magnetic Sensor: +/- 4/8/12/16 gauss
• Barometer: 260 – 1260 hPa absolute range (accuracy depends on the temperature and pressure, +/- 0.1 hPa under normal conditions)
• Temperature sensor (Temperature accurate to +/- 2 ºC in the 0-65 ºC range)
• Relative Humidity sensor (accurate to +/- 4.5% in the 20-80% rH range, accurate to +/- 0.5 ºC in 15-40 ºC range)
• 8 x 8 LED matrix display
• Small 5 button joystick

This kit comes with the Sense HAT, 4 x M2.5 mounting posts and 8 x M2.5 screws to securely mount theSense HAT on your Raspberry Pi. Retail price is around £23.