Pinball Zero now sports an impressive accessory: it can spin Doom. This gaming module, the result of a collaboration with Raspberry Pi and sold for 49 euros, attaches to the Flipper Zero. It enriches the device with new capabilities.
The Flipper Zero is a bit like the Swiss army knife of hacking. For those who like to tinker, this is the perfect toy. With its connectors you name it (we’re talking about RFID, Bluetooth, GPIO pins, a Dallas iButton key and many others), it never ceases to surprise and make headlines.
This box will evolve thanks to a recent collaboration with Raspberry Pi, thanks to an expansion module which transforms this device into a video game console. A module that plugs into the top of your Pinball Zero and poof, it transforms. Thanks to Raspberry Pi, this module adds an RP2040 microprocessor, a motion sensor, not forgetting an HDMI port, a USB-C port and a GPIO for DIY enthusiasts. The goal ? Make your Flipper Zero a mini-console. You can play, launch apps, and even watch information captured by the Pinball machine on a larger screen.
480p video, a motion tracking sensor…
With this module, your Flipper outputs video in 480p at 60 Hz. Yes, it’s not 4K, but remember that the base screen of the Flipper has a definition of 128 × 64 pixels. So there, on a television, other capabilities can be developed. And then, the little extra that makes the difference: a motion sensor, and more precisely a 6-axis MEMS motion tracking sensor, the TDK ICM-42688-P. Equipped with a gyroscope and an accelerometer, it opens the way to a new form of interaction, but also with more practical applications, such as controlling a computer via an “air mouse”.
The particularity of this sensor lies in its connectivity: it is directly accessible by the microcontroller of the module as well as by the applications running on the Flipper Zero, thanks to the exposure of the SPI pins of the sensor. You can therefore use it without the Flipper Zero. That said, a limitation remains: the sensor cannot be used simultaneously by the module and the Flipper Zero, due to the constraints of the SPI interface.
Priced at 49 euros, this expansion module is a step forward for the Flipper Zero, both technically and playfully.