Raspberry Pi IoT Hats Up Their Game in 2023

Placing a Hat on the Raspberry Pi brings a myriad of additional capabilities for IoT applications. Here’s a roundup of the latest unique developments as of September 2023.

Cabe Atwell

Related To:

Electronic Design

Sept. 12, 2023

2 min read

This gallery is part of the TechXchange: Raspberry Pi.

What you’ll learn

What are Hats and what do they offer?
Types of functionality available with Hats.
The range of potential applications with Hats.

Raspberry Pi Hats are specialized add-on boards that increase the Pi's capabilities and functions. The boards are engineered to fit the Pi’s GPIO header for seamless integration, removing the need for complex wiring or soldering. Hats come in various forms for any number of applications, including those for the IoT, such as adding sensors, motor drivers, automation capabilities, wireless communication, and more.

Hats can be used on nearly most Raspberry Pi models, allowing users to swap between them if needed. The plug-and-play design simplifies the integration of additional hardware, often with minimal to no need for software setup. In this roundup, we look at some of the latest Hats for IoT projects and their potential applications.

The future is poised for exciting developments and innovations as the Raspberry Pi ecosystem continues to expand, which could see Hats designed for prominent roles in advanced AI and sensing, edge computing, high-speed communications, and cloud integration. It will be interesting to see how that new technology will evolve over the next few years.

In the following quick poll, we're curious to know if you use Hats, and how you use them. Also, please add a comment below if you'd like to give your take on your experience with Hats.

About the Author

Cabe Atwell

Technology Editor, Electronic Design

Cabe is a Technology Editor for Electronic Design.

Engineer, Machinist, Maker, Writer. A graduate Electrical Engineer actively plying his expertise in the industry and at his company, Gunhead. When not designing/building, he creates a steady torrent of projects and content in the media world. Many of his projects and articles are online at element14 & SolidSmack, industry-focused work at EETimes & EDN, and offbeat articles at Make Magazine. Currently, you can find him hosting webinars and contributing to Electronic Design and Machine Design.

Cabe is an electrical engineer, design consultant and author with 25 years’ experience. His most recent book is “Essential 555 IC: Design, Configure, and Create Clever Circuits”

Cabe writes the Engineering on Friday blog on Electronic Design.