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Lesson 15: Raindrop Detection Module

In this lesson, you will learn how to detect rain using a digital rain sensor with Raspberry Pi. We will guide you through connecting a rain sensor to GPIO pin 17 on your Raspberry Pi. You’ll learn how to program the Raspberry Pi using Python to continuously monitor the sensor. The program will identify whether it’s raining or not and display a message accordingly. This practical project is an excellent introduction to environmental sensing, GPIO interfacing, and Python programming, making it ideal for beginners interested in weather-related projects using Raspberry Pi.

Required Components

In this project, we need the following components.

It’s definitely convenient to buy a whole kit, here’s the link:

Name	ITEMS IN THIS KIT	LINK
Universal Maker Sensor Kit	94	Universal Maker Sensor Kit

You can also buy them separately from the links below.

Component Introduction	Purchase Link
Raspberry Pi 5	BUY
Raindrop Detection Module	BUY
Breadboard	BUY

Wiring

../_images/Lesson_15_raindrop_detection_module_Pi_bb.png

Code

from gpiozero import DigitalInputDevice
from time import sleep

# Initialize the sensor as a digital input device on GPIO pin 17
rain_sensor = DigitalInputDevice(17)

while True:  # Infinite loop to continuously check the sensor status
    if rain_sensor.is_active:  # Check if the sensor is active (no rain)
        print("No rain detected.")  # Print message for no rain detected
    else:
        print("Rain detected!")  # Print message for rain detected
    sleep(1)  # Wait for 1 second before next check

Code Analysis

Importing Libraries

The script starts with importing DigitalInputDevice from gpiozero for interfacing with the rain sensor, and sleep from the time module for implementing delays.
```
from gpiozero import DigitalInputDevice
from time import sleep
```
Initializing the Rain Sensor

A DigitalInputDevice object named rain_sensor is created, connected to GPIO pin 17. This line configures the rain sensor to communicate with the Raspberry Pi through this GPIO pin.
```
rain_sensor = DigitalInputDevice(17)
```
Implementing Continuous Monitoring Loop
- An infinite loop (while True:) is set up to continuously monitor the rain sensor.
- Inside the loop, an if statement checks the is_active property of the rain_sensor.
- If is_active is True, it indicates no rain is detected, and “No rain detected.” is printed.
- If is_active is False, it indicates rain is detected, and “Rain detected!” is printed.
- sleep(1) pauses the loop for 1 second between each check, controlling the frequency of sensor polling and reducing CPU usage.
```
while True:
    if rain_sensor.is_active:
        print("No rain detected.")
    else:
        print("Rain detected!")
    sleep(1)
```