CamJam 2016: Raspberry Pi fans assemble

Raspberry Pi fans from around the world met up in Cambridge for the latest CamJam event.

CamJam is of the main Raspberry Pi Jam events. Held in Raspberry Pi's hometown of Cambridge. The latest CamJam was held at Cambridge University's Institute of Astronomy.

Tim Richardson and Michael Horne organise the CamJam events. This year saw over 200 Raspberry Pi enthusiasts to the event, a huge increase on early years.

Projects on show at CamJam

Guests could view great Raspberry Pi projects, such as Martin Mander's Raspberry Pi VCR and Alexa Phone; Brian's impressive Raspberry Pi robot Cannon Fodder and talking robot Fritz.

Raspberry Pi workshops for the young (and not so young) included Beginners' Electronics, Exploring the Real World With Sensors, Sensory Overload and Rocket Rumble

Learn to hack and build at CamJam

More experienced Raspberry Pi hackers could attend talks in the Institute of Astronomy's lecture theatre. Talks included Building a Pokémon Pokedex by Phillip Organ, How to Builds a Pi-Wars Winning Robot by Brian Corteil and CamJam EduKits Rocket Style by Steve Lloyd.

We caught up with Brian Corteil's talk on building award winning robots and found it full of great advice. He explained how to get great batteries, hacking code from GitHub and to spend as much time practicing robot control as possible.

Pi Wars: Robotics Competition

The advice was lapped up by a new generation of robotic builders looking to take part in Pi Wars 2017, due to be held in Cambridge on 1st-2nd April 2017.

"Pi Wars is a challenge-based robotics competition in which Raspberry Pi-controlled robots are created by teams and then compete in various non-destructive challenges to earn points," writes Michael. "There are prizes awarded at the end of the day. Last year, we had teams from schools, families and groups of hobbyists and 30 of these teams competed for a full day of robot fun and games."

Upcoming CamJam events

The next CamJam event is due in December 2016. The event is free to attend but you must book tickets in advance. Tickets for the next event will be available soon on the CamJam website.

If you can't make it to Cambridge then look for a Raspberry Pi Jam in your hometown.

"Raspberry Jams are events organised by the community for people to share knowledge, learn new things, and meet other Pi enthusiasts. They’re a great way to find out more about the Raspberry Pi and what you can do with it, and to find like-minded people," says Raspberry Pi.

Every month sees Raspberry Pi Jam events held in cities around the world, from Blackpool to Seattle and beyond. More information can be found on the Raspberry Pi Jam website.