Just because a Raspberry Pi is small doesn't mean it can only power tiny projects. In fact, if something is physically large but computationally simple, a Pi may be the perfect fit to keep everything ticking over. This is the case for this amazing passion project that displays real-time tracking data of the Manhattan subway using a giant 3D-printed map.

This mighty Manhattan map uses a Raspberry Pi to calculate everything

In a post on the NYCRail subreddit, user bicapitate gave us all a much-wanted demo of their newest project. It's a huge 3D-printed map of Manhattan wired up to optic fiber cables. The cables show lights where each subway train is, and a Raspberry Pi sits at the heart to grab the location data.

So, how does someone get their hands on departure and transit data for the entire Manhattan subway system? Fortunately, bicapitate got all of their information above board:

The [Metropolitan Transportation Authority] has a free and open server that anyone can use to get real time train data in a standard format. It's really cool that they do that I think. I update the train locations every 30 seconds. I could do it more often but I've found that their data doesn't update much more often than that.

Here's a link: https://www.mta.info/developers

This means that if you're inspired to do your own project covering the Manhattan subway system, the hard part is already done for you. All you need to do is parse that data and show it off however you please. It's also worth checking out if the transport authorities in your area have a similar system you can work off of.

If you love the idea of an SBC powering a big project, you need to get accustomed to our resident mad scientist, Ayush Pande. He managed to automate his entire house using a Raspberry Pi, and he taught us lesser beings how to do it too.