Want to up your robotics game and give it the ability to detect objects? Maybe implement a security camera that can see and identify certain items? Now that the Raspberry Pi is fast enough to do machine learning, adding these features is fairly straightforward.

In this guide we'll be showing you the steps you need to follow to get TensorFlow 2.0 and TensorFlow Lite running on your Raspberry Pi 4 and along with an object detection demo.

Raspberry Pi 4 Computer & Camera

To start with, you will need a Raspberry Pi 4. Since TensorFlow object detection is processing intensive, we recommend the 4GB model.

You will need a camera for the Raspberry Pi to see with.

Display Output

You will also need a display so you can see what it's detecting. You can use any of our displays with the Raspberry Pi, but the 3.5" display is our biggest.

But our other PiTFT's will also work just fine

Cooling It Down

Since the Raspberry Pi 4 tends to run a little hot, we recommend the Pimoroni Fan SHIM.

Or this mini 5V fan

Or tall heatsink

In order to fit the fan/heatsink along with the display, you will need a GPIO stacking header.

Camera Extension Cable

The flex cable that comes with the camera is a bit on the short side, so you may want a longer cable as well.