Assembly Instructions
Assemble the traffic monitor and get it ready for use
The assembly instructions assume you have the Recommended Hardware.
Steps 1-34 show assembly of the Raspberry Pi 5 (RPi), Raspberry Pi 3 camera, Coral TPU HAT (or AI HAT+), and radar using the 3D printed enclosure.
Steps 35-53 show assembly of the enviromental sensors (Enviro+ and Particulate Matter sensor).
Core components
Assembly of the Raspberry Pi 5 (RPi), Raspberry Pi 3 camera, Coral TPU HAT (or AI HAT+), and radar using the 3D printed enclosure.
Lay out all your parts and screws
Lay out all your parts and screws (double-check)
M3x12mm screws for camera, M3x6mm screws for radar, M3x10mm screws for carrier board
Lay out all your parts and screws
(Coral TPU M.2 chip and HAT pictured) Unbox the AI co-processor and M.2 board (if separate)
(Coral TPU M.2 chip and HAT pictured) Attach the M.2 chip to the board, attach ribbon cable
Attach RPi active cooler to the RPi
Lay out HAT stand-offs
Attach stand-offs to board (bottom HAT version shown)
Plug in the PCIe ribbon cable (pay close attention to so the triangle marks match up between the ribbon cable, RPi board, and HAT!).
Attach HAT to RPi board (bottom HAT is shown for Coral TPU)
Locate the RPi carrier plate
Turn the RPi carrier plate with the built-in stand-offs pointing down
Mount the RPi and HAT to the carrier plate
Note bottom of carrier plate
Locate the radar and mounting board
Attach the radar to the mounting board with M3x6mm screws so the radar antenna (white and gold areas) are at the bottom and the micro-USB plug is near the camera cut-out.
Locate the camera, camera mounts, and camera ribbon cable
The camera may already contain a [white] ribbon cable, this will not work with the RPi5, so remove it
Attach the RPi5 camera ribbon cable to the camera
Slide the camera into the first camera mounting plate
Snap on the other mounting camera plate so all the holes and pins align
The camera mount stand-offs will be on the back side and the first camera mount plate will be flush with the end of the stand-offs
Locate the main mounting board and assembled camera mount
Locate 4 M3x12mm screws for mounting the camera
(Pictures contined below) Mount the camera in either of the camera mount holes
Fully mounted radar and camera from the front
Slip the camera ribbon cable through the camera mounting hole to the back
Front view with camera ribbon cable through the back
Locate main mounting board, carrier plate, and M3x10mm screws
Attach the carrier board to the main board
Front view with carrier board attached
Plug in the camera ribbon cable to either of the RPi5 camera slots
Place the main mounting board into the enclosure, with the radar and camera in the top facing forward. Screw in M3x10mm screws into the 4 corners to secure.
Environmental sensor components
The following are optional steps for air quality (AQ) sensors continued from above.
(35) Locate the environmental sensor equipment; Enviro+ board and Particulat Matter (PM) sensors
(36) Remove the enviro board and PM from packaging
(37) Attach the enviro board to the PM sensor
(38) Back view of enviro board
(39) Locate the GPIO ribbon cable
(40) Attach the GPIO ribbon cable to the enviro board with the ribbon cable wires going down (the ribbon cable notch will be on the top)
(41) Place the PM sensor into the slot, ensuring a tight fit into the pins on the bottom of the enclosure
(42) View of the PM sensor from the bottom
(43) Slip the enviro board into the air quality (AQ) carrier board.
(44) The pins on the bottom of the AQ carrier board should align to the enviro board. It may be snug.
(45) Gently place the AQ carrier board into the alignment slots on the enclosure
(46) There should be almost no gaps around the carrier board and enclosure
(47) Fold the ribbon cable up and tuck the PM sensor cable on top of the PM
(48) Slide the AQ shroud into the slots, ensuring you can see the screw inserts. Screw in M3x8mm screws to secure AQ shroud.
(49) Front view of assembled AQ
(50) Top view of assembled AQ
(51) External view of assembled AQ
Attach the GPIO ribbon cable
Carefully attach the ribbon cable to the Raspberry Pi GPIO ports with the notch on the top.
Tips for working with the GPIO ribbon cable:
It can help to pre-fold the ribbon cable so it sits flat when the case is closed.
The ribbon cable will be tight on the pins and against the RPi active cooler heatsink.
Carefully work the ribbon cable down moving from side-to-side a few milimeters at a time until fully onto seated onto the pins.
To remove the cable (unplugged the RPi before you remove it):
Carefully insert a flat-head screwdriver between the ribbon cable head and GPIO plastic header.
Slowly work the GPIO cable off the pins from side-to-side, a few milimeters at a time. Be careful not to short the pins with the screwdriver.
Ready to deploy!
Close the case, and it's ready to use! 🎉
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