The Flipper Zero digital multi-tool can now play games, complete with hand-tracking

The Flipper Zero digital multi-tool already has tons of makes use of, from hacking to controlling home systems. Now it may possibly even play video games, because of a partnership with Raspberry Pi. This comes within the type of a brand new add-on for the gadget, appropriately known as the Video Game Module.

The module is powered by the Raspberry Pi-developed RP2040 microcontroller and it may possibly run video games programmed in C, C++ and MicroPython. To go well with the quirkiness of Flipper’s gadget, nonetheless, the module goes just a few steps additional. It options sensors for hand-tracking, a 3-axis gyroscope and a 3-axis accelerometer, so video games can embrace tilt and shake functionalities.

Now, you might be questioning why you’d play actual video games on the Flipper Zero’s teensy-tiny display. The 1.4-inch monochrome show may fit for the hacking minigame usually related to the gadget, however would probably battle with something past that. Fortunately, the Video Sport Module permits for video output to exterior shows.

In different phrases, the module’s suite of sensors mixed with the video output turns the Flipper Zero itself right into a controller, with the sport being performed on an precise display. It’ll be actually cool to see what the open supply group does with this factor. It may find yourself just like the famously-derided Ouya console solely, you realize, good.

That is the most recent Flipper Zero module and programmers will probably have a discipline day experimenting with the {hardware}. There’s a built-in USB-C connector to interface with the microcontroller for making adjustments and the entire thing can really work by itself, with none want to hook up with Flipper’s gadget. Consider it as one-part Flipper module and one-part Pico-type device with an onboard IMU.

Alex Kulagin, founder and COO of Flipper Gadgets, hopes that this accent will “unlock new methods of utilizing Flipper Zero” and “bridge the hole between retro-gaming nostalgia and cutting-edge analysis.” The Video Game Module prices $49 and the Flipper Zero prices $169.

Gaming is simply the most recent use for the Flipper Zero. This digital Swiss military knife was initially pitched as a multi-tool for hackers, however it’s totally open supply and is able to interacting with units through IR, NFC, RFID, Bluetooth and bodily connections. Customers have turned these cute Dolphin-inspired devices into common remotes, key fob testers, GameShark-like dishonest units and rather more. They’ll additionally unlock sure safes, however you didn’t hear that from us.