Blockchain oracles are third-party services that provide smart contracts with external information from outside the blockchain. They serve as a bridge between blockchains and the external world. An example use case demonstrated connecting a smart contract deployed on the Ropsten testnet to a Raspberry Pi device and safe, where the smart contract could be unlocked by paying above a set price, triggering the Raspberry Pi to open the safe. The demo code included creating a smart contract to control locking/unlocking a safe, deploying it to Ropsten, connecting a Raspberry Pi to listen for contract events and control an LED, and simulating unlocking the safe by paying to the contract.