The earliest known formal calculations of the mathematical constant pi were undertaken by Archimedes, one of the greatest ever mathematicians, circa 250 BC. RS Components, however, is not reminiscing about calculating the area of a circle but rather concentrating on a new type of formula introduced four years ago.
We are of course talking about the Raspberry Pi computer board.
The Raspberry Pi is a credit card-sized computer board that can do almost anything a desktop PC can do. It can be plugged into a monitor or TV screen, mouse and keyboard, and can process many of the same functions that a desktop PC can, using similar software for word processing, browsing and playing videos. It does, however, have the ingenious benefit of being programmable using simple coding techniques. This mini computer board is unique in its own right and is definitely a new formula for the computing world: the Pi is unique because of its size, its capabilities, its potential and of course its affordability.
Raspberry Pi was named during a time when tech companies were naming their products or companies after fruit. The mini computer board was named after the ‘Raspberry’. The developers added on ‘Pi’, which was a play on the initial coding language which was Python based. Although the product did not stick with Python, the ‘Pi’ part stuck to the Raspberry.
Raspberry Pi’s story started when Eben Upton, Rob Mullins, Jack Lang and Alan Mycroft from the University of Cambridge noticed a year-on-year decline in the number of students entering the computer science field. Their concern for the industry grew as this also meant that less and less programmers or computer scientists were entering the market. They noticed not only a decline in new market entrants but also how youngsters interacted with computers: they were no longer able to open the computers up or play around with them. It was clear that a change was necessary.
The developers had the idea of developing a small and cheap computer board that young kids could use. The theory was that if interest was sparked from a young age, they would develop a love for the field as they got older. They created the non-profit Raspberry Pi Foundation and produced what they planned to be 10 000 once-off Raspberry Pi units. These sold out immediately. The idea was never to mass manufacture the computer board but with an exponential growth in demand for the Pi, the dream was taking on a whole new dimension.
Before they knew it everyone wanted a Pi. Videos popped up of kids developing their own games and every hobbyist wanted one, so they decided to look into mass manufacturing. There was a tough journey from prototype to mass production line, but four years later the manufacturing processes have been refined with just over 5 million units produced and sold and demand growing steadily.
Since the launch of Raspberry Pi in 2012 we have seen the A model, the B model, the A+ model, the B+ model and the Pi2 B model, as well as various accessories like adaptors, screens, cases, computing modules and camera/video modules – all from a non-profit organisation that wanted to make a difference.
It’s quite amazing to compare a credit card-sized computer board and accessories that fit in your hand to the first computers that were as big as a room, cost a fortune and required computer specialists to operate them. According to Moore’s Law, computing power should double every two years…guess he caught a glimpse of Raspberry Pi in our future – a tiny computer that is inexpensive, can process like a normal PC but is simple enough for a child to use.
Today we see more and more young kids playing, experimenting and innovating with the Raspberry Pi and we never cease to be amazed by what they come up with. We are seeing universities use them for their students to enable them to have access to computers at home where previously many would not have been able to practice their engineering or electrical work outside of the classroom.
We are seeing solar powered computer labs developed in Africa and at children’s homes that use the Pi as the basis for their computer labs. This has given many disadvantaged youth who would not previously have had access to computers the opportunity to learn computer skills, work in a team and discover computer programming. In a country like South Africa where we have a shortage of skilled and educated people, this is an amazing and affordable way to learn new skills.
Raspberry Pi may have a large following in the education field but it has also been integrated into many business applications. Companies are even building their products around the Pi board. We have seen billboards and motion detectors used in sports as well as dashboards in call centres that have been built using the Pi as a basis. It is an especially effective solution for computer type tasks across multiple or remote sites.
The product is open source and the latest version of the second generation of the Raspberry Pi boasts a 900 MHz quad-core ARM Cortex-A7 CPU and 1 GB RAM. It uses an SD card which can even be obtained with the software preloaded. It easily plugs in to a screen (or even a TV or monitor), a keyboard, a mouse and a power adaptor. There are many tutorials and videos available which demonstrate how to get started and even showcase what others have done with their Pis.
We have come a long way with technology and Raspberry Pi is a prime example of what is possible. At first it might seem like an evolutionary progression of a computer but when we see what potential it has unlocked, the opportunities really are endless – welcome to the revolution!
For more information contact RS Components, +27 (0)11 691 9300, sales.za@rs-components.com, www.rsonline.co.za
| Tel: | +27 11 691 9300 |
| Fax: | +27 11 466 1577 |
| Email: | sales.za@rs-components.com |
| www: | www.rs-online.co.za |
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