Raspberry Pi

The Raspberry Pi is a series of small [single-board computers] developed in the [United Kingdom] by the [Raspberry Pi Foundation] to promote the teaching of basic [computer science] in schools and in [developing countries].[5][6][7] The original model became far more popular than anticipated,[8] selling outside its [target market] for uses such as [robotics]. It does not include peripherals (such as [keyboards] and [mice]) and [cases]. However, some accessories have been included in several official and unofficial bundles.[8]

The organisation behind the Raspberry Pi consists of two arms. The first two models were developed by the Raspberry Pi Foundation. After the Pi Model B was released, the Foundation set up Raspberry Pi Trading, with [Eben Upton] as CEO, to develop the third model, the B+. Raspberry Pi Trading is responsible for developing the technology while the Foundation is an educational charity to promote the teaching of basic computer science in schools and in developing countries.

According to the Raspberry Pi Foundation, more than 5 million Raspberry Pis were sold by February 2015, making it the best-selling [British computer].[9] By November 2016 they had sold 11 million units,[10][11] and 12.5m by March 2017, making it the third best-selling "general purpose computer".[12] In July 2017, sales reached nearly 15 million.[13] In March 2018, sales reached 19 million.[1]

Most Pis are made in a Sony factory in [Pencoed], Wales[14]; some are made in China or Japan.[15]

Generations of released models

Several generations of Raspberry Pis have been released. All models feature a [Broadcom] [system on a chip] (SoC) with an integrated [ARM]-compatible [central processing unit] (CPU) and [on-chip graphics processing unit] (GPU).

Processor speed ranges from 700 MHz to 1.4 GHz for the Pi 3 Model B+; on-board memory ranges from 256 MB to 1 GB RAM. [Secure Digital] (SD) cards are used to store the operating system and program memory in either SDHC or MicroSDHC sizes. The boards have one to four USB ports. For video output, [HDMI] and [composite video] are supported, with a standard 3.5 mm [tip-ring-sleeve] jack for audio output. Lower-level output is provided by a number of GPIO pins, which support common protocols like [I²C]. The B-models have an [8P8C] [Ethernet] port and the Pi 3 and Pi Zero W have on-board Wi-Fi 802.11n and [Bluetooth]. Prices range from US$5 to $35.

The first generation (Raspberry Pi 1 Model B) was released in February 2012, followed by the simpler and cheaper Model A. In 2014, the Foundation released a board with an improved design, Raspberry Pi 1 Model B+. These boards are approximately credit-card sized and represent the standard mainline form-factor. Improved A+ and B+ models were released a year later. A ["Compute Module"] was released in April 2014 for embedded applications. The Raspberry Pi 2, which added more RAM, was released in February 2015.

A Raspberry Pi Zero with smaller size and reduced [input/output] (I/O) and [general-purpose input/output] (GPIO) capabilities was released in November 2015 for US$5. By 2017, it became the newest mainline Raspberry Pi. On 28 February 2017, the Raspberry Pi Zero W was launched, a version of the Zero with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth capabilities, for US$10.[16][17] On 12 January 2018, the Raspberry Pi Zero WH was launched, the same version of the Zero W with pre-soldered GPIO headers.[18]

Raspberry Pi 3 Model B was released in February 2016 with a 64 bit [quad core] processor, on-board [WiFi], [Bluetooth] and USB boot capabilities.[19]
On [Pi Day] 2018 model 3B+ appeared with a faster 1.4 GHz processor and a three times faster network based on [gigabit Ethernet] (300 Mbit / s) or 2.4 / 5 GHz dual-band [Wi-Fi] (100 Mbit / s).[1] Other options are: [Power over Ethernet] (PoE), [USB boot] and [network boot] (an [SD card] is no longer required). This allows the use of the Pi in hard-to-reach places (possibly without electricity).

Hardware

The Raspberry Pi hardware has evolved through several versions that feature variations in memory capacity and peripheral-device support.

This block diagram describes Model B and B+; Model A, A+, and the Pi Zero are similar, but lack the [Ethernet] and [USB] hub components. The Ethernet adapter is internally connected to an additional USB port. In Model A, A+, and the Pi Zero, the USB port is connected directly to the [system on a chip] (SoC). On the Pi 1 Model B+ and later models the USB/Ethernet chip contains a five-port USB hub, of which four ports are available, while the Pi 1 Model B only provides two. On the Pi Zero, the USB port is also connected directly to the SoC, but it uses a micro USB (OTG) port.

Processor

The [Broadcom] BCM2835 SoC used in the first generation Raspberry Pi[20] includes a 700 [MHz] [ARM11]76JZF-S processor, [VideoCore] IV [graphics processing unit] (GPU),[21] and RAM. It has a level 1 (L1) [cache] of 16 [KB] and a level 2 (L2) cache of 128 KB. The level 2 cache is used primarily by the GPU. The SoC is [stacked] underneath the RAM chip, so only its edge is visible. The 1176JZ(F)-S is the same CPU used in the [original iPhone],[22] although at a higher clock rate, and mated with a much faster GPU.

The earlier V1.1 model of the Raspberry Pi 2 used a Broadcom BCM2836 SoC with a 900 MHz 32-bit quad-core [ARM Cortex-A7] processor, with 256 KB shared L2 cache.[23] The Raspberry Pi 2 V1.2 was upgraded to a Broadcom BCM2837 SoC with a 1.2 GHz 64-bit quad-core [ARM Cortex-A53] processor,[24] the same SoC which is used on the Raspberry Pi 3, but underclocked (by default) to the same 900 MHz CPU clock speed as the V1.1. The BCM2836 SoC is no longer in production (as of late 2016).

The Raspberry Pi 3+ uses a Broadcom BCM2837B0 SoC with a 1.4 GHz 64-bit quad-core ARM Cortex-A53 processor, with 512 KB shared L2 cache.[1]

Performance

While operating at 700 MHz by default, the first generation Raspberry Pi provided a real-world performance roughly equivalent to 0.041 [GFLOPS].[25][26] On the [CPU] level the performance is similar to a 300 MHz [Pentium II] of 1997–99. The GPU provides 1 [Gpixel]/s or 1.5 [Gtexel]/s of graphics processing or 24 GFLOPS of general purpose computing performance. The graphical capabilities of the Raspberry Pi are roughly equivalent to the performance of the [Xbox] of 2001.

Raspberry Pi 2 V1.1 included a quad-core Cortex-A7 CPU running at 900 MHz and 1 GB RAM. It was described as 4–6 times more powerful than its predecessor. The GPU was identical to the original.[23] In parallelised benchmarks, the Raspberry Pi 2 V1.1 could be up to 14 times faster than a Raspberry Pi 1 Model B+.[27]

The Raspberry Pi 3, with a quad-core [ARM Cortex-A53] processor, is described as having ten times the performance of a Raspberry Pi 1.[28] This was suggested to be highly dependent upon task [threading] and [instruction set] use. Benchmarks showed the Raspberry Pi 3 to be approximately 80% faster than the Raspberry Pi 2 in parallelised tasks.[29]

Overclocking

Most Raspberry Pi chips could be [overclocked] to 800 MHz, and some to 1000 MHz. There are reports the Raspberry Pi 2 can be similarly overclocked, in extreme cases, even to 1500 MHz (discarding all safety features and over-voltage limitations). In the [Raspbian] [Linux distro] the overclocking options on [boot] can be done by a software command running "sudo raspi-config" without voiding the warranty.[30] In those cases the Pi automatically shuts the overclocking down if the chip temperature reaches 85 °C (185 °F), but it is possible to override automatic over-voltage and overclocking settings (voiding the warranty); an appropriately sized [heat sink] is needed to protect the chip from serious overheating.

Newer versions of the firmware contain the option to choose between five overclock ("turbo") presets that when used, attempt to maximise the performance of the SoC without impairing the lifetime of the board. This is done by monitoring the core temperature of the chip and the CPU load, and dynamically adjusting clock speeds and the core voltage. When the demand is low on the CPU or it is running too hot the performance is throttled, but if the CPU has much to do and the chip's temperature is acceptable, performance is temporarily increased with clock speeds of up to 1 GHz, depending on the individual board and on which of the turbo settings is used.

The seven overclock presets are:

• none; 700 MHz ARM, 250 MHz core, 400 MHz SDRAM, 0 overvolting
• modest; 800 MHz ARM, 250 MHz core, 400 MHz SDRAM, 0 overvolting,
• medium; 900 MHz ARM, 250 MHz core, 450 MHz SDRAM, 2 overvolting,
• high; 950 MHz ARM, 250 MHz core, 450 MHz SDRAM, 6 overvolting,
• turbo; 1000 MHz ARM, 500 MHz core, 600 MHz SDRAM, 6 overvolting,
• Pi 2; 1000 MHz ARM, 500 MHz core, 500 MHz SDRAM, 2 overvolting,
• Pi 3; 1100 MHz ARM, 550 MHz core, 500 MHz SDRAM, 6 overvolting. In system information the CPU speed will appear as 1200 MHz. When idling, speed lowers to 600 MHz.[30][31]

In the highest (turbo) preset the SDRAM clock was originally 500 MHz, but this was later changed to 600 MHz because 500 MHz sometimes causes SD card corruption. Simultaneously in high mode the core clock speed was lowered from 450 to 250 MHz, and in medium mode from 333 to 250 MHz.

The Raspberry Pi Zero runs at 1 GHz.

The CPU on the first and second generation Raspberry Pi board did not require cooling, such as a heat sink or [fan], even when overclocked, but the Raspberry Pi 3 may generate more heat when overclocked.[32]

RAM

On the older beta Model B boards, 128 MB was allocated by default to the GPU, leaving 128 MB for the CPU.[33] On the first 256 MB release Model B (and Model A), three different splits were possible. The default split was 192 MB (RAM for CPU), which should be sufficient for standalone 1080p video decoding, or for simple 3D, but probably not for both together. 224 MB was for Linux only, with only a 1080p [framebuffer], and was likely to fail for any video or 3D. 128 MB was for heavy 3D, possibly also with video decoding (e.g. XBMC).[34] Comparatively the [Nokia 701] uses 128 MB for the Broadcom VideoCore IV.[35]

For the later Model B with 512 MB RAM new standard memory split files (arm256_start.elf, arm384_start.elf, arm496_start.elf) were initially released for 256 MB, 384 MB and 496 MB CPU RAM (and 256 MB, 128 MB and 16 MB video RAM) respectively. But a week or so later the RPF released a new version of start.elf that could read a new entry in config.txt (gpu_mem=xx) and could dynamically assign an amount of RAM (from 16 to 256 MB in 8 MB steps) to the GPU, so the older method of memory splits became obsolete, and a single start.elf worked the same for 256 MB and 512 MB Raspberry Pis.[36]

The Raspberry Pi 2 and the Raspberry Pi 3 have 1 GB of RAM.[37][38]
The Raspberry Pi Zero and Zero W have 512 MB of RAM.

Networking

The Model A, A+ and Pi Zero have no Ethernet circuitry and are commonly connected to a network using an external user-supplied USB Ethernet or [Wi-Fi] adapter. On the Model B and B+ the Ethernet port is provided by a built-in USB Ethernet adapter using the SMSC LAN9514 chip.[39] The Raspberry Pi 3 and Pi Zero W (wireless) are equipped with 2.4 GHz WiFi [802.11n] (150 Mbit/s) and [Bluetooth 4.1] (24 Mbit/s) based on the Broadcom BCM43438 [FullMAC] chip with no official support for [monitor mode] but implemented through unofficial firmware patching[40] and the Pi 3 also has a 10/100 Mbit/s Ethernet port. The Raspberry Pi 3B+ features dual-band [IEEE 802.11b/g/n/ac WiFi], [Bluetooth 4.2], and [Gigabit Ethernet] (limited to approximately 300 Mbit/s by the [USB 2.0] bus between it and the SoC).

Peripherals

The Raspberry Pi may be operated with any generic [USB computer keyboard] and [mouse].[41] It may also be used with USB storage, USB to MIDI converters, and virtually any other device/component with USB capabilities.

Other peripherals can be attached through the various pins and connectors on the surface of the Raspberry Pi.[42]

Video

The video controller can generate standard modern TV resolutions, such as HD and [Full HD], and higher or lower monitor resolutions as well as older NTSC or PAL standard CRT TV resolutions. As shipped (i.e., without custom overclocking) it can support the following resolutions: 640×350 [EGA]; 640×480 [VGA]; 800×600 [SVGA]; 1024×768 [XGA]; 1280×720 [720p] [HDTV]; 1280×768 [WXGA] variant; 1280×800 [WXGA] variant; 1280×1024 [SXGA]; 1366×768 [WXGA] variant; 1400×1050 [SXGA+]; 1600×1200 [UXGA]; 1680×1050 [WXGA+]; 1920×1080 [1080p] [HDTV]; 1920×1200 [WUXGA].[43]

Higher resolutions, up to 2048×1152, may work[44][45] or even 3840×2160 at 15 Hz (too low a frame rate for convincing video).[46] Note also that allowing the highest resolutions does not imply that the GPU can decode video formats at these resolutions; in fact, the Pis are known to not work reliably for [H.265] (at those high resolutions), commonly used for very high resolutions (however, most common formats up to Full HD do work).

Although the Raspberry Pi 3 does not have H.265 decoding hardware, the CPU is more powerful than its predecessors, potentially fast enough to allow the decoding of H.265-encoded videos in software.[47] The GPU in the Raspberry Pi 3 runs at higher clock frequencies of 300 MHz or 400 MHz, compared to previous versions which ran at 250 MHz.[48]

The Raspberry Pis can also generate [576i] and [480i] [composite video] signals, as used on old-style ([CRT]) TV screens and less-expensive monitors through standard connectors – either RCA or 3.5 mm phono connector depending on models. The television signal standards supported are [PAL-BGHID], [PAL-M], [PAL-N], [NTSC] and [NTSC-J].[49]

Real-time clock

None of the current Raspberry Pi models have a built-in [real-time clock], so they are unable to keep track of the time of day independently. As a workaround, a program running on the Pi can retrieve the time from a [network time server] or from user input at boot time, thus knowing the time while powered on. To provide consistency of time for the [file system], the Pi automatically saves the current system time on shutdown, and re-loads that time at boot.

A real-time hardware clock with battery backup, such as the DS1307, may be added (often via the [I²C] interface).

Specifications

Connectors

General purpose input-output (GPIO) connector

Raspberry Pi 1 Models A+ and B+, Pi 2 Model B, Pi 3 Model B and B+, and Pi Zero and Zero W GPIO J8 have a 40-pin pinout.[90][91] Raspberry Pi 1 Models A and B have only the first 26 pins.[92][93][94]

Model B rev. 2 also has a pad (called P5 on the board and P6 on the schematics) of 8 pins offering access to an additional 4 GPIO connections.[95]

Models A and B provide GPIO access to the ACT status LED using GPIO 16. Models A+ and B+ provide GPIO access to the ACT status LED using GPIO 47, and the power status LED using GPIO 35.

Accessories

• Gertboard – A Raspberry Pi Foundation sanctioned device, designed for educational purposes, that expands the Raspberry Pi's GPIO pins to allow interface with and control of LEDs, switches, analogue signals, sensors and other devices. It also includes an optional Arduino compatible controller to interface with the Pi.[96]
• Camera – On 14 May 2013, the foundation and the distributors RS Components & Premier Farnell/Element 14 launched the Raspberry Pi camera board alongside a firmware update to accommodate it.[97] The camera board is shipped with a flexible flat cable that plugs into the CSI connector which is located between the Ethernet and HDMI ports. In Raspbian, the user must enable the use of the camera board by running Raspi-config and selecting the camera option. The camera module costs €20 in Europe (9 September 2013).[98] It can produce 1080p, 720p and 640x480p video. The dimensions are 25 mm × 20 mm × 9 mm.[98] In May 2016, v2 of the camera came out, and is an 8 megapixel camera.
• Infrared Camera – In October 2013, the foundation announced that they would begin producing a camera module without an infrared filter, called the Pi NoIR.[99]
• Official Display – On 8 September 2015, The foundation and the distributors RS Components & Premier Farnell/Element 14 launched the Raspberry Pi Touch Display[100]
• HAT (Hardware Attached on Top) expansion boards – Together with the Model B+, inspired by the Arduino shield boards, the interface for HAT boards was devised by the Raspberry Pi Foundation. Each HAT board carries a small EEPROM (typically a CAT24C32WI-GT3)[101] containing the relevant details of the board,[102] so that the Raspberry Pi's OS is informed of the HAT, and the technical details of it, relevant to the OS using the HAT.[103] Mechanical details of a HAT board, which uses the four mounting holes in their rectangular formation, are available online.[104][105]

Software

Operating systems

The Raspberry Pi Foundation provides [Raspbian], a Debian-based [Linux distribution] for download, as well as third-party [Ubuntu], [Windows 10 IoT Core], [RISC OS], and specialised [media centre] distributions.[106] It promotes [Python] and [Scratch] as the main programming languages, with support for many other languages.[107] The default [firmware] is [closed source], while an unofficial [open source] is available.[108][109][110] Many other operating systems can also run on the Raspberry Pi. Other third-party operating systems available via the official website include [Ubuntu MATE], [Windows 10 IoT Core], [RISC OS] and specialised distributions for the [Kodi] media centre and classroom management.[111]

• RISC OS Pi (a special cut down version RISC OS Pico, for 16 MB cards and larger for all models of Pi 1 & 2, has also been made available.)
• FreeBSD[112][113]
• NetBSD[114][115]
• OpenBSD (only on 64-bit platforms, such as Raspberry Pi 3)[116]
• Plan 9 from Bell Labs[117][118] and Inferno[119] (in beta)
• Windows 10 IoT Core – a no-cost edition of Windows 10 offered by Microsoft that runs natively on the Raspberry Pi 2.[120]
• xv6[121] – a modern reimplementation of Sixth Edition Unix OS for teaching purposes; it is ported to Raspberry Pi from MIT xv6; this xv6 port can boot from NOOBS.
• Haiku – an open source BeOS clone that has been compiled for the Raspberry Pi and several other ARM boards.[122] Work on Pi 1 began in 2011, but only the Pi 2 will be supported.
• HelenOS – a portable microkernel-based multiserver operating system; has basic Raspberry Pi support since version 0.6.0[123]

• Android Things – an embedded version of the Android operating system designed for IoT device development.
• Arch Linux ARM – a port of Arch Linux for ARM processors.
• Emteria.Os - A stable industrial version of Android.
• openSUSE[124]
• SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP2[125]
• SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP3 (Commercial support) [125]
• Gentoo Linux[126]
• Lubuntu[127]
• Xubuntu[127]
• Devuan
• CentOS for Raspberry Pi 2 and later
• RedSleeve (a RHEL port) for Raspberry Pi 1
• Slackware ARM – version 13.37 and later runs on the Raspberry Pi without modification.[128][129][130][131] The 128–496 MB of available memory on the Raspberry Pi is at least twice the minimum requirement of 64 MB needed to run Slackware Linux on an ARM or i386 system.[132] (Whereas the majority of Linux systems boot into a graphical user interface, Slackware's default user environment is the textual shell / command line interface.[133]) The Fluxbox window manager running under the X Window System requires an additional 48 MB of RAM.[134]
• Kali Linux – a Debian-derived distro designed for digital forensics and penetration testing.
• SolydXK – a light Debian-derived distro with Xfce.
• Ark OS – designed for website and email self-hosting.
• Sailfish OS with Raspberry Pi 2 (due to use ARM Cortex-A7 CPU; Raspberry Pi 1 uses different ARMv6 architecture and Sailfish requires ARMv7.)[135]
• Tiny Core Linux – a minimal Linux operating system focused on providing a base system using BusyBox and FLTK. Designed to run primarily in RAM.
• Alpine Linux – a Linux distribution based on musl and BusyBox, primarily designed for "power users who appreciate security, simplicity and resource efficiency".
• Void Linux – a rolling release Linux distribution which was designed and implemented from scratch, provides images based on musl or glibc.
• Fedora 25 – supports Pi 2 and later (Pi 1 is supported by some unofficial derivatives, e.g. listed here.).
• Daylight Linux – an ultra-lightweight operating system with the Fluxbox interface.

Driver APIs

Raspberry Pi can use a [VideoCore] IV GPU via a [binary blob], which is loaded into the GPU at boot time from the [SD-card], and additional software, that initially was [closed source].[142] This part of the driver code was later released.[143] However, much of the actual driver work is done using the closed source GPU code. Application software makes calls to closed source run-time libraries ([OpenMax], [OpenGL ES] or [OpenVG]), which in turn call an open source driver inside the Linux kernel, which then calls the closed source VideoCore IV GPU driver code. The [API] of the kernel driver is specific for these closed libraries. Video applications use [OpenMAX], 3D applications use [OpenGL ES] and 2D applications use [OpenVG], which both in turn use [EGL]. OpenMAX and EGL use the open source kernel driver in turn.[144]

Firmware

The official firmware is a [freely redistributable][145] [binary blob], that is [closed-source].[122] A minimal open source firmware is also available.[146]

Third party application software

• AstroPrint – AstroPrint's wireless 3D printing software can be run on the Pi 2.[147]
• C/C++ Interpreter Ch – Released 3 January 2017, C/C++ interpreter Ch and Embedded Ch are released free for non-commercial use for Raspberry Pi, ChIDE is also included for the beginners to learn C/C++.[148]
• Mathematica & the Wolfram Language – Since 21 November 2013, Raspbian includes a full installation of this proprietary software for free.[149][150][151] As of 24 August 2015[update], the version is Mathematica 10.2.[152] Programs can be run either from a command line interface or from a Notebook interface. There are Wolfram Language functions for accessing connected devices.[153] There is also a Wolfram Language desktop development kit allowing development for Raspberry Pi in Mathematica from desktop machines, including features from the loaded Mathematica version such as image processing and machine learning.[154][155][156]
• Minecraft – Released 11 February 2013, a modified version that allows players to directly alter the world with computer code.[157]
• RealVNC – Since 28 September 2016, Raspbian includes RealVNC's remote access server and viewer software.[158][159][160] This includes a new capture technology which allows directly-rendered content (e.g. Minecraft, camera preview and omxplayer) as well as non-X11 applications to be viewed and controlled remotely.[161][162]
• UserGate Web Filter – On 20 September 2013, Florida-based security vendor Entensys announced porting UserGate Web Filter to Raspberry Pi platform.[163]

Software development tools

• Arduino IDE – for programming an Arduino.
• Algoid – for teaching programming to children and beginners.
• BlueJ – for teaching Java to beginners.
• Greenfoot – Greenfoot teaches object orientation with Java. Create 'actors' which live in 'worlds' to build games, simulations, and other graphical programs.
• Julia – an interactive and cross-platform programming language/environment, that runs on the Pi 1 and later.[164] IDEs for Julia, such as Juno, are available. See also Pi-specific Github repository JuliaBerry.
• Lazarus – a Free Pascal RAD IDE resembling Delphi
• LiveCode – an educational RAD IDE descended from HyperCard using English-like language to write event-handlers for WYSIWYG widgets runnable on desktop, mobile and Raspberry Pi platforms.
• Ninja-IDE – a cross-platform integrated development environment (IDE) for Python.
• Object Pascal[165] – an object oriented variant (the one used in Delphi and Lazarus) of Niklaus Wirth's original Pascal language. Free Pascal is the compiler in Lazarus
• Processing – an IDE built for the electronic arts, new media art, and visual design communities with the purpose of teaching the fundamentals of computer programming in a visual context.
• Scratch – a cross platform teaching IDE using visual blocks that stack like Lego, originally developed by MIT's Life Long Kindergarten group. The Pi version is very heavily optimised[166] for the limited compute resources available and is implemented in the Squeak Smalltalk system. The latest version compatible with The 2 B is 1.6.
• Squeak Smalltalk – a full scale open Smalltalk.
• TensorFlow – an artificial intelligence framework developed by Google. The Raspberry Pi Foundation worked with Google to simplify the installation process through pre-built binaries.[167]
• V-Play Game Engine – a cross-platform development framework that supports mobile game and app development with the V-Play Game Engine, V-Play apps and V-Play plugins.
• Xojo – a cross-platform RAD tool that can create desktop, web and console apps for Pi 2 and Pi 3.
• C-STEM Studio – a platform for hands-on integrated learning of computing, science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (C-STEM) with robotics.

Reception and use

Technology writer [Glyn Moody] described the project in May 2011 as a "potential BBC Micro 2.0", not by replacing PC compatible machines but by supplementing them.[168] In March 2012 Stephen Pritchard echoed the BBC Micro successor sentiment in ITPRO.[169] Alex Hope, co-author of the Next Gen report, is hopeful that the computer will engage children with the excitement of programming.[170] Co-author [Ian Livingstone] suggested that the [BBC] could be involved in building support for the device, possibly branding it as the BBC Nano.[171] Chris Williams, writing in [The Register] sees the inclusion of programming languages such as Kids Ruby, [Scratch] and [BASIC] as a "good start" to equip children with the skills needed in the future – although it remains to be seen how effective their use will be.[172] [The Centre for Computing History] strongly supports the Raspberry Pi project, feeling that it could "usher in a new era".[173] Before release, the board was showcased by [ARM's] CEO [Warren East] at an event in Cambridge outlining Google's ideas to improve UK science and technology education.[174]

Harry Fairhead, however, suggests that more emphasis should be put on improving the educational software available on existing hardware, using tools such as [Google App Inventor] to return programming to schools, rather than adding new hardware choices.[175] Simon Rockman, writing in a [ZDNet] blog, was of the opinion that teens will have "better things to do", despite what happened in the 1980s.[176]

In October 2012, the Raspberry Pi won T3's Innovation of the Year award,[177] and futurist [Mark Pesce] cited a (borrowed) Raspberry Pi as the inspiration for his [ambient device] project MooresCloud.[178] In October 2012, the [British Computer Society] reacted to the announcement of enhanced specifications by stating, "it's definitely something we'll want to sink our teeth into."[179]

In February 2015, a [switched-mode power supply] chip, designated U16, of the Raspberry Pi 2 Model B version 1.1 (the initially released version) was found to be vulnerable to flashes of light,[180] particularly the light from [xenon camera flashes] and green[181] and red [laser pointers]. However, other bright lights, particularly ones that are on continuously, were found to have no effect. The symptom was the Raspberry Pi 2 spontaneously rebooting or turning off when these lights were flashed at the chip. Initially, some users and commenters suspected that the [electromagnetic pulse] (EMP) from the xenon flash tube was causing the problem by interfering with the computer's digital circuitry, but this was ruled out by tests where the light was either blocked by a card or aimed at the other side of the Raspberry Pi 2, both of which did not cause a problem. The problem was narrowed down to the U16 chip by covering first the [system on a chip] (main processor) and then U16 with [Blu-Tack] (an opaque poster mounting compound). Light being the sole culprit, instead of EMP, was further confirmed by the laser pointer tests,[181] where it was also found that less opaque covering was needed to shield against the laser pointers than to shield against the xenon flashes.[180] The U16 chip seems to be bare silicon without a plastic cover (i.e. a [chip-scale package] or [wafer-level package]), which would, if present, block the light. Unofficial workarounds include covering U16 with opaque material (such as electrical tape,[180][181] lacquer, poster mounting compound, or even balled-up bread[180]), putting the Raspberry Pi 2 in a case,[181] and avoiding taking photos of the top side of the board with a xenon flash. This issue was not caught before the release of the Raspberry Pi 2 because while commercial electronic devices are routinely subjected to tests of susceptibility to radio interference, it is not standard or common practice to test their susceptibility to optical interference.[180]

In June 2017, Raspberry Pi won the [Royal Academy of Engineering] [MacRobert Award].[182] The citation for the award to the Raspberry Pi said it was "for its inexpensive credit card-sized microcomputers, which are redefining how people engage with computing, inspiring students to learn coding and computer science and providing innovative control solutions for industry."[183]

Community

The Raspberry Pi community was described by Jamie Ayre of [FLOSS] software company [AdaCore] as one of the most exciting parts of the project.[184] Community blogger Russell Davis said that the community strength allows the Foundation to concentrate on documentation and teaching.[184] The community developed a [fanzine] around the platform called The MagPi[185] which in 2015, was handed over to the Raspberry Pi Foundation by its volunteers to be continued in-house.[186] A series of community Raspberry Jam events have been held across the UK and around the world.[187]

Use in education

As of January 2012[update], enquiries about the board in the United Kingdom have been received from schools in both the [state] and [private] sectors, with around five times as much interest from the latter. It is hoped that businesses will sponsor purchases for less advantaged schools.[188] The CEO of Premier Farnell said that the government of a country in the Middle East has expressed interest in providing a board to every schoolgirl, to enhance her employment prospects.[189][190]

In 2014, the Raspberry Pi Foundation hired a number of its community members including ex-teachers and software developers to launch a set of free learning resources for its website.[191] The Foundation also started a teacher training course called [Picademy] with the aim of helping teachers prepare for teaching the new computing curriculum using the Raspberry Pi in the classroom.[192]

In 2018, [NASA] launched the JPL Open Source Rover Project, which is a scaled down of [Curiosity rover] and uses a Raspberry Pi as the control module, to encourage students and hobbyists to get involved in mechanical, software, electronics, and robotics engineering.[193]

Use in home automation

There are a number of developers and applications that are leveraging the Raspberry Pi for [home automation]. These programmers are making an effort to modify the Raspberry Pi into a cost-affordable solution in energy monitoring and power consumption. Because of the relatively low cost of the Raspberry Pi, this has become a popular and economical alternative to the more expensive commercial solutions.[194]

Use in industrial automation

In June 2014, TECHBASE, Polish industrial automation manufacturer designed the world's first industrial computer based on the Raspberry Pi Compute Module, called ModBerry. The device has numerous interfaces, most notably RS-485/232 serial ports, digital and analogue inputs/outputs, CAN and economical 1-Wire buses, all of which are widely used in the automation industry. The design allows the use of the Compute Module in harsh industrial environments, leading to the conclusion that the Raspberry Pi is no longer limited to home and science projects, but can be widely used as an [Industrial IoT] solution and achieve goals of [Industry 4.0].[195]

In March 2018, SUSE announced commercial support for SUSE Linux Enterprise on the Raspberry Pi 3 Model B to support a number of undisclosed customers implementing industrial monitoring with the Raspberry Pi. [[196]]

Use in commercial products

OTTO is a digital camera created by Next Thing Co. It incorporates a Raspberry Pi Compute Module. It was successfully crowd-funded in a May 2014 Kickstarter campaign.[197]

Slice is a [digital media player] which also uses a Compute Module as its heart. It was crowd-funded in an August 2014 Kickstarter campaign. The software running on Slice is based on [Kodi].[198]

Astro Pi

A project was launched in December 2014 at an event held by the UK Space Agency. The Astro Pi competition was officially opened in January and was opened to all primary and secondary school aged children who were residents of the United Kingdom. During his mission, British ESA astronaut [Tim Peake] deployed the computers on board the [International Space Station].[199] He loaded the winning code while in orbit, collected the data generated and then sent this to Earth where it was distributed to the winning teams. Covered themes during the competition included Spacecraft Sensors, Satellite Imaging, Space Measurements, Data Fusion and Space Radiation.

The organisations involved in the Astro Pi competition include the [UK Space Agency], UKspace, Raspberry Pi, ESERO-UK and [ESA].

History

In 2006, early concepts of the Raspberry Pi were based on the [Atmel] [ATmega]644 microcontroller. Its schematics and [PCB] layout are publicly available.[200] Foundation [trustee] [Eben Upton] assembled a group of teachers, academics and computer enthusiasts to devise a computer to inspire children.[188] The computer is inspired by Acorn's [BBC Micro] of 1981.[201][202] The Model A, Model B and Model B+ names are references to the original models of the British educational [BBC Micro] computer, developed by [Acorn Computers].[172] The first ARM prototype version of the computer was mounted in a package the same size as a [USB memory stick].[203] It had a USB port on one end and an [HDMI] port on the other.

The Foundation's goal was to offer two versions, priced at US$25 and $35. They started accepting orders for the higher priced Model B on 29 February 2012,[204] the lower cost Model A on 4 February 2013.[205] and the even lower cost (US$20) A+ on 10 November 2014.[51] On 26 November 2015, the cheapest Raspberry Pi yet, the Raspberry Pi Zero, was launched at US$5 or £4.[206]