What is Raspberry Pi? A Guided and Point By Point Tour

The Raspberry Pi has grabbed a lot of attention from engineers and geeks since it was first launched. It may sound crazy but it is a complete computer for $35 only. Well, if you don’t know what it is exactly, who made, it and what to do with it, this guide is for you.

What is Raspberry Pi?

Raspberry Pi is actually a mini credit card sized computer which comes for just $5 to $35. You can buy it anywhere and it can work as a proper desktop or you can use it to build smart devices. Originally, it was built as a microcomputer for education purpose. It is more than just for teaching coding to children. Its usage has been expanded when several engineers and geeks have found what it can do. It is among the most popular tech gadgets in the world. You can expand it with modules like adding touch screen module or camera module to increase its scope.

Why it is known as Raspberry Pi?

Raspberry Pi is actually a tribute to previous computer companies being named after the names of fruits like Apricot Computers, Apple, Tangerine Computer Systems, and Acorn (the inspiration behind the design of microcomputer). The Pi refers to the idea to make small computer to run only Python language. Eben Upton, Raspberry Pi founder said in an interview they never wanted to make a computer for general purpose, though it can be one.

Who invented Raspberry Pi?

In 2008, the Raspberry Pi Foundation was formed when a group of technicians and academics, including Rob Mulins, Eben Upton, Alan Mycroft, Jack Lang, David Braben, and Pete Lomas, observed students are losing interest in computer science. So, they had come up with an affordable computer to lure children and make it easier to reach.

It is actually the ideal of Eben Upton to teach basic programming to children with these mini computers. Its low cost and power saving could make Pi more acceptable in classrooms. Upton took charge as project head and CEO and only a few members still operate as trustees of the Foundation.

The Launch of Raspberry Pi

The Raspberry Pi was first launched in the market on February 19, 2012 and sales started just after 10 days. The first version featured one USB port, 256MB RAM, and no Ethernet connection. It was Model A which could run Linux based OS.

Where Raspberry Pi is used?

From geeks to astronauts, everyone has become the fan of Raspberry Pi. There are only two Raspberry Pi’s on the earth orbit, doing experiments at the International Space Station. The Astro Pi project is being led by Tim Peake, a British astronaut, to lure school students in the UK to write codes for him so he can perform experiments in space.

A team of software engineers from the University of Southampton have used 64 Raspberry Pi devices together to build a supercomputer. By combining each Pi with 16GB memory, a 1TB supercomputer is being made.