What Is the Raspberry Pi | Robot Hardware Edition

What is the Raspberry Pi

The Raspberry Pi is a single-board computer developed by the Raspberry Pi Foundation, about the size of a credit card. Its initial design goal was to provide a computer education platform for children using relatively inexpensive hardware and open-source software. However, its excellent expandability and ease of development have made it not only a tool for children’s education but also a toy for geeks. The Raspberry Pi has been developed into countless applications, and ordinary people can easily implement them.

What Can the Raspberry Pi Do

As mentioned earlier, the Raspberry Pi can be developed into countless applications, some purely for fun; some for learning computer technology; some to explore the world we live in; and some to help us live better. Many applications can simultaneously meet multiple purposes, such as making a robot, building a drone, or assembling an autonomous vehicle. These can satisfy both the learning of computer knowledge and explore the world from unique perspectives.

Raspberry Pi Purchase Guide

The first-generation Raspberry Pi was released in 2012. It is commonly said that when buying electronic products, one should buy new rather than old, and this principle applies here.

The current latest version of the Raspberry Pi is the fourth-generation Model B, commonly referred to as 4B. There is also a small branch called the Zero series, which includes two models, Zero and Zero W.

In simple terms, the 4B is the flagship product, while the Zero series is designed for scenarios that require minimal size and have low performance requirements. For example, drones, weather balloons, or simple applications that do not require high computing power, such as 3D printers, automated farms, or handheld devices.

Just a few questions can help determine which model is suitable for you.

Does your project require high performance?—— Buy 4B

Don’t know what projects you will use it for in the future?—— Buy 4B

Does your project have extreme size and weight requirements?—— Buy Zero W

Why not recommend Zero, as it is very cheap.

Because it lacks both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, debugging can be cumbersome, and its configuration is not high. Once the machine is determined, we also need to discuss essential accessories.

Storage Card

Since the Raspberry Pi itself does not come with flash memory, the system is installed on a storage card. It requires a standard TF card, please purchase at least 8GB or more; 4GB is quite insufficient for the operating system installation. Additionally, when selecting, try to choose cards from reputable brands to ensure compatibility and read/write speed.

If you really don’t know, the TF card produced by the Raspberry Pi Foundation is also a good choice.

Power Supply

The power supply interface of the Raspberry Pi is a standard Micro USB, the same interface used by many Android phones. However, it is important to note that do not use a computer USB to power the Raspberry Pi, as the current may be too low, leading to unknown issues. Always use an independent power supply with a voltage of 5V and a current of at least 1A. If you happen to have none, you can also try the official power supply, which has a voltage of 5.1V and a current of 2.5A, supporting plug types worldwide, providing high-quality power supply without issues even when connecting an LCD designed for the Raspberry Pi.

Mouse

Any mouse that works will do.

Case

There are many good choices, some even reserve space for a fan installation. The official case is quite attractive, and the build quality feels good when received. One point worth noting is that although the 3B has the same dimensions as the 2B, the position of the power indicator has changed, so the official case is also divided into 2B and 3B, be careful not to buy the wrong one.

Heat Sink

The performance of 3B has improved significantly compared to the previous generation, and the heat generation has also increased, so even without a fan, it is recommended to apply heat sinks. It costs only a few dollars.

Raspberry Pi Dedicated LCD

The product shown in the image can be powered directly from the Raspberry Pi’s GPIO (General Purpose Input/Output) port, making it very convenient to use. Of course, ordinary monitors or TVs can also be connected and used easily.

NOOBS

NOOBS stands for New Out Of Box System, which is essentially a system installer. The reason for introducing this is that it is officially recommended for everyone who is new to the Raspberry Pi. The reason it is called this is that if you purchase the official TF card, it comes pre-installed with NOOBS, just plug it in and power it up.

If you buy a card separately, don’t worry, using NOOBS is very simple. First, you need to download NOOBS from the official website.

Then you will see NOOBS and NOOBS Lite; these two versions are essentially the same, with the difference that NOOBS comes with a complete installation package for Raspbian OS, while NOOBS Lite only contains NOOBS itself.

In addition to Raspbian OS, NOOBS can install other versions; you just need to select the system you want to install in NOOBS, and it will automatically download and install it. You can choose multiple systems as well. It is recommended to download the NOOBS with the complete installation package for Raspbian OS for convenience. When downloading NOOBS, we also need to download a card formatting software called: SDFormatter, Windows download link, Mac download link.

After installing and opening the software, you can insert the card into the computer; below is an example using Mac, the Windows process is similar.

Select the TF card, give it a name (it will be automatically renamed later), click Format, and the formatting will be complete.

At this point, NOOBS should also be downloaded. Unzip the compressed package and copy all the extracted contents to the formatted TF card. Then eject the TF card, insert it into the Raspberry Pi, connect the monitor, keyboard, and power supply, and the rest is a graphical interface where you can follow the prompts to install the complete Raspbian OS.

Some small issues you might encounter:

Windows users can use WinRAR or similar software to unzip, but Mac users generally do not download third-party decompression tools, and using the built-in decompression tool may lead to an infinite loop of CPGZ and ZIP.

The reason for this issue is that the file size exceeds 4GB. So downloading a third-party decompression tool can solve it.

The recommended decompression tool by the Raspberry Pi Foundation is: The Unarchiver.

Burning the NOOBS System

NOOBS is indeed very convenient, but there are still many issues. Although reinstalling the system at any time is friendly for newcomers, it has a side effect: NOOBS and the system installation package occupy space, and it is over 4GB, which means more than half of the space is lost for an 8GB TF card user, which is extremely unworthwhile.

So now we use another method, directly burning a system to the Raspberry Pi using a computer.

The required software includes:

1. Windows users

SDFormatter,win32diskimager

2. Mac users

SDFormatter,ApplePi-Baker, many tutorials online will teach you to use the built-in DD tool on Mac, but it is not user-friendly for newcomers and is cumbersome to use.

Here, I will still use Raspbian OS as an example; the process is similar for other OS.

First, download the system image file of Raspbian OS.

After downloading, you will get a ZIP file; unzip it and place it in a suitable location for backup. Then use SDFormatter to format the TF card, which is the same as above.

The burning step differs between Windows and Mac, but the general process is similar; I will take Mac as an example.

Open ApplePi-Baker, as shown:

1. First, select the target TF card you want to burn.

2. Select the image file you just unzipped (the option below indicates whether to automatically eject after burning).

3. Click Restore Backup, wait for the burning to complete, and the software will automatically safely eject the completed TF card, just pull it out.

Then, as before, insert it into the Raspberry Pi, connect the monitor, keyboard, and power supply. After powering on, instead of the NOOBS interface, it will directly enter the main interface of Raspbian OS.

The Windows process is roughly as follows:

1. Unzip the downloaded system compressed file to obtain the img image file.

2. Insert the SD card using a card holder or card reader, and connect it to the computer.

3. Unzip and run the win32diskimager tool.

What Other OS Can Be Chosen Besides Raspbian OS

Raspbian OS is not officially produced; it is a customized version of Debian for ARM. However, it is the OS mainly recommended by the official, and there are many Linux distributions that support the Raspberry Pi. Here are some:

Raspbian Jessie With PIXEL: The official recommended system for the Raspberry Pi, based on Debian 8, featuring the PIXEL graphical interface. It is known for its excellent compatibility and performance.

Raspbian Jessie Lite: The official recommended system for the Raspberry Pi, based on Debian 8, without a graphical interface. It is also known for its excellent compatibility and performance, with a smaller installation package than the PIXEL version.

Ubuntu MATE: A version of Ubuntu tailored for the Raspberry Pi, with a unique and beautiful interface.

Snappy Ubuntu Core: A distribution of Ubuntu aimed at the Internet of Things (IoT), supporting the Raspberry Pi.

CentOS: A version of CentOS for ARM, supporting the Raspberry Pi.

Windows IoT: A Windows version officially released by Microsoft for the Internet of Things (IoT), supporting the Raspberry Pi.

FreeBSD: A FreeBSD version for the Raspberry Pi.

Kali: A Kali version for the Raspberry Pi, a favorite among hackers.

Pidora: An operating system optimized for the Raspberry Pi based on Fedora Remix.

Conclusion

If you have read this far, congratulations, you have entered the world of Raspberry Pi. However, the fun is just beginning.

As you can see, the applications of the Raspberry Pi are entirely up to you. In fact, computers can do what the Raspberry Pi can do, perhaps your smartphone can do it too, but the form of consumer electronics has fixed your imagination about it. The trend of making devices thinner and lighter has also taken away the joy of creation (tinkering).

The first product of Apple, the Apple I, was a single-board computer, which required users to configure their power supply, monitor, keyboard, and mouse to use, and provided powerful expandability for users to realize various imaginative ideas. At that time, the forms of computers and game consoles were diverse and lively.

In the 21st century, in this open-source world, it advocates freedom, where code can be used and modified by everyone, allowing you to obtain what you need from the open-source world without spending a dime, or share your creativity with the world. The open-source world fully embodies the spirit of humanity’s selflessness, creativity, equality, and freedom.