RaspberryPi : Explained

Introduction :-

The Raspberry pi is a single computer board with credit card size, that can be used for many tasks that your computer does, like games, word processing, spreadsheets and also to play HD video. It was established by  the Raspberry pi foundation from the UK. It has been ready for  public consumption  since 2012 with the idea of making a low-cost educational microcomputer for students and children. The main purpose of designing the raspberry pi board is, to encourage learning, experimentation and innovation for school level students. The raspberry pi board is a portable and low cost.

Raspberry Pi Technology:-

The raspberry pi comes in two models, they are model A and model B. The main difference between model A and model B is USB port. Model A board will consume less power and that does not include an Ethernet port. But, the model B board includes an Ethernet port and designed in china. The raspberry pi comes with a set of open source technologies, i.e. communication and multimedia web technologies.In the year 2014, the foundation of the raspberry pi board launched the computer module, that packages a model B raspberry pi board into module for use as a part of embedded systems, to encourage their use.

Raspberry Pi Hardware Specifications:-

The raspberry pi board comprises a program memory (RAM), processor and graphics chip, CPU, GPU, Ethernet port, GPIO pins, Xbee socket, UART, power source connector. And various interfaces for other external devices. It also requires mass storage, for that we use an SD flash memory card. So that raspberry pi board  will boot from this SD card similarly as a PC boots up into windows from its hard disk.

Essential hardware specifications of raspberry pi board mainly include SD card containing Linux OS, US keyboard, monitor, power supply and video cable. Optional hardware specifications  include USB mouse, powered USB hub, case, internet connection, the Model A or B: USB WiFi adaptor is used and internet connection to  Model B is LAN cable.

 

Memory

The raspberry pi model Aboard is designed with 256MB of SDRAM and model B is designed with 51MB.Raspberry pi is a small size PC compare with other PCs. The normal PCs RAM memory is available in gigabytes. But in raspberry pi board, the RAM memory is available more than 256MB or 512MB

CPU (Central Processing Unit)

The Central processing unit is the brain of the raspberry pi board and that is responsible for carrying out the instructions of the computer through logical and mathematical operations. The raspberry pi uses ARM11 series processor, which has joined the ranks of the Samsung galaxy phone.

GPU (Graphics Processing Unit)

The GPU is a specialized chip in the raspberry pi board and that is designed to speed up the operation of image calculations. This board designed with a Broadcom video core IV and it supports OpenGL

Ethernet Port

The Ethernet port of the raspberry pi is the main gateway for communicating with additional devices. The raspberry pi Ethernet port is used  to plug your home router to access the internet.

GPIO Pins

The general purpose input & output pins are used in the raspberry pi to associate with the other electronic boards. These pins can accept input & output commands based on programming raspberry pi. The raspberry pi affords digital GPIO pins. These pins are used to connect other electronic components. For example, you can connect it to the temperature sensor to transmit digital data.

XBee Socket

The XBee socket is used in raspberry pi board for the wireless communication purpose.

Power Source Connector

The power source cable is a small switch, which  is placed on side of the shield. The main purpose of the power source connector is to enable an external power source.

UART

The Universal Asynchronous Receiver/ Transmitter is a serial input & output port. That can be used to transfer the serial data in the form of text and it is useful for converting the debugging code.

Display

The connection options of the raspberry pi board are two types such as HDMI and Composite.Many LCD and HD TV monitors can be attached using an HDMI male cable and with a low-cost adaptor. The versions of HDMI are 1.3 and 1.4 are supported and 1.4 version cable is recommended. The O/Ps of the Raspberry Pi audio and video through HMDI, but does not support HDMI I/p. Older TVs can be connected using composite video. When using a composite video connection, audio is available from the 3.5mm jack socket and can be sent to your TV. To send audio to your TV, you need a cable which adjusts from 3.5mm to double RCA connectors.

Model A Raspberry Pi Board

The Model A is the cheapest and Most basic version of the Raspberry Pi Board. This board features just a Single USB Port and does not include the Ethernet Port. Due to it's low cost the amount of RAM in the Board is less compared to the Model B (Only upto 512MB). Since it consumes less power , we can also power the Board at just 500mA (Recommended - 2.5A).

Raspberry Pi 3 Model A+

Features of Raspberry PI Model A (Rpi 3A+)

• Broadcom BCM2837B0, Cortex-A53 (ARMv8) 64-bit SoC @ 1.4GHz
• 512MB LPDDR2 SDRAM
• 2.4GHz and 5GHz IEEE 802.11.b/g/n/ac wireless LAN, Bluetooth 4.2/BLE
• Extended 40-pin GPIO header
• Full-size HDMI
• Single USB 2.0 ports
• CSI camera port for connecting a Raspberry Pi Camera Module
• DSI display port for connecting a Raspberry Pi Touch Display
• 4-pole stereo output and composite video port
• Micro SD port for loading your operating system and storing data
• 5V/2.5A DC power input

Model B Raspberry pi Board

The Model B is a more advanced and pricy version of the Raspberry Pi Board. This board features 2 or more USB Port and includes a Ethernet Port. It also features a 40 Pin GPIO on board . It has more powerful processor and RAM compared to the Model A.

Raspberry Pi 4 Model B

 

 Features of Raspberry PI Model B (RPi 4)

• Broadcom BCM2711, Quad core Cortex-A72 (ARM v8) 64-bit SoC @ 1.5GHz
• 2GB, 4GB or 8GB LPDDR4-3200 SDRAM (depending on model)
• 2.4 GHz and 5.0 GHz IEEE 802.11ac wireless, Bluetooth 5.0, BLE
• Gigabit Ethernet
• 2 USB 3.0 ports; 2 USB 2.0 ports.
• Raspberry Pi standard 40 pin GPIO header (fully backwards compatible with previous boards)
• 2 × micro-HDMI ports (up to 4kp60 supported)
• 2-lane MIPI DSI display port
• 2-lane MIPI CSI camera port
• 4-pole stereo audio and composite video port
• OpenGL ES 3.0 graphics
• Micro-SD card slot for loading operating system and data storage
• 5V DC via USB-C connector (minimum 3A*)
• 5V DC via GPIO header (minimum 3A*)
• Power over Ethernet (PoE) enabled (requires separate PoE HAT)
• Operating temperature: 0 – 50 degrees C ambient

Applications of Raspberry Pi:-

The raspberry pi boards are used in many applications like Media streamer, Arcade machine, Tablet computer, Home automation, Carputer, Internet radio, Controlling robots, Cosmic Computer, Hunting for meteorites, Coffee and also in raspberry pi based projects.