Thursday, March 01, 2012

Will the Raspberry Pi revolutionize education around the world?

The RP  is the brain child of Eben Upton- a Computer Science lecturer and industry professional that had the goal of building a low cost computer to be used like a modern day meccano set allowing kids to learn the basics of computers and programing. “We felt that we could try to do something about the situation where computers had become so expensive and arcane that programming experimentation on them had to be forbidden by parents”, says Upton. The Raspberry Pi Foundation was formed with colleagues and the support of the University of Cambridge to achieve this goal.


Where this $25 computer might be met with initial skepticism, one shouldn’t be fooled by the name and price-tag. The RP is a powerful little computer with surprisingly impressive specs. It has a faster processor than an AMX NI700 or a Crestron series 2 controller. (RP 1400 MIPS, AMX NI700 304 MIPS and Crestron Series 2 257 MIPs)


The RP will have  a large impact on the Audio Visual industry. It will demonstrate that many Audio Visual companies are pushing obsolete products at price points that don’t fit today’s market place.


There are two areas I see the RP really taking off- Digital Signage and AV/Building Automation. The RP has an HDMI output that is capable of HD resolutions. It is so small that it can be mounted just about anywhere.  The low cost will make Digital Signage accessible to almost everyone. It will even allow Digital Signage to cross over to the consumer market by providing a platform for scheduled news feeds and visualisation of the home’s energy consumption.
Perhaps the biggest impact will be on AV and building automation sector. The RP can act as a server to host a web-based control system. This will allow for building automation and AV control across the entire building. A University could use the RP to control every lecture theatre on Campus or it can be used across an enterprise to control every lighting system in the building. This is a breakthrough and will save organisations and enterprises $100,000’s in large projects and allow for AV and building automation in new markets.(more...)
Courtesy: Jon McFarlane (AV Blogzine)