The Raspberry Pi is one of the smallest and cheapest mini computers you can buy. It has an HDMI port, USB ports and runs Ubuntu or other open-source operating systems as a champion. The new Raspberry Pi Picoon the other hand, it is like the processor of a more complex machine. By itself, it can’t do much, but with a few add-ons, you can control robots, lights and other DIY hacks.
The best thing? It costs only 4 USD.
These things are not new. They are enough Arduino microcontrollers for rapid prototyping, including Adafruit Until plank platform and accessories. However, this is a premiere for RaspPi and is an interesting move, not only because it puts it more firmly in competition with the Arduino, but also because it presents the first foray of the Raspberry Pi into making its own chips. The board uses the new RP2040 chip of the Raspberry Pi, which consists of an Arm Cortex-M0 + processor with 264 KB internal RAM. It also supports Flash memory storage up to 16 MB.
According to Raspberry Pi Chigh Operating Omore efficient James Adams, the company has been working on its new chip since 2016. It operates on a 40nm process and has dual cores, which is not common on such a cheap board.
Program it into C and MicroPython and connect sensors and display up to the small side cables. It is powered by a USB port. You can’t really play Doom on it (still), but you can use it for electronic experiments and other prototyping activities for which the Raspberry Pi is already famous. And, according to Adams, could be the first in a new line of Raspberry Pi’s own silicon-powered boards.
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