The Electromaker Show · 5 Jul 2022 · 28m
Eben Upton, creator and CEO of Raspberry Pi, discusses the strategic success of the RP2040 microcontroller and the recent launch of the Pi Pico W and Pi Pico H. He explains how the chip shortage created an opportunity for Raspberry Pi to provide supply stability to OEMs and hobbyists, leading to the rapid adoption of the Compute Module 4 and the Pi 400. Upton details the company's shift from sales generation to supply chain management and qualification of alternate parts during the crisis. He also highlights the Raspberry Pi Foundation's educational initiatives, such as PiDrop, which address the digital divide by providing hardware to disadvantaged students.
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Chris Gammell and Dave Jones discuss the Maker Faire, covering the stigma against makers, the commercialization of the event, and specific projects like Jeff Kagan's Geiger counter and Jerry Hsu's roller-skating base. Gammell then interviews Eben Upton of the Raspberry Pi Foundation about the board's EMC certification, the Broadcom BCM2835 chip, the upcoming Model A, and the educational mission to get computers into schools.
Dave Young of Young Circuit Designs and Blue Stamp Engineering joins Chris Gammell to discuss the persistent challenges of the chip shortage, specifically the inability to source Raspberry Pis and instrumentation amplifiers, and the resulting need to pivot designs or pay scalpers. They analyze the consolidation of the analog semiconductor industry into a duopoly of Texas Instruments and Analog Devices, noting how this reduces supply chain resilience. The conversation also covers the technical complexities of integrating the Raspberry Pi Compute Module 4 (CM4), including the difficulty of hand-soldering 0.4mm pitch connectors and the necessity of controlled impedance for high-speed signals like MIPI DSI. Finally, they explore the implications of Amazon Sidewalk for low-cost IoT connectivity and discuss strategies for fostering engineering education and maker communities in the next generation.
Matt Richardson, the first US employee of the Raspberry Pi Foundation, discusses the platform's evolution, including the release of the Raspberry Pi 2 with its quad-core ARMv7 processor and 1GB RAM. He details the 'Hats' specification for expansion boards, which uses an EEPROM to automate driver configuration, and explains how the foundation balances its $35 educational mission with commercial products like the Compute Module. Richardson also shares insights from his personal projects, such as the 'Awesome Button' and 'Descriptive Camera,' highlighting his approach to integrating existing technology blocks for creative applications.
James Adams, Liam Fraser, and Luke Renn from Raspberry Pi Trading discuss the development of the RP2040 microcontroller and the Pico board. They explain the architectural decisions behind the chip, including the use of programmable IO (PIO) state machines, the choice of Cortex-M0+ cores, and the strategic decision to use external flash to maximize SRAM and minimize cost. The conversation also covers the company's flat engineering culture, their low-cost manufacturing strategy, and the integration of the Compute Module 4 (CM4) into industrial applications.
Damien George, creator of MicroPython and founder of George Robotics, explains the design philosophy behind MicroPython, distinguishing it from CircuitPython by focusing on performance and power-user features for embedded systems. He details the history of the PyBoard, which was funded via Kickstarter to provide a physical hardware platform for the software, and discusses how hardware sales, GitHub sponsorships, and consulting currently fund the project. George advises using MicroPython for rapid board bring-up and prototyping, while noting the challenges of supply chain shortages affecting STM32 microcontroller availability.
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