Why it was made
Eben Upton noticed that applicants to study computer science at Cambridge knew less and less about how a computer works. A cheap caseless computer that nobody would be afraid to break was meant to bring back the urge to experiment, as in the days of the ZX Spectrum.
What you can make
- Pi-hole: ad blocking for the whole home network.
- Home Assistant: the hub of a smart home.
- Retro console with emulators of old games.
- VPN gateway, a small web server, a weather station, a camera.
GPIO pins
A row of pins on the board lets you connect LEDs, sensors and motors. The Raspberry Pi becomes the brain of robots and electronics projects. Tens of millions have been sold.