© 2015 The Regents of the University of Michigan

Raspberry Pi : new possibilities using a disruptive technology

Bob Riddle xHub October 20, 2015

What is a “Raspberry Pi”?Wikipedia tells us:

“The Raspberry Pi is a series of credit card–sized single-board computers developed in the United Kingdom by the Raspberry Pi Foundation with the intention of promoting the teaching of basic computer science in schools and developing countries.”

Elinux.org tells us:• Conceived 2006 Eben, Rob Mullins, Jack Lang & Alan

Mycroft• 2011, first Alpha boards powered up and booted• 2012, manufacture and shipping of first model “B”

boards• 2015, “Pi 2” boards shipping, Windows IoT available

for Pi

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Why build such a device?“The idea behind a tiny and affordable computer for kids came in 2006, when Eben Upton, Rob Mullins, Jack Lang and Alan Mycroft, based at the University of Cambridge’s Computer Laboratory, became concerned about the year-on-year decline in the numbers and skills levels of the A Level students applying to read Computer Science.”

Faculty concern with decline in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) (https://www.raspberrypi.org/about/) 3

Educational Uses: Secondary Schools

• https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/solar-powered-raspberry-pi-school#/

• http://www.worldpossible.org/rachel/• http://www.kwiizi.com/• http://www.southafrica.info/about/scien

ce/weather-project-270415.htm#.ViKe56QwGI0

• http://villagescience.org/vs-pi-content/4

What else can you do?

YOER Pi(http://openmi.ch/yoerpi)

A portable, adaptable local area network even in

restricted Internet and power

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Common Challenges to Digital Learning

in Developing Countries• High technology cost• Limited technology

availability (equipment, understaffed dept.)

• Unpredictable infrastructure

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The “last mile” on the Internet is

often challenging …

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What if you could…• provide a local wireless network …• provide content via web browser …• provide content via file or app server …• do this with or without the Internet …• do it with or without an electrical outlet

…• buy the supplies from Amazon.com for less than $200 …

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YOER Pi: Equipment• Raspberry Pi 2 Complete Starter Kit

with WiFi, 8GB SD Card, Power Supply, HDMI Cable: ………...................... $70

• Plastic case: ………………...........$10

• USB 128GB thumb drive or USB 1TB external drive: ............................$60-$80

• USB ultra-mini hub: …………… $10

• Rechargeable Battery Pack:……… $50

• Cat6 Ethernet cable: ………………$15

• Plug Converter & Surge Protector: .. $15

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You can use any micro-USB power source:rechargeable battery, laptop, or wall chargers.If you use one of therechargeable batteries shown, it can act as an uninterruptible power supply.

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YOER Pi: Try it

• Just plug it in … or unplug it when done• Wireless network name: YOERPI• Server name: https://www.yoerpi.net or https://

198.168.42.1 (remember the s in https)• Accept the security certificate warning• If you want to be a “techie”

• User name: pi• Password: <……….>• ssh address: 198.168.42.1 OR www.yoerpi.net

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YOER Pi compared to “other” things

i.e. Librarybox, egranary, Rachel, GLOWM Similarities with YOER PI:• provide digital content over local wireless network capability

in areas • Can connect to rechargable battery pack for backup power

source• Connect the USB storage device and the content is available to

users in range of the wireless “neighborhood”Differences: • Others are read only for users, while YOER Pi can be

configured to be either read-only or read-write• YOER Pi content is easily modified, non-techie can

add/delete/modify content• YOER Pi has a full Linux operating system, which allows full

applications and more customization of services (e.g. Dropbox, Moodle), and user interface.

• The pre-packaged content either has copyright or technical restrictions that limit adaptation.

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YOER Pi Deployed in Africa• Ethiopia

–St. Paul Hospital Millennium Medical College• Kenya

–Bishop Lawi Imathiu Secondary School–School of Public Health (University of

Nairobi)• Ghana• Malawi• Liberia

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Some other things one might do with Raspberry Pi

• http://www.instructables.com/id/Raspberry-Pi-Projects/

• http://www.alphr.com/raspberry-pi/raspberry-pi-2/1000043/raspberry-pi-2-15-of-the-best-projects-you-can-try-with-the

• http://makezine.com/2015/09/11/5-raspberry-pi-projects-to-build-this-weekend/

?

Image AttributionsUnless otherwise noted, the images are CC BY University of Michigan.• Raspberry Pi, xHub, and Block M are trademarked. • Slide 6: “Electricity” by Phillip Martin is under a Creative

Commons license CC-BY-NC-ND 3.0. • Slide 6: “Network” by Vis.js is Public Domain Ineligible. • Slide 6: “SixHardDriveFormFactors” by Paul R. Potts is under a

Creative Commons license CC BY-SA 3.0.• Slide 6: “Coder” by ousia is in the Public Domain. • Slide 7: “25 Feb 2011 River Road" by Schwede66 - Own work.

Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons• Slide 8: “Surprised Face” is under a Creative Commons license

CC0 Public Domain • Slide 9: “Raspberry Pi – Model B” http://de.wikipedia.org is

under a Creative Commons license CC-BY-SA 4.0

© 2015 The Regents of the University of Michigan

Thank you!

Presenter: Bob Riddle bdr@umich.edu Visionary: Kathleen Ludewig Omollo kludewig@umich.edu