With over 17 million units sold worldwide, the Raspberry Pi is the most popular single-board computer ever. But it’s not only passionate hobbyists who make use of the versatile small format computer that was originally designed for educational purposes. Raspberry Pi uses for industrial computer technology are somewhat untapped…
Innovation Instead of Tradition
When it comes to measuring and control technology (MSR), the RPi mini-computer breaks old barriers and creates room for innovation.
Thanks to an open-source principle and a large number of freely available software libraries, programming languages and manuals, the RPi offers more flexibility than any other system. Its hardware can be adapted and expanded as required by attachable add-on modules, such as the PI HATS, which can be used to create additional interfaces. This allows prototypes to be implemented directly into the production environment without having to go through long development cycles.
Tailor-made Raspberry Pi based solutions also have a relatively low cost compared to traditional industrial products, making them a cost-effective solution for businesses.
Limits of the Raspberry Pi
As a small form, single-board computer, there are some limitations to what the RPi can do, as would be expected. The original Raspberry Pi can reach its limits when used in harsh industrial environments. Due to the compact size of the computer, even slightly higher ambient temperatures cause the core temperature to rise sharply. The compensating CPU throttling leads to massive performance losses.
Additionally, the microSD cards used as hard disks are only capable of a very limited number of write cycles so are not suitable for retentive memory use. This means that they aren’t capable of meeting some industrial requirements.
However, the newest version of the mini-PC, the Raspberry Pi 3B+, is capable of Gbit Ethernet and WiFi connectivity, making it a viable solution for Industry 4.0 applications. But there are still no industrial interfaces like RS485 or CAN.
Overcoming RPi Industry Barriers
Despite these limitations, there are options and solutions to overcome these hurdles. The PiXtend is a professional expansion board for the Raspberry Pi that can be used for both control and regulation tasks, as well as a learning environment for control, circuit and software technology. It offers industrial serial interfaces (RS232, RS485 and CAN bus), a remanence memory and real-time monitoring.
Furthermore, the PiXtend resists temperatures of up to 50 degrees and thanks to high quality housings, it can be installed directly into a control box.
Another solution is the Andino X1 Kit – a combination of Raspberry Pi and Arduino boards. The Kit provides an industrial solution with its own microcontroller, precise signal preprocessing and adaptation of signal transmitters, and actuators. It also protects all essential interfaces of the RPi according to industry standards because the supported digital inputs and outputs are galvanically isolated, preventing overvoltage of the Pis.
What Does the Future Hold for Raspberry Pi?
As the body responsible for the popular single-board computer, the Raspberry Pi Foundation is dedicating more resources to developing software that can support 3D software, AI and IoT applications. So we can expect to see some exciting software opportunities in the near future. In terms of hardware, the market is in constant change. The performance of the RPi needs to be maximised continuously so it can still perform even in extreme conditions, while still retaining its compact format.
Business and industry demands today require more compact, efficient and cost-effective solutions. An industry standard Raspberry Pi and its capabilities could make waves in the technology sector by meeting these needs. Developers can benefit massively from the existing knowledge of the Raspberry Pi community on what’s possible and we could soon see this popular single-board achieving even bigger things.
Raspberry Pi ina zaidi ya milioni 17 za kuuza ulimwenguni kote, na ni moja ya kompyuta maarufu zaidi ya bodi moja. Lakini si wapenzi tu wenye shauku ambao hutumia kompyuta ndogo-ndogo ya format ambayo awali ilitengenezwa kwa madhumuni ya elimu. Raspberry Pi ni teknolojia ya kompyuta ya viwanda ambayo haijatumiwa sana, lakini kwa sababu ya teknolojia ya kipimo na udhibiti (MSR), kompyuta ndogo ya RPI inavunja vizuizi vya zamani na kuunda nafasi ya uvumbuzi. Shukrani kwa kanuni ya chanzo wazi na idadi kubwa ya maktaba ya programu inapatikana kwa bure, lugha za programu na miongozo, RPI inatoa kubadilika zaidi kuliko mfumo mwingine wowote. Vifaa vya vifaa vinaweza kubadilishwa na kupanuliwa kama inahitajika na modules za kuongeza zinazoweza kuunganishwa, kama vile PI HATS, ambazo zinaweza kutumika kuunda interfaces za ziada. Hii inaruhusu prototypes kutekelezwa moja kwa moja katika mazingira ya uzalishaji bila ya kupitia mizunguko ya maendeleo ya muda mrefu. Raspberry Pi-based solutions pia zina gharama ya chini ikilinganishwa na bidhaa za jadi za viwanda, na kuwafanya kuwa suluhisho la gharama nafuu kwa biashara. Raspberry Pi ni kompyuta ndogo ya bodi moja, ambayo ina uwezo mdogo wa kufanya kazi. Raspberry Pi ya awali inaweza kufikia mipaka yake wakati kutumika katika mazingira magumu ya viwanda. Kwa sababu ya ukubwa mdogo wa kompyuta, hata joto la karibu la juu zaidi husababisha joto la msingi kuongezeka kwa kasi. Kupunguza CPU kusawazisha inaongoza kwa hasara kubwa ya utendaji. Kwa kuongezea, kadi za microSD zinazotumiwa kama diski ngumu zina uwezo wa idadi ndogo sana ya mizunguko ya kuandika kwa hivyo hazifai kwa matumizi ya kumbukumbu ya kuhifadhi. Hii ina maana kwamba wao si uwezo wa kukidhi baadhi ya mahitaji ya viwanda. Raspberry Pi 3B+ ina uwezo wa kuunganisha Gbit Ethernet na WiFi, na hivyo ni suluhisho linalofaa kwa matumizi ya Viwanda 4.0. Kwa sasa, hakuna njia za kuunganisha vifaa kama vile RS485 au CAN. Kupita Vizuizi vya Sekta ya RPi Licha ya mapungufu haya, kuna chaguzi na suluhisho za kushinda vizuizi hivi. PiXtend ni bodi ya upanuzi ya kitaaluma kwa Raspberry Pi ambayo inaweza kutumika kwa kazi zote za kudhibiti na udhibiti, na pia mazingira ya kujifunza kwa teknolojia ya kudhibiti, mzunguko na programu. Inajumuisha viunganishi vya serial vya viwanda (RS232, RS485 na CAN bus), kumbukumbu ya remanence na ufuatiliaji wa wakati halisi. Pia, PiXtend inashikilia joto la hadi digrii 50 na kwa sababu ya nyumba za ubora wa juu, inaweza kuwekwa moja kwa moja kwenye sanduku la kudhibiti. Suluhisho jingine ni Andino X1 Kit <unk> mchanganyiko wa Raspberry Pi na bodi za Arduino. Kit hutoa ufumbuzi wa viwanda na microcontroller yake mwenyewe, sahihi ishara preprocessing na marekebisho ya transmitter ishara, na actuators. Pia inalinda interfaces zote muhimu ya RPI kulingana na viwango vya sekta kwa sababu inasaidia digital pembejeo na pato ni galvanically kutengwa, kuzuia overvoltage ya PIS. Wakati Ujao wa Raspberry Pi Utafanya Nini? Raspberry Pi Foundation, ambayo ni kampuni ya kuanzisha Raspberry Pi, inaendelea kuendeleza programu za 3D, AI na IoT. Kwa hiyo tunaweza kutarajia kuona baadhi ya fursa za programu ya kusisimua katika siku zijazo za karibu. Kwa upande wa vifaa, soko ni katika mabadiliko ya daima. Utendaji wa RPI unahitaji kuwa maximized kuendelea hivyo bado inaweza kufanya hata katika hali kali, wakati bado kudumisha muundo wake compact. Biashara na sekta mahitaji ya leo zinahitaji ufumbuzi zaidi compact, ufanisi na gharama nafuu. Viwango vya sekta Raspberry Pi na uwezo wake inaweza kufanya mawimbi katika sekta ya teknolojia kwa kukidhi mahitaji haya. Watengenezaji wanaweza kufaidika sana kutoka kwa maarifa yaliyopo ya jamii ya Raspberry Pi juu ya nini inawezekana na hivi karibuni tunaweza kuona bodi hii moja maarufu ikifikia mambo makubwa zaidi.