Raspberry Pi to add camera later this year

Raspberry Pi to add camera later this year

(Phys.org) -- The Raspberry Pi, a uniquely priced, no casing computer that plugs into your TV and a keyboard., will be given a camera accessory later this year. That may be “oh-so-what” news if this were a mainstream machine but the Raspberry Pi is quite something else. This is a Model-A, Model-B $25 to $35 credit-card sized PC that grew out of The Raspberry Pi project, a UK based foundation. When the computer was made available in March, the device’s first batch sold out in hours after sites distributing the product witnessed unprecedented traffic.

The device is designed as a means of helping young people learn about computers beyond uploading pics and downloading documents. The developers created a computer that includes a 700 MHz processor, 256 MB RAM and the capability of playing games, doing spreadsheets, word processing and playing high definition video. (Model A has been redesigned to have 256 Mb RAM, one USB port and no Ethernet. Model B has 256Mb RAM, two USB ports and an Ethernet port.) Now a is on its way.Information so far is that the team has been working with a 14-megapixel camera but because user cost, not panache, is paramount, the camera of final choice may be scaled back.

Price was a key consideration in the early days of coming up with the Raspberry Pi, as the team behind the computer spent much time hunting down components that would achieve for them the best balance between cost and quality. (One question that is sometimes asked is why if the foundation is UK-based does it present its prices in US dollars. The team buys components that are priced in dollars and they negotiate manufacturing in dollars.)

Raspberry Pi to add camera later this year

The camera type will also need to keep in line with affordability considering their target user base.“We don’t have a price for the camera module yet; we’ll need to finalize exactly what hardware is in it first, but we will, of course, be ensuring that it’s very affordable,” according to site comments about the camera on its way.

The Raspberry Pi team sees the camera as a further extension of their education aims, for those who may be interested in robotics and building home-automation apps.

While design plans are not finalized, what is known is that the camera will attach to the with ribbon cable. According to the site, the module will be released for sale later this year, “hopefully before the end of the summer.”

The team also plans on selling cases by the summer; buyers will be able to choose a unit with or without a case or a case on its own,

More information: www.raspberrypi.org/archives/tag/camera-module

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Citation: Raspberry Pi to add camera later this year (2012, May 22) retrieved 19 March 2024 from https://phys.org/news/2012-05-raspberry-pi-camera-year.html
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