Last week, the team behind the Raspberry Pi device was awarded the Royal Academy of Engineering’s MacRobert Prize at a ceremony in London.
A tiny cheap computer that would encourage youngsters to learn programming was the idea of a small team of scientists and Cambridge University academics when the device launched in 2012 and they hoped to sell a few thousand units – sales have now passed 14 million, Ed.
MacRobert award judge, Dr Frances Saunders, said “The Raspberry Pi team has achieved something that mainstream multinational computer companies and leading processing chip designers not only failed to do, but failed even to spot a need for”, she added that a “small engineering team had redefined home computing.”
Chief Executive of Raspberry Pi Trading Ltd, Eben Upton, was quoted as saying “(this is) a validation of the fact that we have built something bigger than we ever envisaged. It would also be recognition of the extraordinary community we’ve built around the Pi.”
The Raspberry Pi is now the best selling British computer in history, but what is extraordinary is just how successful it has become in industry. There it is finding a place in all sorts of applications, from robotics, telematics and digital signage – the industrial arena now accounts for nearly half of all Raspberry Pi sales.
In October 2016, NEC Display Solutions surprised the industry with an announcement of an open platform modular approach (officially called OPEN MODULAR INTELLIGENCE or OMI) that enables a seamless integration of Raspberry Pi devices with many of NEC’s new displays. By all accounts, this has been very well received by NEC’s partners and their customers.
Follow DailyDOOH