Some time ago we discussed the first version of CrowPi, an interesting development kit based on Raspberry Pi, focused on educational purposes and financed through a crowdfunding campaign.
Two years after the launch of its first edition, today the second version of this device, CrowPi 2, is in the final stage of its financing campaign, which comes with interesting improvements, including the possibility of being used also as a traditional laptop.
After carrying out the relevant market study and taking into account the positive reception that the first edition of CrowPi had, in June of this year the financing campaign for its second version, CrowPi 2, began, which began to be developed after the launch. of its predecessor version and that it hopes to see the light during August.
Available in two colors, silver and dark gray, the CrowPi 2 bases its operating system on the 2018 model, but with notable improvements on a material level.
Its design evokes a traditional laptop, including a webcam and microphone on its 11.6-inch screen and a removable panel with the keyboard and touchpad of the equipment, which work wirelessly and cover the components of the development kit in question. composed of 29 different modules.
Additionally, to give this equipment autonomy, the casing of this device has a specially dedicated space to store a USB portable battery, which can be connected to the heart of this equipment, the Raspberry Pi that gives it life.
This kit works as a kind of case for the Raspberry Pi 3B, 3B + and 4, which support a number of operating systems, such as Raspbian, Ubuntu, Windows IOT, ArchLinux, FreeBSD and many others.
In addition to its ability to turn a Raspberry Pi into a fully functioning laptop, its development kit features are ideal for learning electronics, programming, and for use in STEM education systems.
For this last aspect, the CrowPi 2 has its own development software, created for the learning of Scratch, Python and artificial intelligence, by reviewing online lessons and executing guided exercises.
Among the projects that can be executed are the execution of construction projects in Minecraft, the creation of animations, the development of a calculator, the creation of a playable clone of Flappy Bird or a version of Sokoban. Also, distance measurement tools, voice recognition and even faces can be created, thanks to the benefits of its software and development tools.
These kits can be purchased at different prices, which change depending on the variant chosen. The simplest includes only the base kit, a more complete one includes a Raspberry Pi for immediate use and others more equipped still include accessories designed for its different possible applications, from programming to the execution of some classic video games.
The financing campaign for the project is still ongoing. Because it is a pre-release (in stage early bird), its current price is $ 139. When this period ends, its value will amount to $ 259.
If you want to know more details about this project, you can check them on its page on Kickstarter.
