Raspberry Pi 2; configured with embedded-hardware use in mind
First announcement of the Raspberry Pi 2 model B is here.
The Pi 2 has a Broadcom chip with four ARM Cortex-A7 cores; giving it the claimed 6x gain in processing power over its predecessor. This is very much an average, Upton says; some single threaded benchmraks only gain a little speed, whereas “NEON-enabled video codecs can be over 20x faster.” Other than the quad-core swap, the Broadcom chip retains all of the features of the first generation, including the VideoCore IV 3D graphics core.
Upton acknowledges that the first-generation Pi, while it could be used “as a PC”, was at the limits of its performance in that role. Raspberry Pi 2, he says, marks, “a transition to a new world.” In addition to the less demanding task it has been applied to – such as the education aspect – the new chip will readily handle being deployed “just as a PC.”
Embedded users who have designed in the existing model B+ and don’t wish to make any design changes will continue to have that product available. Distributor RS Components says it will continue to stock all legacy products, including the Compute Module. Upton adds that a compute module derived from the Raspberry Pi 2 is an anticipated project/product, but at present there is no projected date for its release. For embedded use of the compute module, Upton says that his objective is to get to the point – both from the supply side, and from users perceptions – where, “it makes no sense not to use it ant any volume under 50,000 units.” Also not on the [immediate] product roadmap is a version 2, board scaled back to the “model A” format – the existing model A performs that entry-level function adequately, the Foundation believes.
Upton says that Raspberry Pi has seen varied deployment in embedded functions, often in control and supervisory roles in larger items of equipment. He sees the Pi being valued in that context because, “It is cheaper, has higher reliability, and [crucially] better stability,” than a custom-designed alternative or any other off-the-shelf option. Two years of engineering has gone into the Pi 2; a major part of this has been in cost-reduction, so that the board can be manufactured and delivered for the same price and the first-generation issue; but also into ensuring stability and reliability.
Users benefit from this effort, Upton adds, as that level of attention to controlling build costs, and ensuring quality, is hard to support at the few-tens-of-thousands production level; you can benefit, he concludes, from mass-market economies-of-scale that come embedded in the Raspberry Pi platform. He is now looking at possible next projects for the Raspberry Pi engineering team to turn their attention to; asked if there might be an FPGA-based board that could function as a custom function/programmable accelerator add-on, Upton says that it is “one of the possibilities.” But, he adds, any such development would depend on being able to offer a suitably user-friendly tool set.
Raspberry Pi 1 has sold around 4.5 million units since its launch in 2012; it would, reportedly, take sales of around 12 million to make it the third-highest-selling compute platform ever, but the Foundation regards that target as being within reach.
element 14; www.element14.com/raspberrypi
RS Components; www.rs-online.com
Raspberry Pi Foundation; www.raspberrypi.org
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