Raspberry Pi

[eugenedakin]

Hi @zapshe

Yes, I have the Raspberry Pi 2, 3, and 3+ and have programmed on all of them, and even wrote a book to interface with the GPIO.

The Raspberry Pi is a miniature computer which can be used for field work. One example is to read real-time pressure and temperature of an oilfield well to perform Pressure-Transient-Analysis (determines the 'health' of the oil well). Others have used it for ovens used to harden pottery, some have programmed one for 3D printing, while another has used it for timing bicycle racing.

I typically make Transistor-Transistor-Logic to get the appropriate input/output with sensors motors, etc, and the Raspberry Pi crunches the data.

The Raspberry Pi is great to use in a place where a regular computer will not fit (such as an 8-inch pipe) or in a rugged remote location where you wouldn't want to lose an expensive computer, such as the desert. It's a really nice little unit!

[zapshe]

@eugenedakin

Thanks! Sounds pretty great. Since I'm doing circuitry in this semester I'll probably get one after.

[Manga]

You can use one to build your own game system. Check out retropi...
https://retropie.org.uk/

[Norm Gunderson]

Adding physical interfaces to your projects is fun & quite easy to get going using breakout boards like this:
https://www.adafruit.com/product/2472

Also handy if you're going to an interview and you want to show offf some of your programming projects, you can take the RPi + mini wireless keyboard/mouse + HDMI cable and then hook it up to one of their monitors (or get a miniature display like this https://www.adafruit.com/product/1928) to show them. I've never actually tried doing that myself yet, but it would be a good way to make yourself stand out.