Example kit

I have put together examples of kit, to illustrate the types of hardware that could meet the requirements of the Innovation Centre.

In the case of the Raspberry Pi, I have quite a number but decided to show some more interesting examples. I was given the Pi Top 4, by the manufacturer, to review. These are now used mostly in the US for education and come with a comprehensive online educational system. It is a good example of a comprehensive educational platform for the Raspberry Pi. There is also a robot platform that plugs in underneath, however it is quite expensive. My view is that it can be used as an example of best practice in educational computing and act as a guide when developing our training resources. I like the Pi 400 as it is integrated within a keyboard. My recommendation is that in the medium term the latest Raspberry Pis are used, as they are far more powerful and can support AI.

The Microbits and Arduinos are programmed using a PC.

A good quality PC and monitor is required for artwork and programming. Digital art, fractal graphics and AI require a good quality graphics card and monitor. It is also anticipated that the latest Raspberry Pi will be required in the longer term to provide quality graphics at a reasonable price. Adding a TPU (tensor processing unit) graphics card will allow simple AI Machine Learning to be investigated.

For a club some kit could be shared but for smaller items, such as Microbit Robots, each member would need a robot kit and Microbit. They would also need their own laptop or share a PC. We would also need to duplicate most of the items.

MicroBit with sensors, servos and electronics

Arduino based robot vehicles. Showing the latest Arduino Uno WiFi.

MicroBit Robotics, including a MeArm robot arm, Environmental Monitor and a Robot Vehicle with line sensor and AI Vision. All based on the MicroBit.

Raspberry Pi 400 attached to a MicroBit through GPIO pins. A PiTop 4 with sensors and electronics. Note: Scratch running on a Pi has additional functions to control GPIO pins and communicate with a MicroBit. MicroBits have a propriety wireless facility that allows for swarm style communications between robots. These features allow for interesting Art and Robotics integration projects.