Image by Vishnu Mohanan on Unsplash
When I was building the server for my app with an external provider, I didn’t realize it would “go to sleep” after a period of inactivity, and take more than a minute to power up again when someone needed to use it. Notably, this is detrimental to user retention, so I had two options: pay the excessive monthly subscription fee or build the server myself. Obviously, I chose the second option and built my own server with a $30 Raspberry Pi (way cheaper than the subscription).
Raspberry Pis, Arduinos, Orange Pis, and many other SBC (single-board computer) platforms have inspired, built, and transformed people’s interests in engineering over the decades since their release. They are compact, cost-effective mini-computers that pack all the parts of a full-sized computer into the frame of a credit card. They include all the components of a computer: CPU (central processing unit), input/output, storage, and memory. Most SBCs, including the Raspberry Pi, can also run operating systems, with Linux and Raspberry Pi OS being the most popular. We’ve gone from computers that cost over $1 million and are the size of rooms to computers that cost less than $10 and are the size of credit cards–and the benefits have been astronomical.
Image from Polynotes Hub
The diagram above shows the Raspberry Pi 3 SBC, one of the most popular models among hobbyists and students due to its simplicity and intuitive design. It has a single 1.4 GHz quad-core 64-bit processor. With Wi-Fi integration across 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands and Bluetooth support, the possibilities for what you can build are endless. The 40-pin input/output pinout lets you connect various hardware to it, enabling everything from robot dogs to homemade rockets, using the SBC as a central command center to control them.
Image by Patrick Fromaget from Raspberry Tips
One of the more popular uses of SBCs is as a server, a personal computer, or an inconspicuous way to access the internet. The image above shows the standard operating system running on the Raspberry Pi. On it you can access regular PC apps such as Firefox to browse, a calculator, and most importantly the terminal where you can mess with the device itself and use it to build a server, implement CRON jobs, or create a smart home hub for things like thermostats, Wi-Fi, and many features Amazon Alexa offers, but at a fraction of the price.
Learning to build with SBCs is not hard. Actually, it’s become easier than ever in the age of free YouTube tutorials, AI, and the low cost of these computers. You can pick up a simple Raspberry Pi Zero 2 kit on Amazon for $40 and begin building! Create your own server, create a rocket, or even build your own cat detection system! The possibilities are endless, and the knowledge you will gain from tinkering with these small systems is significant. Be curious and build!
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