Page 64 - Raspberry Pi as a Foundation for Boosting Computer and Technology Literacy

5 Raspberry Pi usage
tor, attendance system, remote healthcare monitoring system, water
level sensor, fruit detection system, and IoT fan, to name but a few.
The humble computer has the power to connect the education sec-
tor with industry through common projects started at universities and
implemented in companies, because prototyping can be started in re-
search labs at educational institutions and later produced by compa-
nies. In addition, companies use Raspberry Pi for real-time monitoring
of manufacturing processes or tracking of the production line perfor-
mance, thus helping enterprises to optimize operations and predict
maintenance needs. With cameras and sensors installed, Raspberry
Pis can be used to inspect products for quality assurance by identify-
ing defects, ensuring products meet set standards and even guiding
robots for automated repairs. Smaller businesses may use Raspberry
Pis as cost-effective point-of-sale systems (for managing transactions,
inventory, and customer data) or implement them in interactive dis-
plays that display information (product information, advertisements)
aimed at attracting customers.
In the field of smart farming, Raspberry Pis can be used – and in-
deed are – to monitor soil moisture, weather conditions, crop growth,
automate irrigation systems, control greenhouse environments, or
track the location of livestock.
In healthcare, Raspberry Pis are used in affordable patient monitor-
ing systems for tracking vital signs and managing patient data. Whit-
taker (2022) reports that Raspberry Pi is a capable and reliable devel-
opment platform for medtech worth serious consideration, especially
the Compute Module, which offers all the capabilities and develop-
ment possibilities of similar modules that are positioned as industrial
development platforms for medical devices.
There are few fields into which Raspberry Pi has not yet found a way.
Some researchers and DIY enthusiasts have built clusters of Raspber-
ry Pis to experiment with parallel computing architectures, distribut-
ed systems, and network protocols, others implement Raspberry Pi
solutions in robotics and AI, others see its use in transportation and
logistics, where companies implement Raspberry Pis for tracking vehi-
cles and route optimization; local authorities in cities use it to monitor
and control traffic lights, collect traffic data, and implement intelligent
transportation systems, or build surveillance systems that can either
monitor premises or record video and alert owners of activities.

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