The PI-face Digital 2
Input and output interface board
Reaching the real world
The fundamental difference between a standard Tablet a Laptop or Desktop computer and a development board system is a little harder to define than you may think !
A Raspberry pi 2 with ARM quad core CPU
After all most of the components on a development board are much the same as on a standard computer system.
The ARM processor that many development boards use for their core processor is a perfect match for these boards, they use much less power (lasting hours on a battery!) than an Intel CPU , run at a much lower temperature and contain all the power needed to run a powerful operating system such as Linux ( Used to power many of the Internets servers !). They are well documented and capable of being programmed via ( Assembly, C++ and Python Languages ).
Many of these single board systems also have all the I/O capabilities needed to talk to any of the contemporary external peripherals on the current I.T. marked, including storage units, screens, printers, human interface devices , etc ……
Hot From the Oven
A Raspberry pi with a tasty CPU
The main area relating to why I wanted to own and get to learn how to work with a development board system such as the ( Cubieboards and Raspberry pi systems ) that interested me the most however was their ability to interface with external (personal electronics projects related) based devices such as (Sensors, Switches and Relays and Motors) .
I am still spending much time revising and learning computer development languages such as (Python and C++), many post to come ! but I have also just placed an order for a device called the “PI-FACE digital 2”, its specifications are as follows :
Features
The PI-face Digital 2
Input and output interface board
2 Change over Relays
4 Tactile Switches
8 Digital Inputs
8 Open-Collector Outputs
8 LED Indicators
Graphical Emulator
Easy to program in Python 3 and 2, Scratch and C
Support for interrupts
Some of the examples of devices that can be attached to this Raspbery pi expansion board include :
Input devices and sensors
IR motion sensors
Distance rangefinder sensors
Tilt and movement sensors
Light Sensors
Audio sensors
Temperature sensors
Switch panels
etc…..
Output devices
Lights
Motors
audio devices
lcd matrix panels
heating devices
cooling fans
etc…
This device comes with Python and C++ library’s to aid in writing software to perform actions resulting from the data input from the many different sensors types available.
I am very excited about receiving this device and getting to work with it, after many years of writing software applications that do all kinds of things from database management to photography related data management (Calculating depth of field etc …) I am very much looking forward to programming apps that react to sensors that see the real world around them.
I ordered the PiFACE Digital 2 here : NEW IT
