Raspberry Pi 2: application, installation and connection

The microcomputer Raspberry Pi has become known relatively recently. What is this device and why is it needed?

Raspberry Pi 2

Initially, the developers planned a microcomputer as a cheap device for teaching computer science students. But something went wrong. "Raspberry" was interested in quite a lot of people. Everyone is curious what kind of microcomputer is Raspberry Pi 2. We'll take a closer look at the installation, installation and installation of this device. In the meantime, some history.

Briefly about Raspberry Pi

Raspberry Pi was developed in 2011. For several years he underwent serious changes. Now this is a very interesting platform with many features called Raspberry Pi 2. The use of this board is possible in all conceivable areas. It can be used as a smart home server, a security system with face detection, a multimedia center and much more. The latest model Raspberry Pi 2 Model B + has in its arsenal a quad-core processor with ARM v7 architecture, 1 GB of RAM and a video accelerator capable of easily playing Full HD video. USB-connectors in the number of four pieces are also in place. To connect a monitor or a TV, use the HDMI output.

In addition, the microcomputer has a meager energy consumption. This applies to both Arduino and Raspberry Pi 2. The board is powered via the microUSB connector using a conventional smartphone charger power supply.

Operating system in Raspberry

Here everything is not so simple. The original versions of the microcomputer could not work on regular distributions. For them it was necessary to create special versions of systems. All OSes are based on Linux distributions. There are even special versions of ArchLinux and Kali Linux for Raspberry Pi 2. The OS is installed on the board using a microSD memory card and a special NOOBS application. In the latest version of this device, if you want, it is quite possible to use Ubuntu OS and even Microsoft Windows 10 as the system. Thanks to this, it became possible to make a home multimedia center from Raspberry Pi.

However, by default, it is strongly recommended that you use the Raspbian OS specially created for this microcomputer. It is based on the widely known Debian distribution. All management is carried out in the same way, as well as usual Linux-system.

Installing the OS on Raspberry

To install the operating system on a microcomputer, we need a microSD memory card with a minimum of 8 GB. In addition, you need an "ordinary" working computer with Internet access. There are several ways to install the system on Raspberry Pi 2. OS installation can be performed both with the help of the installer itself and by deploying the system image to the memory card. We will consider the first method.

First we find the official Raspberry website and download the zip archive from the Raspbian OS. After that, unpack the archive on a memory card so that all files are in the root of the flash drive. Preparation is over. Now insert the memory card into the microcomputer and turn it on. Do not forget to connect the keyboard and mouse to the Raspberry Pi 2 before this. The connection is via USB connectors. After the successful download, a welcome window will appear. Here you can configure all the necessary parameters. The default language is English. Russian is not and is not expected. The working environment of the software is LXDE. A slightly modified lightweight working environment is ideal for Raspberry Pi. After the successful installation of the system, the configurator will tell you about it. Now you can start the work and you have fully assembled the Raspberry Pi 2 microcomputer. Applying updates from the moment the latest version of the operating system is released and installing all the necessary programs, we'll cover just a bit later.

Installing programs in Raspbian OS

After successful installation of the system, you should prepare a certain number of programs for Raspberry Pi 2. Installation is done through the application center Pi Store. The components are updated using the terminal. As with any Linux distribution, use the apt-get update command. When installing programs from the Pi Store, you should be very careful, because not all of them are free. If you want to make your microcomputer completely free, then it's best to use the Ubuntu distribution. The installation process is exactly the same.

After successfully installing and configuring the operating system for the microcomputer, it's time to think about why you can use Raspberry Pi 2. Its application can cover a wide variety of areas. Raspberry Pi will find application in cars, at home, as servers, "brains" for robots.

Media center based on Raspberry

To do this, we need a Raspberry Pi 2 microcomputer, a TV, a PC with a bunch of movies and broadband Internet access. First of all, you need to install on the device an operating system XBMC, created specifically for controlling TVs and "iron" players. I must say that after a successful installation in the settings do not have to dig. Everything works great out of the box. This is the main plus Raspberry Pi 2. The application in the media center is easy. For normal operation of the microcomputer in such conditions, a minimum set of equipment is required.

Raspberry in the car

On the basis of Raspberry Pi, you can also build a mini-computer for the car, which will adjust some settings of the machine. Such as climate control, music playback, GPS navigation and much more. In addition, if you connect the camera to the microcomputer, you will get an advanced DVR. To build the so-called Car PC, you will need the Raspberry Pi card itself, some USB "whistles" (for example, for GPS reception), a touch screen and a specialized operating system. Since even car management systems are based on Linux distributions, there will be no problems with this. The main component is Raspberry Pi 2. The use of such a system in the car will allow the driver to be less distracted by setting heating parameters or playing music. Automation will do everything itself.

Raspberry in robotics

Well, finally, we turn to using the Raspberry Pi card in robotics. Here the possibilities are truly limitless. However, basic knowledge will not be enough. In this case, you need to know the basics of programming, robotics and mechanics. One need only mention that the power of the microcomputer is enough to use it as the brain center of an advanced robot. Although not all boards will fit. In this case, you will need the latest version of the microcomputer - Raspberry Pi 2 B. The use of a board of this particular version will make it possible to achieve truly impressive results.

To use a microcomputer in robotics, you should know that in addition to user-friendly ports like USB and Ethernet, Raspberry has in its arsenal the so-called low-level ports for connecting various relays, motors and everything else. It's no wonder that Raspberry Pi 2 becomes the choice of professionals. Its application in robotics becomes possible precisely because of the presence of "low-level" connectors.

Conclusion

For many, it will be interesting to work with such a wonderful electronic device. And not only to the so-called geeks (people who are "turned" on their hobby). Any more or less curious person will be interested in understanding this "piece of iron." After all, for a purely symbolic fee, you can get a computer system, only in small quantities inferior to a huge stationary PC. In addition, many will want to make their media center or arrange an auto upgrade using Raspberry Pi. The application of this microcomputer in fact is able to greatly facilitate the life of a person.

Also it can be used as an alternative to the electronic programmable designer Arduino. After all, the latter can act only as a management board, while Raspberry Pi is almost a full-fledged computer.

It is also popular with hackers with burglars - it is often based on interceptors of Wi-Fi traffic with passwords that are easy to disguise and only occasionally to collect data.

The theme of this microcomputer is also reflected in the television series about Hackers "Mr. Robot", where the heroes used the device for remote technological diversion.

Well, do not forget about the small cost that almost everyone can afford. And especially liked the inventors of the fact that you can use Raspberry Pi many times and as you like.