The Raspberry Pi Foundation is a charity founded in 2009 to promote the study of basic computer science in schools, and is responsible for developing a single-board computer called the Raspberry Pi, the UK's best-selling PC of all time.
Foundation
The Raspberry Pi Foundation is a charitable organization registered with the Charity Commission for England and Wales. The board of trustees was assembled by 2008 and the Raspberry Pi Foundation was founded as a registered charity in May 2009 in Caldecote, Cambridgeshire, UK. In 2016, The Foundation moved its headquarters to Station Road, Cambridge, Cambridge. The Foundation is supported by the University of Cambridge Computer Laboratory and Broadcom. Its aim is to "promote the study of computer science and related topics, especially at school level, and to put the fun back into learning computing." Project co-founder Eben Upton is a former academic, currently employed by Broadcom as a system-on-chip architect and associate technical director. Components, albeit in small numbers, were able to be sourced from suppliers, due to the charitable status of the organization.
History
When the decline in numbers and skills of students applying for Computer Science became a concern for a team that included Eben Upton, Rob Mullins, Jack Lang and Alan Mycroft at the University of Cambridge’s Computer Laboratory in 2006, a need for a tiny and affordable computer came to their minds. Several versions of the early Raspberry Pi prototypes were designed but were very limited by the high cost and low power processors for mobile devices at that time. In 2008, the team started a collaboration with Pete Lomas, MD of Norcott Technologies and David Braben, the co-author of the seminal BBC Micro game Elite, and formed the Raspberry Pi Foundation. Three years later, the Raspberry Pi Model B was born and it had sold over two million units within two years of mass production.
Founders and current leadership
The original founders of the organization includes
In early 2013 the organization split into two parts: Raspberry Pi Foundation which is responsible for the charitable and educational activities; and Raspberry Pi Ltd responsible for the engineering and trading activities. Raspberry Pi Ltd is a wholly owned subsidiary of Raspberry Pi Foundation, with the money earned from sales of Raspberry Pi products being used to fund the charitable work of the Foundation. Eben Upton was initially CEO of both divisions, but in September 2013 Lance Howarth became CEO of the Raspberry Pi Foundation, with Eben Upton remaining as CEO of Raspberry Pi Ltd. Philip Colligan took over from Lance Howarth as CEO of Raspberry Pi Foundation in July 2015.
Trustees
As of 31 December 2015, the foundation has 7 Trustees:
The Board of Trustees is elected by and supported by the Members of the Foundation, with Members serving in a voluntary role and coming from a range of backgrounds.
Early expectations
The Foundation expected that children would program using Scratch and that the input/output functionality would be used to control external devices. Additionally, the low power requirement facilitates battery-powered usage in robots, while the video capabilities have led to interest in use as a home media centre.
Education fund
In April 2014, the foundation announced a £1 million education fund to support projects that enhance the understanding of computing and to promote the use of technology in other subjects, particularly STEM and creative arts for children. They offer to provide up to 50% of the total projected costs to successful applicants. Carrie Anne Philbin is the Director of Education.
Logo
In October 2011, the logo was selected from a number submitted from open competition. A shortlist of six was drawn up, with the final judging taking several days. The chosen design was created by Paul Beech and based on a buckyball.
Magazines
The Raspberry Pi Foundation publishes four magazines. The MagPi is the official magazine of the Raspberry Pi. Hello World is a "computing and digital making" magazine and was first published in January 2017. Wireframe, launched in November 2018, is a magazine about videogames and videogame development. From February 2019 The Raspberry Pi Foundation took over the publication of Custom PC - a UK-based computer magazine.
Raspberry Pi
In 2011, the Raspberry Pi Foundation developed a single-board computer named the Raspberry Pi. The Foundation's goal was to offer two versions, priced at US$25 and $35. The Foundation started accepting orders for the higher priced model on 29 February 2012. The Raspberry Pi is intended to stimulate the teaching of computer science in schools.
In 2015 the foundation unveiled the Raspberry Pi Zero. This version of the microcomputer had a significantly reduced form factor and a lower price, launching at £4/$5. The new model features a 1 GHz, single-core CPU; 512 MiB RAM, USB and mini HDMI ports, micro USB power, and a HAT-compatible 40-pin header as well as composite video and reset headers . As a fully functioning Linux system the Raspberry Pi Zero's 1 GHz processor is comparable to the middle of the road for the Intel Pentium 3 architecture, a standard in 2000. The reduced price and smaller form factor encourages use in smaller and embedded projects.
