UK tech and education come full circle during US tour
UK tech company and charity Raspberry Pi is travelling the country to promote an innovative $25 miniature computer.
Raspberry Pi engineer Rob Bishop discusses uses for the innovative product with computer scientists at Argonne National Laboratory near Chicago.
Raspberry Pi, which was awarded a Silver Medal from the Royal Academy of Engineering in 2012, is a simple computer the size of a credit card designed to help young people learn computer science and engineering. The open-source computer – available for purchase in the US for as little as $25 – is an accessible and easy-to-use tool for people who want to learn about computers and programming.
In a little over a year, more than 1.5 million units have been sold worldwide. Its hardware, however, is deeply rooted in UK innovation: the Raspberry Pi hardware is made in Wales and its software is created by volunteers across the UK.
Rob Bishop, one of Raspberry Pi’s first engineers, is travelling through the US this month to promote the foundation’s educational mission and identify new partners. His first stop was Chicago, where Rob has met with computer scientists at Argonne National Laboratory, artists and architects at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and leaders in the city’s tech community at the Data Science for Social Good programme.
Details about the rest of Rob’s engagements in the US – including stops in Louisville, Minneapolis, Boulder, Seattle and Kansas City – are available here.
Rob previously visited the US in 2012, where he introduced the Raspberry Pi at the British Embassy in Washington: