The Raspberry Pi – which launched back in February – is an uber-mini PC powered by a 700 MHz ARM111 processor, 256MB of memory and an SD card slot for storage.
Boasting an introductory price of $25-$35, the Pi is fully capable of running a desktop Linux-based operating system (as well as Raspbian OS), allowing users to connect a keyboard, mouse, Ethernet cable and monitor.
Unsurprisingly, Raspberry’s Pi has inspired a slew of uber-mini boards, including the $40 Gertboard which expands the Raspberry Pi’s GPIO pins – enabling users to more easily interface with the outside world.
“If you want to use your Raspberry Pi to drive motors to open doors, lift things, or power robotics; if you want to sense temperature and switch devices on and off; if you want to flash lights; or if you want to learn about electronics from scratch, then Gertboard is for you,” Raspberry Foundation Liz Upton explained in a recent blog post.
“It comes with an assembly manual and a user manual, which also act as a pair of teaching guides, bundled with plenty of programs to show you how to put things together.”
However, be warned that Gertboard is packaged as a kit. Meaning, it doesn’t come preassembled, so you will have to solder it together yourself.
It is probably also worth noting that although the Gertboard is officially endorsed by the Pi foundation, it was actually produced by Gert van Loo, who designed the original alpha hardware the Raspberry Pi Model B is based on.
The Gertboard can be pre-ordered here.
