PI-TOP [4]
2019
We worked with pi-top to create a modular Raspberry Pi powered computer that looks to push the boundaries of STEAM education. A device that allows students, educators and inventors to code and make anything they can imagine.
Studio Wood supported with the product strategy, industrial design language and ecosystem usability.
THE BRAIN
At the heart of the system is the pi-top [4] itself, a small device driven by the Raspberry Pi 4.
The unit acts as the system’s 'brain', being central to the pi-top ecosystem. It can be docked into any number of inventions or devices, allowing it to become a laptop, tablet, handheld console, drone, or anything its owner dreams up.
PORTABLE COMPUTER
Whilst offering ability to build projects independently of a computer, the design features a screen and keyboard that allows a more familiar PC setup for coding and learning.
The Bluetooth keyboard and open format better allows multiple students to build projects together and work collaboratively.
ACCESSIBILITY & USABILITY
Working with pi-top’s wider design team, we looked for ways to better align hardware and software whilst elevating the system’s accessibility. To enable this, we incorporated the FS Me font, which is designed specifically to improve legibility for people with learning difficulties.
Makers of wildly different skill levels would likely be using the pi-top [4], so careful design decisions where made to cater to all. One such example is how we used a combination of silkscreen print and exposed copper (which is then gold plated) to allow more experienced makers to see specific port/pin information.
BUILD & PLAY
Every pi-top [4] comes with a ‘Foundation Kit’. A range of components and sensors, basically everything needed to get learning about physical computing.
Each little sensor has a magnetic base that allows it to fit in several different mounts. These allow the sensors to be used seamlessly with pi-top’s own build structure but also established building materials such as Lego Technics.
BEYOND A COMPUTER
As well as teaching the basics of physical computing, the device is also a gateway into learning about advanced coding, robotics, cyber-security and AI.
The product design strategy was to sit the pi-top [4] at the centre of a much wider product ecosystem. This allows students to start with the basics but then grow and build much larger, complex projects. The pi-top [4] has already been used to build an array of projects such as art installations, drones, hydroponic systems, exploration rovers and weather monitoring systems.
