Design Camp on Raspberry Pi

This semester, I attended the design camp on Raspberry Pi. Essentially, it is a single board computer, or a mini computer that allows you to program a motion sensor camera. It plugs into your TV and a keyboard. The original intent was to be used by kids to learn how to program. What we did during the camp was set up the device by plugging it into the computer and connecting all the right wires. Then we had to use code to program the camera on the device. Once all the coding was finished we were able to take pictures with the mini camera that showed up on the TV screen every time we moved. It was a fairly short design camp, but I still think it was interesting because I had no idea what Raspberry Pi was when I first stepped into the room. At first, I had no idea how this device could be useful, but when I realized that it could do basically anything that a regular computer can do, the projects are endless.

Honestly, I don’t think I will every use Raspberry Pi again because I am not into coding or programming, but I think I could use the idea of the technology to come up with new ways that it could be used in the world. Motion sensor cameras are definitely useful and it would be cool to think of ways that it could help society. Also, as a computer, program it as a wearable computer (a really cool idea that was mentioned). The things I learned about Raspberry Pi were a little confusing because I do not know much about coding, but I think it was a new idea that makes me a little more knowledgeable about what technology we have in this world that I was completely unaware of.

This technology can is a little hard to relate to what we learned in class in terms of readings and discussions. However, I can relate it to what we talked about concerning new technologies and the last project we did that can influence change in race, labor, gender, etc. The motion sensor camera can be used to protect people from intruders. It could set an alarm off if someone is breaking into your house. For security reasons, I think that the camera could maybe help with the riots going on by detecting people and getting them on camera. In terms of a wearable computer, I think that could help with safety as well. You could search criminals, which reminds me of the invention I came up with (the sexual assault keychain). You could easily find help and identify people, as well as take pictures of them. As such a small computer, it is something you could even send into space. Raspberry Pi also reminds me a little of the movie Sleep Dealer, just because of the technological aspect of it and how such a small thing can actually be a computer with vast possibilities. The things you can do with Raspberry Pi are really interesting to come up with and I can definitely see how it can relate to some projects we did in class, especially the invention one. I think that Raspberry Pi could really help in terms of surveillance and safety of the society.

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