If you thought that the tiny single board computer, the Raspberry Pi (RBPi), could get no smaller, well, you really need to think again. There is now a Compute Module, which is much smaller. It contains the processor of the RBPi and 4GB of memory. The size of this board is roughly equal to a DDR2 laptop memory stick. However, the Compute Module is not exactly a miniaturization of the RBPi.
The advantage in fitting the system onto a small connector-less standard circuit board allows users to attach their own choice of interfaces. They need not be tied down to the built-in ports and devices that are available on the conventional RBPi board. The Compute Module is used along with a Starter IO board, which contains the rest of the devices.
The combination of the Compute Module and the Starter IO board is aimed at business and industrial users. The idea is to free the core technology of the RBPi to become an integral part of several new and exciting products and devices. The software of the RBPi is now full-featured and stable. A heroic community of volunteers is always hard at work constantly improving and improvising on the software. The manufacturers feel that this is the right time to free the hardware of the RBPi and make it more open.
Looking at the different types of users putting the RBPi to good use, it is really amazing to witness the huge number of products the community is developing around the tiny credit card sized SBC. The creativeness, ingenuity and inventiveness of the users are simply stunning. People are using the RBPi as not only a standalone module, but also embedding the tiny SBC into commercial products and systems. The dual combination of the Compute Module and the Starter IO board will make it even more versatile for these users.
The Compute Module contains the guts of the RBPi – the BCM2835 controller along with 512MBs of RAM. It also has a 4GB eMMC Flash memory, as a replacement of the SD card on the RBPi. Although all this is integrated onto a DDR2 SODIMM standard connector of the size 67.6x30mm and looks very much like a laptop memory card, it is not pin compatible to the memory card. Therefore, do not make the mistake of plugging in the Compute Module into a standard memory slot; it will only end in disaster.
The flash memory on the module is connected directly to the processor, but the remaining interfaces of the processor are freely available on the pins of the connector. That means you now have the full flexibility of the BCM2835 SoC. Compared to the original RBPi, many more number of GPIOs and interfaces available to the user on the Compute Module. That makes interfacing the Compute Module into a customized system should now be relatively simpler.
Although the Compute Module is aimed primarily at users who will be designing their own PCB, others not willing to go that far may use the Starter IO board. Snap the Compute Module into its connector on the Starter IO board and you are good to go.
