In its ongoing quest to develop products that meet customer needs and demands, RS began distributing Raspberry Pi after signing a contract with the Raspberry Pi Foundation. Initially, the board was developed primarily for educational purposes to promote computer programming in schools, but RS has observed strong adoption of this technology among businesses, offering a fast and affordable way to develop embedded systems.
Raspberry Pi, in the industrial field, offers great advantages not only for its quality/price ratio, but also for its ease of use, which together with its size and consumption, make it ideal for different applications, being used as an integrated PC for information points and sales terminals, digital advertising signage and multimedia communication servers, industrial control and remote control, among others.
The latest Raspberry Pi model incorporates a Broadcom 2836 application processor with a powerful quad-core ARM Cortex-A7 CPU, offering a significant boost in processing power. The Computing Module concept has generated considerable interest, particularly among users in the industrial sector.
GM Vending, a Spanish company that manufactures vending and tobacco dispensing machines, self-service kiosks, mobile phone top-up machines, coffee capsule dispensers, and ready-to-drink coffee machines, has incorporated the Raspberry Pi mini-processor and a touchscreen selection display into its Avant series.
These two innovations represent a unique technological advancement in the vending sector, offering the advantages of open-source software development: cost-effectiveness, flexibility, operational stability, and minimal maintenance.
With internet access, the operator can manage everything from price changes and brand updates to screen configuration changes, as well as obtain sales and technical and financial status reports, in addition to controlling stock levels, restocking, and revenue collection.
David Lacasta, R&D Director at GM Vending, commented: “By incorporating the Raspberry Pi board into our machines, we have achieved a more intuitive, user-friendly, and modern graphical and touch interface. It has also allowed us to develop a communication system with our servers, where we control the machine's operation.”
Ana Belda, Country Manager of RS Components in Iberia, added: “RS is not only a supplier of basic electronic components but also a prestigious and reliable source of products, technologies, resources, tools, and technical expertise for customers worldwide.”
Learn more
