Who knew that the humble launderette is having a moment as a social space to hang out with friends? According to Korea Laundry, the washateria is an increasingly desirable destination, with lifestyle branding alongside turn-up-and-wash convenience. Another company mixing things up its own way is Sweden’s Elk Audio, which lets audiophiles have free rein over almost every aspect of their mixes, including almost every hardware element – Raspberry Pi 4 and Compute Modules among them. Yet more choice comes from Handlet, which gives you the option to run one of its Raspberry Pi-based tablets off a built-in battery and also offers customisations galore.

These three examples illustrate the flexibility of Raspberry Pi hardware and how readily Raspberry Pi has been adopted by both industrial and consumer clients, as well as how the market for high-quality Raspberry Pi products has gone global. 

“From Stockholm to Sydney, South Korea to Slovakia.”

This showcase of Powered by Raspberry Pi products features innovations from Stockholm to Sydney, South Korea to Slovakia. Although prototyping and iterating can be relatively cost-effective, once you have a marketable product, there are compliance testing hoops to jump through. Raspberry Pi introduced Powered by Raspberry Pi accreditation to help manufacturers with this process, standardising compliance regulations and testing procedures for every Raspberry Pi. This info can be found at the Production Information Portal. Accreditation is also a visual and visible mark of quality and rigour that helps manufacturers stand out from other brands and helps give customers confidence.

Horace 2 photo booth

France | rpimag.co/horace-photobooth

The Horace photo booth is an excellent addition to any party or social occasion. Featuring two Raspberry Pi High Quality Cameras, the booth comes in 1.5m- and 85cm-tall versions, meaning there are options for adults and smaller photo fans, as well as wheelchair-using partygoers. Raspberry Pi 5 and Node-RED control everything inside the booth and provide a live 2K video stream of what the cameras can see. The photo booth’s dye-sublimation printer produces Instagramable prints in less than 30 seconds. The whole setup weighs 35kg and can be folded flat for easy transportation. It has been incredibly well received in France, where Horace is based and where customers can hire him for special events along with a fun selection of photo backdrops. 

Elk Audio

Sweden | rpimag.co/elk-audio

Stockholm-based Elk Audio describes Raspberry Pi as “the go-to platform for prototyping and experimentation”. Thanks! We are also rather taken with the firm’s 8GB Raspberry Pi 4-based audio endeavours. Raspberry Pi 4 was chosen for its quad-core processing power, efficiency, and scalability. Elk’s low-latency DSP (digital signal processing) platform offers multichannel audio inputs and outputs, synthesis engines, samples, and effects. Audio nerds have the option of accessing the source code and playing around with absolutely everything, or choosing a reference design such as Nina, a twelve-voice motorised analogue polysynth. Elk offers a Raspberry Pi development board, Compute Module system on module, and the Stomp dev kit, giving audiophiles complete freedom over how to explore sound. 

YUMA-X-FCC

Germany | rpimag.co/yuma-products

YUMA Engineering specialises in embedded technology, particularly aerospace computing. The company’s precise engineering and creative thinking result in mission-ready hardware and software that can be used despite real-world uncertainties. Its YUMA-X-FCC airborne Linux-based computing platform features highly embedded, scalable AI and machine learning that’s controlled, of course, by Raspberry Pi. The non-TSO (technical standard order) avionics platform is ideal for rapid prototyping. It features dual u-blox GPS with dead reckoning, 3D accelerometer, magnetometer, and gyroscope, and a barometer, along with a 5G/LTE modem, wireless LAN and two Gigabit Ethernet ports. This can be used alongside other smart components as an autopilot, for real-time moving digital maps, as a flight data recorder, jet engine recorder, or visual navigation and landing aid. 

Handlet

Finland | rpimag.co/handlet

Handlet is a 5-inch battery-powered Raspberry Pi computer. As you may guess, the Assembled model works straight out of the box, but there is another option, the build-it-yourself Hobbyist version
(rpimag.co/handlet-5) Equipped with Raspberry Pi 4 with 2GB RAM, the base version is priced competitively enough to attract schools and hobbyists keen to use it for mobile projects. Handlet includes a ruggedised VESA-mountable case with easy access to the microSD card slot, speaker, and 40-pin GPIO port. Customisation options include a choice of touchscreen covers and cases to provide protection, as well as speaker and buttons that boost the Handlet’s entertainment credentials. 

Korea Laundry

South Korea | rpimag.co/beebot

Beebot OS is an intelligent management and payment system for unattended kiosks such as self-service laundries. It has become synonymous with its origins in the Korea Laundry Co. and its hundreds of WashEnjoy lounges. The complete management system – based on Raspberry Pi and IoT capabilities – toggles each washing machine on and off, recognises and updates members’ cards, takes one-off payments, and manages account top-ups. Raspberry Pi tracks each laundry site’s performance figures, providing details to Korea Laundry’s centralised network about each commercial washer’s and dryer’s operational status. Screens embedded in each kiosk can display offers and marketing information, providing added value via the Beebot 360 Manager software. This aspect is becoming increasingly important as there is built-in downtime at launderettes and Korea Laundry boasts a revisit rate of at least 80% at what it terms “a unique lifestyle space” with leisure and marketing potential. 

System-IS STL.one

Slovakia | rpimag.co/stl-one

Showing up is half the battle for some of us! If it’s your role to keep tabs on everyone’s comings and goings,
STL.one makes things much simpler. The check-in terminal is a 240 × 165mm, 8-inch touchscreen with a built-in card reader, running your favourite embedded computer and Fenix remote management software. Colleagues log themselves as present at meetings, events, and in specific rooms or zones using attendance cards or tags. A webcam checks that individuals are registering themselves as present, ensuring accurate attendance figures. The system not only monitors and summarises attendance; it also prepares a monthly report for managers.