The MagPi - July 2018

raspberrypi.org/magpi July 2018 7

News

the “basic drivers [required] in order

for our hardware to operate right

out of the box,” Jarvan confirms.

“We wanted to modify the Raspbian

image as little as possible, to keep

the right for the customer to choose

what they want.”

A basic, Pi-less unit costs $

(£170), while the $369 (£275)

Advanced Kit includes a Pi 3B+, a

built-in camera, two gamepads,

and a wireless keyboard and

mouse, plus a few other hardware

configurations to select. As

Elecrow has its own production

line, Jarvan says “delivery time

and quality is guaranteed.”

CROWPI FLIES PAST ITS KICKSTARTER CAMPAIGN GOAL

Elecrow intends to sell

CrowPi units through its website,

elecrow.com, and Jarvan confirms a

possibility “to sell it on our Amazon

or AliExpress store.”

For more details, visit the CrowPi

Kickstarter page: magpi.cc/oUFbTt.

The Elecrow philosophy is

‘make your making easier’

Elecrow is based in Shenzhen City,

China, the electronics capital of the

world. Sales and marketing manager

Jarvan was keen to point out the

advantages of Elecrow’s production

line and gave us some glimpses

of the process.

You can see the RFID contact pad to

the lower left of the CrowPi circuit

board. RFID can be a fun and useful

way to trigger events using an Android

phone, or newer model iPhone.

The buttons can be programmed to do

whatever you like – the cluster might

be used as a keypad while the four to

the left could control a character in a

self-made game.

THE MAKING

OF CROWPI

July 2018^7

Below CrowPi

comes in four

colours and a

few different

hardware

configurations,

so you can

choose which

suits you best