A microcomputer that can be used for everything from high-tech beer brewing to complex augmented-reality systems has won the UK’s top engineering innovation prize.
The Cambridge-based Raspberry Pi (
www.raspberrypi.org) team was awarded the Royal Academy of Engineering’s MacRobert Award for revolutionising control systems and redefining how people engage with coding.
The tiny low-cost computer is programmable, letting everyone from primary-school pupils to IBM inventors design their own applications.
The team — Eben Upton, James Adams, Pete Lomas, Dom Cobley, Gordon Hollingworth and Liz Upton — received gold medals and a £50,000 prize at the awards ceremony (held at the Landmark London hotel).
The £30 microcomputer was launched in 2012 with the aim of increasing the number of computer science applicants to the University of Cambridge.
The company has sold 14 million units since then, with schools and increasingly industry using them.
The Pi’s size, cost and adaptability mean that it is a popular choice for enabling Internet of Things (IoT) systems, which can collect data and trigger actions for vast numbers of everyday objects.
Dame Sue Ion, who chaired the judging panel, said: “What sets Raspberry Pi apart is the sheer quality of the innovation, which has allowed the computer to be used far beyond its original purpose.
“By blending old and new technology with innovative systems engineering and circuit board design, the team has created a computer that is cheap, robust, small and flexible.
“It is manufactured in the UK cheaper and at higher quality than could be achieved elsewhere. Raspberry Pi’s original educational goal has actually resulted in a computer control system that can influence many different industries.”