Seeed Studio's Re_Computer Platform Aims to Simplify IoT Prototyping on Common SBCs
Choosing from popular SBC "System Boards," re_computer lets you build up "recipes" of "Mission Boards" and "I/O Modules."
Seeed Studio has launched a new service, dubbed the "re_computer," which allows for custom-built "recipes" to be specified from common components — all built on top of existing single-board computers like the Raspberry Pi, Jetson Nano, and BeagleBone Green, and with guaranteed compatibility.
"Edge computing revolves between the cloud and single-board computers," Seeed Studio explains of the re_computer initiative, "supporting next-generation technologies such as IoT, ML, AI, and all decentralised trends. As the IoT Hardware Enabler, Seeed has consolidated 12 years of development and experience into the re_computer system to contribute better access to enable you to enter the next stage in edge computing."
The re_computer isn't, as the name suggests, a single computer system, but rather a platform for building systems of your own by selecting three categories of components mixed together in application-specific "recipes:" System Boards, Mission Boards, and I/O Modules.
The System Boards are off-the-shelf single-board computers: At launch, the re_computer supports the Raspberry Pi 4 Model B 2GB and 4GB variants, Seeed Studio's version of the BeagleBone Green and BeagleBone Green Wireless, Google's Coral Dev Board, and the NVIDIA Jetson Nano Development Kit. Additional boards have been promised by year's end.
The Mission Boards, meanwhile, are selected for compatibility with the chosen System Boards and include things like analog-to-digital and digital-to-analog converters (ADCs and DACs), Grove-compatible expansion boards, real-time clock modules, microphone kits, serial bus expansions, and the like. Finally, I/O Modules are selected from Seeed's catalogue of Grove-connected sensors, outputs, and other add-ons.
With all three board categories selected, and compatible accessories and cases chosen, all the items are automatically added to the user's basket in the requested quantities and ordered simultaneously. For those ordering from the re_computer platform as a means of building prototype IoT devices, Seeed is also offering assistance with bringing a resulting productised design to market through the company's design and manufacturing arm.
The re_computer platform is live now on the Seeed Studio website.