This Triple-Screen Raspberry Pi Kid's PC Packs a Lot of Tech Into a Custom Walnut Case
Designed to encourage a child into science and computing, this attractive build includes a dedicated display for an ISS video livestream.
Pseudonymous maker "mw33212" has put together a computer with a difference: It's controlled by no fewer than three Raspberry Pi single-board computers, each driving an independent display, and housed in a custom-built walnut enclosure.
"Made my son his first computer," mw33212 writes of the project. "Hoping to get the young lad interested in science and the way things work. This was a challenge for me; both the case and the various screens and setup."
Driving the system is a Raspberry Pi 4 Model B single-board computer running Endless OS — "which looks very good for kids," the maker explains, "and works well offline" — connected to a primary touchscreen display in the middle.
Two screens at either side have their own independent Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W single-board computers connected and serve to display live video from the International Space Station and live weather information.
As well as the touchscreen displays, the computer includes an off-the-shelf keyboard and trackpad assembly — removable for portable use — and a kit-form calculator to one side, plus a pair of attractive speakers to offer stereo sound. The build is rounded off with a microphone below the main display and a camera above — "which seems to work OK for a basic video call to the grandparents," mw33212 writes.
The real highlight of the project, though, is the custom chassis: "10mm walnut used for the case," its creator explains, "with some maple and Indian rosewood inlays and surrounds. Hand tools and a drill for the woodworking."
More details are available in the project's Reddit thread.
Freelance journalist, technical author, hacker, tinkerer, erstwhile sysadmin. For hire: freelance@halfacree.co.uk.