Raspberry Pi Foundation Releases Pi Pico Module With Own 133MHz Chip
The Raspberry Pi Foundation has released a new module containing a self-designed microcontroller for the first time. The Pi Pico uses the RP2040, a microcontroller with two ARM Cortex-M0+ cores. The module costs only 4.50 euros.
It is the first time that the foundation behind the Raspberry Pi has made its own microcontroller. According to the foundation, the module with the RP2040 is not only cheap, but also supports many external devices and is a relatively powerful device. The two cores of the RP2040 have a clock speed of 133MHz and an on-chip memory of 264 kilobytes. The chip also supports up to 16MB of flash program memory. In terms of clock speed, the board can compete with other microcontrollers such as the ESP8266.
The Pi Pico board itself is a module without headers but with thirty gpio pins, four of which can be used for analog input, and 2MB of flash memory. The controller has a power supply that accepts 1.8 to 5.5V of voltage, allowing the device to be controlled with two or three switched AA cells, according to the Raspberry Pi Foundation. The board also has a dma controller, two uart’s, two spi controllers, two i2c controllers and 16 pwm channels.
The board also has a micro-USB1.1 connection that can serve as host and device, and it is possible to upload software via USB with a physical button on the module. Other electronics manufacturers have also developed modules based on the RP2040, including Adafruit, Arduino, Pimeroni and Sparkfun.
The Pi Pico is in principle for sale immediately, although not all suppliers have yet received the device. The sign costs 4.50 euros.