Want to make your Raspberry Pi project portable by giving it its own power source letting you use it to power a home-built robot, a compact camera or even a games console? You are not alone.
PiJuice from Agilic (a startup located at the Bristol Robotics Lab) and Aaron Shaw of PiSupply launched a Kickstarter campaign four weeks ago and raised 12 times its target!
“Pi Juice is ‘the ultimate’ power solution for the Raspberry Pi mini computer so that it can be used port-ably”
That’s 2,417 backers pledging over £124,000! They reached their initial target of £10K within 24 hours.
The PiJuice story
We caught up with Harry Gee (pictured left), the man who came up with the idea for the PiJuice and is the founder of parent company Agilic, to ask about what the PiJuice is for: “Pi Juice is ‘the ultimate’ power solution for the Raspberry Pi mini computer so that it can be used port-ably.
“It’s designed to enable all kinds of portable applications and projects with the Raspberry Pi. A solar powered version also means you can make projects work far away from the power grid.
The PiJuice: The plug-in portable power source for your Raspberry Pi creations
What can you use the PiJuice for?
Harry adds: “It lets you use the Raspberry Pi away from the mains power as you would a smartphone, tablet or laptop.”
“This means you can use it for rocket launches, near space balloon missions, smart-bike applications, remote camera systems, robots, environmental studies, DIY games consoles, home security systems and artist installations. We’re hoping people will find uses that we haven’t yet thought of!”
You can see some examples of possible PiJuice projects in the video below:
“Having the leaders of the Raspberry Pi foundation say great things about it on Twitter and their blog was a great surprise”
Having the leaders of the Raspberry Pi foundation say great things about it on Twitter and their blog was a great surprise.”
Robot fun in the sun: The PiJuice Solar is self monitoring and
can work as a completely autonomous system
So what do they plan to do with the extra money they have raised? “As a small startup our life so far has been a struggle for survival,” explains Harry. “We hope now to create a sustainable future for the company and build our team and capabilities.”
Learning from robots
He founded Agilic, the parent company behind PiJuice and the Pibot (a Raspberry Pi-powered) robot, in January 2014. It’s a startup that is “developing new educational solutions that incorporate physical computing, 3d printing, and robotics”. They believe that learning is best when it is fun and incorporates a ‘hands on’ approach.
“It’s great to be surrounded by a culture of innovation and optimism at the Bristol Robotics Lab”
Agilic is located at the Bristol Robotics Lab, a tech incubator for those in the robotics field, which has been very useful for Harry and his team: “It’s great to be surrounded by a culture of innovation and optimism at the lab. It’s a friendly and diverse community and there is always someone to bounce ideas off or get help with anything technical. The facilities are top notch too!”
We’d like to thank Harry for taking time out of his busy schedule for talking to us. You can see more info at the PiJuice Kickstarter campaign and the PiBot website . You can follow them on Twitter too: @ThePiJuice and @ThePiBot
And if you are a startup looking to get some more exposure for your innovative business idea or meet other like-minded entrepreneurs, don’t miss Venturefest Bristol & Bath – a showcase of innovation, entrepreneurship and investment opportunities.
