Aside from Raspberry Pi’s main releases, its Compute Modules are also pretty exciting for all kinds of embedded applications. Now, it’s a lot more resistant to challenging scenarios, including hotter and colder temperatures.
The Raspberry Pi Foundation has announced a significant upgrade to its Compute Module 4 (CM4). The Compute Module 4 can now operate reliably within a temperature range of -40°C to +85°C, a substantial improvement over the previous -20°C lower limit. How did they achieve this, exactly? Raspberry Pi said that it has partnered with Samsung to incorporate extended-temperature-range SDRAM and eMMC storage parts. This helps us maintain data integrity and system stability under extreme temperature conditions. All other stuff on the board had already been certified for these operating temperatures, so getting the whole system there was just a matter of swapping out the memory/storage chips.
This means that the Compute Module 4 now works at even lower temperatures and can therefore be deployed in more extreme situations. Many regions experience winter temperatures well below -20°C. This update allows for the reliable deployment of CM4-based systems in these previously inaccessible areas, including parts of North America, Europe, and Asia. After all, the CM4 can be embedded in all kinds of projects and devices. If you’re going to deploy something using a CM4 in a remote and very cold location, a system certified to work in these extreme low temperatures can also cut down on frequent maintenance.
This doesn’t mean that the hardware will never require maintenance. After all, running any computer hardware near its temperature limits shortens its life. But at least you can be more confident that it won’t die on you too soon. The previous -20°C limit was already pretty cold, and -40°C makes you capable of deploying this to almost every place on Earth. It probably won’t withstand winter in Antarctica since temperatures can go as low as -60°C, but that’s a pretty fringe scenario and you might not want to leave much stuff outside for too long in those temperatures anyway. Although the Raspberry Pi Foundations has shown deployments there in the past, who knows if that might be next?
Raspberry Pi 5
It’s only recommended for tech-savvy users, but the Raspberry Pi 5 is a tinkerer’s dream. Cheap, highly customizable, and with great onboard specs, it’s a solid base for your next mini PC.
Plus, it’s not just ruthless winters you need to worry about. Certain industrial processes, such as cold storage, specialized manufacturing, and outdoor infrastructure monitoring, require hardware that can withstand extreme temperature fluctuations. The new CM4 variants are also designed to meet these needs just fine. These are pretty cool developments all in all, since it means we’ll have Raspberry Pi-powered projects and hardware being used in more places and for more stuff.
If you happen to need these extreme-range computers, some of them are now available to buy. Most of you might not be going to Antarctica anytime soon, but you could be just getting out of a ravaging winter in Alaska as I write this and you might be in need of putting something together that won’t die on you within a few weeks next winter, so you never know. You can choose models with integrated Wi-Fi and Bluetooth or opt for versions without wireless capabilities for applications where wired connections are preferred or security concerns dictate. Business users who need a configuration that’s not listed on the website can have it built to order, subject to minimum order quantities.
Source: Raspberry Pi
