The Compute Module leads an inconspicuous existence in the shadow of the popular Raspberry Pi single-board computer. One of the reasons why the Raspi is so well known is that any user, from professional developers to students, can use and program it straight away. The Compute Module is different. It is aimed at professional use and requires the development of a customized carrier board with connectors for the external interfaces. While additional peripherals have to be retrofitted to the original Raspi using a plug-in module via the GPIO ports, these extensions can be implemented on the carrier board with the Compute Module. The customization effort is higher due to the design of a separate circuit board, but the end device - assuming a corresponding number of units - is ultimately cheaper.

However, the previous Compute Module is no longer state of the art, as it still works with the first generation of the Raspberry Pi processor (Broadcom BCM 2835 with ARM1176JZF-S core). There was and is no compute module for the second Raspberry Pi generation with ARM Cortex-A7. The module now presented by RS Components and the Raspberry Pi Foundation contains the Broadcom BCM2837 with Cortex-A53 and is therefore technically on the same level as the Raspberry Pi 3. The quad-core processor from ARM is clocked at up to 1.2 GHz and has access to 1 GB DDR2 RAM. In addition, 4 GB eMMC flash is soldered on. The contact assignment of the SODIMM-format compute module is compatible with the first generation, but there are additional signals for the connection between the compute module and external flash memory. The module has a maximum power consumption of 4 watts down to 100 mW in standby mode when the ARM cores are switched off.

Low-cost version without flash memory

RS Components is also offering a new low-cost version as the Raspberry Pi 3 Compute Module Lite (CM3L). This board comes without the flash memory, which developers must instead integrate as an eMMC module or SD card socket on their application-specific base board.

The Raspberry Pi 3 Compute Module can also be purchased from RS as part of a development kit. The development kit bundles the Compute Module and an IO board. The simple open source development board brings all IO connections of the CM1, CM3 or CM3L to pin headers and flexi connectors and allows the developer to program on-board eMMC Flash via USB. It serves as a prototyping platform and as a starting point for the development of application-specific base boards.

The ten millionth Raspberry Pi board was sold in September 2016. The ARM computer was originally aimed at schoolchildren and students and was intended to teach budding technology students how to program the hardware that is also found in a smartphone. With the third-generation Compute Module, RS Components and the Raspberry Pi Foundation are expanding the target group to include professional developers who want to integrate the hardware platform into their devices and have already used the Raspberry Pi 3 computer board for this purpose.