Microcontroller development boards, like the Arduino UNO, are incredibly useful because they include all of the hardware necessary to get started—no wiring up a bunch of resistors, capacitors, and a USB programmer just to turn the microcontroller on and flash some code. But other than a few LEDs and buttons, development boards don’t include the hardware you want might want to use and so you still end up with a rat’s nest on a breadboard. The new Elecrow CrowPi 3 is a complete Raspberry Pi development station that solves that.
Despite the name, this is actually Elecrow’s fourth product to bear the CrowPi name. The original CrowPi was much like this: a portable development station. The CrowPi 2 is similar, but in a more laptop-like form factor. The CrowPi L ditched most of the development station stuff and is more of a Raspberry Pi laptop. Now, the CrowPi 3 is a return to form: a whole bunch of hardware modules crammed into a portable package, perfect for rapid development at home or at conventions.
The CrowPi 3 is a Raspberry Pi-compatible device, with a 4.3” touchscreen LCD, a 2.0MP camera module (with mic), and 41 different hardware modules, all packed into a briefcase-style enclosure.
The campaign page doesn’t seem to list all of the built-in hardware modules, but we spot plenty of buttons, switches, knobs, LEDs, a 20×4 character LCD, a four-digit seven-segment display, an RGB LED matrix, an RFID reader, an ultrasonic sensor, a PIR (Passive InfraRed) sensor, and more. And it is compatible with several development board form factors, including Arduino Nano, Raspberry Pi Pico, and micro:bit. Those plug right into the CrowPi 3 and you can then use the Raspberry Pi SBC to program them to work with those hardware modules.
There is a lot of utility in that, because makers use so many of those hardware components in their projects. Instead of digging out those components and running a bunch of jumpers on breadboards, you can get right to the programming. Once you get your code working, you can move to a more permanent solution, like a custom PCB. And the CrowPi 3 does include breadboards for those times when you need to connect components that aren’t built-in.
In addition, Elecrow is really pushing the CrowPi 3’s AI capabilities. That isn’t exactly something new, as a lot of different models can run on Raspberry Pi SBCs. But the included software environment, which has several programming IDEs and tools, does seem to streamline the implementation of AI models. It also contains a plethora of educational courses, which is great.
If you want an Elecrow CrowPi 3, the Kickstarter campaign will run until July 5th. Super early birds can get the CrowPi 3 Basic Kit (which does not include the Raspberry Pi) for $159. Rewards should ship in August of 2025.