When I was a kid I got an erector set. It was basically a bunch of metal pieces with some screws of various sizes. I loved it. And today my job is similar – assembling bits and bytes into actual robots and software programs.

Over the last decade I’ve used quite a few Raspberry Pi computers. These small devices run a version of Linux which is basically what we’d use in any connected system. A Raspberry Pi teaches the basics of Linux, is inexpensive, and can be made into robot swarms, voice activated companions, mini entertainment systems and virtually anything you can imagine.

This type of Raspberry Pi developer kit is available on Amazon and is a great place to get started inspiring any engineer young or old (we suggest 10+ years).