Real-time Ethernet specialists Hilscher have invested in Element 14’s Raspberry Pi customisation service to produce what they are calling the netPi. The netPi uses the same Broadcom technology as the Raspberry Pi 3 but does so in a different form factor. The different interfaces, such as USB, are laid out differently and the netPi has additional functionality in the form of two real-time Ethernet sockets and also a new expansion socket in the mini-PCIe form factor. (Real-time Ethernet is used in industry to send fast sensor readings over an Ethernet cable in real-time). To go with the new hardware comes a new ‘hardened’ operating system which is based on the Yocto project. Running on top of that is Docker with a Raspbian instance to allow software developers to have a more familiar experience.

You can read more about the netPi over on the Element 14 blog.