Raspberry Pi: Turn the popular single-board computer into a laptop with a removable wireless keyboard and trackpad

It has been just over two years since Elecrow announced the CrowPi, a Raspberry-Pi based computer science kit. Now, the company has returned to Kickstarter to crowdfund the CrowPi2. This time, Elecrow has created a compact laptop shell for the Raspberry Pi. The CrowPi2 is compatible with the Raspberry Pi Model 3B, Model 3B+ and Model 4B+ and measures 291 x 190 x 46 mm. Elecrow states that the CrowPi2 also weighs 1.3 kg, although it is unclear whether this includes the weight of a Raspberry Pi or not.

The CrowPi2 looks like a regular laptop, albeit one with rather thick display bezels. Elecrow has included an 11.6-inch and 1080p IPS panel, along with a 2.0 MP webcam, a microphone, dual speakers and a 3.5 mm jack. The device hides the Raspberry Pi behind a maintenance flap, which should make it simple to upgrade your board if you ever need to do so.

The CrowPi2 is more than just a regular laptop shell, though. Firstly, there is a tray at the back of the unit for including a power bank or components. Additionally, the device has a removable keyboard and trackpad, which communicates with the Raspberry Pi via a 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi connection. Removing the keyboard reveals a host of sensors, LEDs, a breadboard and a joystick among other components. These have been included to utilise the CrowPi2 for educational projects like STEAM Education.

The CrowPi2 is compatible with multiple operating systems, including Arch, Raspbian, FreeBSD, LibreELEC and Ubuntu. The CrowPi2 is available to order on Kickstarter now in black or silver from HK$1,078 (~US$140). The CrowPi2 includes various accessories too, which Elecrow outlines on its Kickstarter page. Elecrow is aiming to deliver orders to backers in August.