Because it's not AT ALL the right tool for the job. And it shows that they don't even have one remotely competent hardware person on the team. Yes, it can work, but even at retail it's too expensive, requires too much power, and has a vastly higher rate of problems than many other off the shelf, far cheaper and much more widely available products.
> ... Yes, it can work, but even at retail it's too expensive ...
Is it? $35 seems pretty cheap for an SBC that does what you need it to, with you having to do zero of the engineering work yourself. I think most industrial SBCs cost way more than $35.
> ... requires too much power ...
Pi 4 consumes 2-6W. [1] Scooter batteries are 400-600Wh based on a cursory glance, so we're talking up to two weeks of idle time. The scooter only goes 12-15 miles, and at 10mph, that's going to be a significantly bigger issue.
> ... and has a vastly higher rate of problems than many other off the shelf, far cheaper and much more widely available products.
Which products would you recommend, and also, do you have any data on the failure rates of the Pi? I'm curious.
Is it prefect? No, probably not. But if you only need a few thousand units, and you're trying to prove out the product market fit, why isn't this a great solution? Think of all the millions in capital they didn't waste building a custom solution. Personally, I respect the hustle.
With respect, your assumption here reads like a line from arrested development: “how much can a banana cost, $10?”
I really don’t think you have any idea of not the costs of these things, every penny counts with hardware products because any amount increases the marginal cost by at least 1.5x, vs software where it is so low it is effectively zero. I can get a very beefy STM32 for sub $10 at low quantities (sub $5 at > 1000) and toss all the passives and connectors needed for an extra $2-$4 the PCB may cost $1-$5, and you might be at $10-$15 depending on volume. You also can pre buy components that are known run out or design the board to accept different MCUs incase of shortages. With the RPi, you are totally SOL if you cannot find them, with your company being at the tail end of a, now, know volatile supply chain with a company you cannot get guaranteed fulfillment contracts with.
Your assumption about power is also very divorced from the reality of the situation, battery performance is not so easily calculated when your battery is not in clean room conditions, these scooters are subjected to extreme conditions and abuse, all of which can affect the battery. Additionally, It is disingenuous to consider only the operating parameters because it does run a full Linux system and software you load into it creates non-deterministic (at least with current models) situations where new software can skyrocket the power consumption. They also ideally have a separate battery from the drive motors so it can call for help and a tech can collect the scooter for maintenance.
The thing about the Pi is, since it runs an actual Linux os, you can take garden variety web devs and have them write code for it. You don’t need any esoteric hardware devs to fiddle all day with bits and writing drivers before they even start on the actual use case. That alone makes the Pi super attractive for startups.
Yes, that's the problem. I don't want a vehicle I'm relying on for my safety to be programmed by web developers and running an non-RT OS. Even if it's just doing remote management stuff.
