Ashley writes about Needle 2, a 14MB function-calling LLM from Cactus Compute that converts plain English prompts into local actions on a Raspberry Pi 5 using CPU alone. Rather than acting as a general chatbot, the model is purpose-built to select from declared Python functions and fill in their arguments, running entirely offline after a one-time download. In benchmark runs, inference latency ranges from 76 to 149 milliseconds, and the model correctly refuses questions outside its declared tool set.
- Native session is ~28MB; the full Python process peaks at 43–46.4MB
- Weights and code released under Apache 2.0 on Hugging Face and GitHub
- Can be fine-tuned locally on a laptop for a specific set of tools
- Eben Upton's endorsement: "Needle 2 is rather excellent"
- Native session is ~28MB; the full Python process peaks at 43–46.4MB
- Weights and code released under Apache 2.0 on Hugging Face and GitHub
- Can be fine-tuned locally on a laptop for a specific set of tools
- Eben Upton's endorsement: "Needle 2 is rather excellent"
This article details a project where the author successfully implemented OpenClaw, an AI agent, on a Raspberry Pi. OpenClaw allows the Raspberry Pi to perform real-world tasks, going beyond simple responses to actively controlling applications and automating processes. The author demonstrates OpenClaw's capabilities, such as ordering items from Blinkit, creating and saving files, listing audio files, and generally functioning as a portable AI assistant. The project utilizes a Raspberry Pi 4 or 5 and involves installing and configuring OpenClaw, including setting up API integrations and adjusting system settings for optimal performance.
This article details how to build a fast, offline AI chatbot using a Raspberry Pi 5, RLM AA50 accelerator card, and optimization techniques for speech recognition, natural language processing, and text-to-speech tasks.
The Hat uPCIty Lite is a PCI Express evaluation board with an open-ended PCIe X4 slot, designed for the Raspberry Pi 5. It supports external power, isolates PCIe Express power delivery to protect the Pi, and is compatible with PCIe x1 interface in Gen2 and Gen3 standards. The board includes all necessary accessories and is built with high-quality components.
