AI Anatomy · cyberdeck

A computer you build yourself, drawn as the machine itself, part by part.

  • /cyberdeck
  • ·
  • 7 parts
  • ·
  • Raspberry Pi 5
  • ·
  • 13 October 2026
  • ·
  • workshop in November

A cyberdeck is a portable computer you put together from a small board, a screen, a keyboard and a battery, usually in a case you choose or make yourself. Nothing in it is hidden: every part you will hold at the workshop is one you can name.

Below is one, built around a Raspberry Pi 5. Tap any part. It lifts out of the case, and the note under the drawing says what it does and what to watch for.1Every fact on this page is taken from Raspberry Pi's own documentation, linked beside it. The case layout is one example, not a kit list.

$ vcgencmd measure_temptemp=52.1'C$ vcgencmd get_throttledthrottled=0x0$
Tap a part · ← → to step touring

Tap the battery first

Power is what goes wrong most often on a first build.

The seven parts

01

Read these once before the workshop. Each one is a single idea; the warning is the part people learn the hard way.

  1. Makes the deck portable. It must hold a steady 5 V for the board, the screen and the keyboard together.

    Watch out. A Pi 5 wants a 5 A supply (the official one is 27 W). On a weaker supply it limits all USB devices to 600 mA in total, and below about 4.63 V it logs a low-voltage warning.2Raspberry Pi documentation, Power supply.

  2. The whole computer: a credit-card-sized board running full Linux. The fan on top is the Active Cooler over the main chip.

    Watch out. It slows itself down between 80 °C and 85 °C. In a closed case, keep the cooler on and leave the vents clear.3Raspberry Pi documentation, Frequency management and thermal control.

  3. The double row of 40 pins along the board edge. Buttons, lights, sensors — and the display's power — connect here.

    Watch out. The pins work at 3.3 V. Never feed 5 V into a 3.3 V part, and never wire a motor straight to a pin.4Raspberry Pi documentation, GPIO and the 40-pin header.

  4. The deck's drive. By default the Pi looks for its operating system on this card.

    Watch out. Prepare it at home with Raspberry Pi Imager on your laptop, so you arrive at the workshop with a card that already boots.5Raspberry Pi documentation, Install an operating system.

  5. The 7-inch touchscreen in the lid. Pictures and touches travel on the flat ribbon cable; power comes from the Pi's GPIO pins on a separate small cable.

    Watch out. Wire the power cable wrong and you can damage the display: red (5 V) goes to pin 2, black to pin 6. Unplug the Pi before you start.6Raspberry Pi documentation, Touch Display 2 — connect to a Raspberry Pi.

  6. How you type. A small USB or Bluetooth keyboard works like it would on any computer.

    Watch out. A USB keyboard can draw 100 mA to 1,000 mA, out of that shared 600 mA (or 1.6 A on a 5 A supply). Check its rating.7Raspberry Pi documentation, Power supply — typical current draw.

  7. The shell that holds it all — here a hard case with the screen in the lid. This is where your deck gets its look.

    Watch out. Mount the board so air can move past the cooler, and keep the microSD slot and the power port reachable without taking it apart.8Raspberry Pi documentation, Frequency management and thermal control.

Before the workshop

02

Three things you can do at home, so the session is spent building rather than waiting.

  1. Flash the microSD card. Install Raspberry Pi Imager on your laptop and write Raspberry Pi OS to the card.9Install an operating system.
  2. Check the power. A Pi 5 wants a 5 A USB-C supply; the official one is 27 W. A weaker battery still boots, but it caps the USB devices at 600 mA in total.10Power supply.
  3. Find pin 2 and pin 6. The touchscreen takes its power from these two GPIO pins; the wrong way round can damage it.11Touch Display 2.

What comes next

03

A shopping list with prices, then the build in steps, then the second track: how AI is built, from sand to the model you talk to.

  1. 1 Every fact on this page is taken from Raspberry Pi's own documentation, linked beside it. The case layout is one example, not a kit list.
  2. 2 Raspberry Pi documentation, Power supply.
  3. 3 Raspberry Pi documentation, Frequency management and thermal control.
  4. 4 Raspberry Pi documentation, GPIO and the 40-pin header.
  5. 5 Raspberry Pi documentation, Install an operating system.
  6. 6 Raspberry Pi documentation, Touch Display 2 — connect to a Raspberry Pi.
  7. 7 Raspberry Pi documentation, Power supply — typical current draw.
  8. 8 Raspberry Pi documentation, Frequency management and thermal control.
  9. 9 Install an operating system.
  10. 10 Power supply.
  11. 11 Touch Display 2.