So, as we said, the first goal was modularity. To that end, The Beast comprises of a number of interlocking modules, called Tiles. A Tile is basically 12 Raspberry Pis, as well as the supporting Networking and Power Supply infrastructure. The Tiles can connect Vertically or Horizontally, which allows us to expand the network as we want. Think of it as computational lego. You add as many blocks as you want, daisy chain them, and it will just work.

Here's what a single Tile looks like:

This particular one has standoffs that allow it to sit cosily on a desk. The same standoffs can be connected together on the top of the tile to form a handle, which makes it amazingly easy to carry a Tile around.

In the next updates, we'll discuss more about the tile, we'll show a working one, and we'll start adding some design files!