Raspberry Pi is a small computer with low cost initially designed as a tool for learning computer programming. Arduino is a microcontroller. This practically means that the raspberry pi can be used as a personal computer and surf the internet by connecting a screen, keyboard and mouse on it. We cannot do that with the arduino. In order to be able to program it, we must first make the application on our computer and then transfer it to the arduino. A very common machine that is usually controlled by an arduino is the 3d printer.
The most common raspberry operating system used on Raspberry Pi OS(operating system) and basically on debian linux. There are also other operating systems that can be installed such as Ubuntu MATE, RISC OS, Windows 10 IoT Core etc. The arduino on the other hand does not have an operating system but has an application for our personal computers, where we can program it in a programming language that looks like c.
Technical Characteristics
In the technical features we can see that the Raspberry Pi has a fast arm type processor like the one that our smart phone has, and enough ram memory that can reach 8GB in its latest model. It also has an image and audio processing circuit, built-in wired network and wireless as well as Bluetooth. But all this requires more energy, and so the raspberry pi needs 5 to 10 watts for its operation. The arduino on the other hand needs at most half a watt as it operates since in its basic version, ie UNO, it has a slow microcontroller, with a minimum memory of 2KB and has no network connections or complex graphics circuits.
A big advantage for the raspberry pi and arduino is that we can connect sensors and integrated circuits. For example, we can plug a wireless network card into the arduino. We may notice that some sensors intended for the arduino are cheaper than the corresponding ones for the raspberry pi and this is because the raspberry pi does not have analog inputs and so a simple sensor e.g. a photoresistor will need a circuit to convert the analog otherwise measurement in digital in order for raspberry pi to understand it.
Use of Raspberry and Arduino
The most of cases the raspberry and arduino are useful tools for creating prototypes and interesting projects for many different sectors.
The last new is that NASA team recently developing the open-source flight software framework known as F Prime. Along with the announcement was a selection of example deployments featuring the new embedded application the Raspberry Pi.
The new framework is very useful for development and release of spaceflight software and other embedded applications.
Cyber Security
Raspberry Pi is one of the most important useful tools for investigation in cyber security science, because we can create many different scenarios for protection of cyber criminals. For example, in cyber security field this tool can offer security by creating and operating a Secure FTP Server or as a Firewall and Intrusion Detection System. Also, we can install specific operating systems such as kali linux, parrot, for penetration testing!
Media Center
The second, perhaps most popular use of it, is to build our own tv-box system or media center. For this purpose, there are very good ready-made applications with many features such as kodi which you can install on the operating system or alternatively. You can install libreelec on a micro-sd which is a very light operating system having the absolutely necessary to work the kodi which it includes.
After that, connect the raspberry pi to your TV and you are ready to watch your favorite series and movies from the comfort of your couch.
Music Quality
For the fans of good sound, as we have already mentioned, there are HATs that fasten on the raspberry which have good quality digital audio to analog conversion circuits – the so-called DAC -, and sometimes include an amplifier. So along with the use of suitable applications such as Volumio, users can build their own audio system to enjoy their favorite music. And depending on the quality of the digital file they have in their collection they can enjoy music even at a higher resolution than a music cd.
As we understand the scope of Raspberry Pi and Arduino is huge. The sectors such as Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, and others technologies use these tools for developing and creative interesting projects.
Cover Image by Alberto Adán from Pixabay
