Electrical Engineering & Electronics Design

You doesn't specified your requirements.

In regards of community and support RaspberryPi is far ahead of everything. My old RPi2 suits my requirements pretty well so far and it doesn't need any rediculous cooling solutions that high performance boards have to have. Also, many HATs or whatever it called designed for Raspberry in the first place and tested to prove working on it.

The old requirements ahh yes.

Lets say I want to do robotics systems and drone control system platforms with LCD touchscreen display control panel capability.

Full sensor array capability with cmos camera capability.

Serial communication interface and remote desktop long range wireless capability with remote debug and remote update capability.

I like the Rpi 3b+. Does a whole lot for $40. Right now I’ve got a 64-bit Linux running on it for experiments with ARMv8 docker containers. There are similar “breakout” boards from Intel out there like the Galileo, but the cost is higher and honestly my Galileo still has yet to be powered up.

I think the biggest thing going for the pi’s besides the low cost is the community support: everything from the online forums to the ubiquity of accessories. They even sell the things at Target.

Hi Richard,

I really like arduino boards and the great tutorials by Arduino is what makes Arduino. What I need is a powerful Linux based board with capability to make my own GUI interfaces with touch screen displays and GPIO ability.

This leads me to the PI3 because I need that level of support.

Im ok at C C++ but I was thinking of learning Python for a programming language as it seems easier to create GUI's etc....

I gave QT a try with C++ but had no end of difficulty with serial communication. It just really stressed me out and I didn't find the support very good. Also the restrictive rules on commercial use had a huge price tag.

I have never considered if it is possible to use QT on PI with GPIO I will have to check that.

I am revisiting this 2018 thread from over 5 years ago to see how it compares today and with the new year approaching what is either the emerging new coming in embedded PCBs or what has evolved to date.

I was recently at one of the last computer do-it-yourself stores in southern California called Micro Center Computers and what i found interesting is that they were selling all versions and accessories of the Raspberry Pi ; which is an Embedded CPU. I think that this is due to the fact that the RP is a stable and mature platform that has global acceptance as a low cost hobbyist CPU for embedded Linux applications wherein network connectivity (WiFi, Ethernet), HD Video, large memory (GB), and USB3.0 are required.

However there were no Arduino products there to sold and considering how much inventory and wide selection of products, i would say that the demand for Embedded MCU products is to a lesser degree. Also the fact that the original core being an 8-bit Atmel ATMega is being replaced by the more universal ARM M3 or M4 core and in some rare cases up to the ARM M7. This is starting to blur the distinction between CPU and MCU, since an MCU is typically headless (no video, no keyboard, no mouse), small RAM memory (MB), low power, and low speed with connectivity typically Bluetooth for PAN and sensor networking.

In addition, there are many rival RP clones that are emerging that in some cases are a superset of features and performance, which also showcases market demand and acceptance.

One of the things that i also showcased in my models is that the further integration of the CPU into an SoC where there is now a FPGA alongside of the ARM hard core CPU is showing how further capability and integration is continuing for the RP form factor. (Please see my recent models).

So what are your thoughts on where the 2024 embedded CPU market is heading ??

 Hi Steven,

Krikey you have picked up on an old thread with this one.

These computers have certainly moved along with time.

In the original thread I am talking about a Pi2

I originally wanted to design an advanced drone but the UK gov jumped in and eradicated the entire drone industry overnight with new rules and regulations so even little children would find it difficult to avoid being arrested. The UK could have been a world leader in advanced drone technology creating millions of jobs for the younger generations but as usual were more fixated on systematic control and the eradication of the industry. 2024 is set to be even worse with new rules demanding every drone must include GPS tracking systems. This is as usual completely insane considering the maximum allowed weight limit is already regulated to less weight than that of a sandwich.

Anyway now the Pi5 is released. I have however been severely put off the Pi5 after seeing first hand how so called Pi engineers and moderators demonised and outright banned innocent customers and users in the Raspberry Pi Forum for even daring to ask when certain functionality's would be implemented that were promised on the original Pi4 launch.

I find it interesting that the Raspberry Pi (RP) has endured this long and that there have been 5 revisions of the same board interface as well as variations along the way. The RP series has definitely caught the attention of anyone wanting to learn about Embedded CPU projects and is the perfect learning platform for Embedded Linux flavors.

In my opinion it is the go-to learners board for those who wish to connect the dots between hardware and software without being concerned about firmware (middleware). But for those that do, it also allows for the expansion into the now more common FPGA / SoC space.

I am wondering how well the FPGA / SoC space will be embraced and whether the boards such as the Xilinx Zynq based Zynqberry (https://grabcad.com/library/trenz-zynqberry-zero-soc-fpga-module-1) will be embraced as well. I believe that the next step in anyone's experience with the RP will migrate to the FPGA / SoC space since it is a natural stepping stone from the software - hardware realm into the HDL firmware realm. - - - It's also where the money is at in today's job market !

I believe that the hardware - software - firmware triangle is the most powerful engineering skill that an Embedded Engineer can possess since all angles of design attack are met and it offers the greatest flexibility for design trade-offs when new or emerging designs are considered.