Raspberry Pi is a more powerful and decent platform for IoT projects

The internet of things (IoT) is a widespread technology across all industries providing features like monitoring, analysis, prediction and control. It is an immersive, ambient networked computing environment built through the relentless proliferation of smart sensors, cameras, software, databases, and huge data centers. An IoT architecture can be categorized into sensors or actuators, internet gateway, edge IT and data center, and cloud. Raspberry Pi, a low-cost wallet-size computer, is considered the next generation of IoT devices. It can be held on the palm with the capacity of functioning as a full-fledged computer.

Raspberry Pi (RPi) defines as a series of single-board computers that are now increasingly being used to connect IoT devices. RPi can be plugged into a computer monitor. It is a capable little device that enables people to explore computing and learn how to program in languages like Scratch and Python. It is also capable of performing everything users expect from a computer. Raspberry Pi can interact with the outside world. It is being used in various areas of digital maker projects, including music machines, parent detectors, weather stations and much more.

Why Raspberry Pi?

Raspberry Pi has found its way into the world of aspiring tech enthusiasts for computing. Thanks to its low cost, huge processing power in a compact board, availability of multiple interfaces, readily available examples with community support, and many other features, it much more accessible to everyone.

To date, several models of RPi have been released. All of them feature a Broadcom system on a chip (SoC) with an integrated ARM-compatible central processing unit (CPU) and on-chip graphics processing unit (GPU). RPi also houses on the board HDMI port, 3.5 mm analogue audio/video jack, 4X USB 2.0, Ethernet, Camera Serial Interface, Display Serial Interface. One of the most popular OSs used for the Raspberry Pi is the Raspbian Operating system. It is based on the Debian OS, optimized for the RPi hardware.

Despite some exciting functions of RPi to the engineering world, it is not apt for professional projects. According to a recent AAC survey, nearly 20 percent of respondents asserted using "maker" boards in end products. In a reader question, some community members reported using maker boards, including the Raspberry Pi, in various settings, including some examples of professional development.

Interfacing RPi with IoT Services

Raspberry Pi is able to provide an internet gateway as it has a quad-core ARM Cortex A7 CPU with a frequency of 900 MHz and 1 GB LPDDR2 SDRAM. It can be made to function as the Internet Gateway Device. Incorporating an RPi with other off-the-shelf sensors can make an IoT project a much easier task. As the internet of things requires a microcontroller to process the data, Wi-Fi integration to convey that data to the cloud and actuators to control operations, many innovative minds globally choose Raspberry Pi for developing IoT projects.