RPi and Arduino are complementary platforms and one doesn't exclude the other. If you combine their capabilities you can achieve amazing results. But why?
- The community! Arduino has a lot of materials readily available online, from libraries, to examples. If you have something in mind probably someone has already done it and shared the documentation.
- You might have a project that is already working on Arduino, but you might need just a bit more processing power, so the Raspberry can come to the rescue.
- The RPi doesn't go well with 5V logic levels, it only operates with 3.3V and its pins do not accommodate 5V.
- If you fry an Arduino you can replace the damaged microcontroller chip easily for less than £10. That gives you the freedom to experiment a bit more, without damaging the RPi.
- Raspbian operating system doesn't have real-time control capabilities, whereas a microcontroller like Arduino can handle those operations.
- Arduino is very easy to start up
The Raspberry Pi definitely performs best when there are heavy calculations into play but also is great for:
- Internet or network connectivity projects (IoT)
- Graphical applications
- The need for USB peripherals such as a web cam
- Big Data projects
- ... and many more applications!
To chose between the two there's is this Make:zine article that can help you out.
- Arduino Yun it is an Arduino with WiFi connection capabilities ideal for Iot
- Intel IoT Developer Kit
- Photon very tiny Wifi enabled board
- Beaglebone it is a Raspberry Pi competitor with some analog pins functionality
- ESP8266