How to Program an Arduino with a Raspberry Pi
Running a program on an Arduino is easy, but have you tried doing it with a Pi? The Raspberry Pi is powerful enough to be a standalone computer and is also good enough to program a microcontroller.
Here, we use a Raspberry Pi 3 Model B+ to make an Arduino Uno blink an LED!
We’ll cut this up into two parts: how to install the Arduino IDE and how to use the IDE on the Raspberry Pi. While it’s possible to program the Arduino through Platformio, doing it this way should be much simpler for someone new.
Why You Want to Use a Raspberry Pi to Program Arduino
Typically, you would want to do it because:
- You can’t use a normal PC.
- You’re in it for the learning experience.
But there’s more to it than that. In fact, there’s a good tradeoff between using a standalone PC and using your Raspberry Pi!
Pros
- The Raspberry Pi uses way less power than even a laptop.
- You can run it off a power bank when you don’t have electricity.
- Saves time when you’re already using it as an IoT terminal.
Cons
- Overheating might become an issue for the Raspberry Pi if you don’t have ventilation.
As it is, the Raspberry Pi is good enough if you’re making a quick, do-it-in-a-weekend IoT project. Just plug in your sensors, peripherals, and Arduino, then type in your code to see it work along with the rest of your system.
But if you’re still in the “have to figure out how this circuit works” stage, then please use a proper desktop PC. It’s gonna help with the headaches.
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