While the Raspberry Pi was previously synonymous with other single-board Linux computers, this is no longer the case. The previous $4 Raspberry Pi Pico board is now making an attempt to break into the whole crowded microcontroller module market.
Raspberry Pi Pico vs ESPR32
When it comes to the ESPR32, although there is very little detail regarding this particular device, it is known to be a development board that is equipped with Espressif Systems' wireless communication module or basically Wi-Fi and Bluetooth with ESP-WROOM-32 and a needed USB-serial conversion IC FT231XS.
In addition to this, users will be able to get a 3.3 V output regulator, operation mode switch installed, reset switch, and the possibility of users utilizing the ESP-WROOM-32 WiFi + Bluetooth module instantly, according to Switch Science. The instant ready-to-use device is what makes it different from the Raspberry Pi RP2040.
Raspberry Pi RP2040
According to an article by Hackaday, the microcontroller is now in question as the RP2040, is also known as Raspberry Pi's very first foray into other custom silicon, and it's even got a dual-core Cortex M0+ along with luxurious amounts of SRAM along with other interesting custom I/O peripheral hardware that is said to most likely mean that users will never have to bit-bang yet again. A bare microcontroller, however, is still no fun without the use of a dev board, and the new Raspberry Pi Pico actually adds 2 MB of flash, nice power management, and also USB connectivity.
As with the common Raspberry Pi Linux machines, the main emphasis is usually on getting users up and running quickly but with some copious documentation. It all begins from the "Getting Started" type of guides for both the MicroPython SDKs and the C/C++ with the code examples, shown on Github, up to the serious datasheets for the said Pico as well as the RP2040 in itself, to the hardware design notes and even the KiCAD breakout boards, and would even include the contents of the known on-board Boot ROM.
Read Also: Raspberry Pi Pico vs. Arduino: Specs, Price, Power Consumption, and MORE!
Use of Pico
The Pico also seemed to be designed in a way that makes quite a friendly introduction to the microcontrollers by using the MicroPython. However, there's enough guidance available, thankfully, for players to be able to go straight down the rabbit hole as deep as they want to.
A quick take by Hackaday noted that the RP2040 is said to be a very well planned-out microcontroller along with the myriad nice design touches all throughout and even included enough power to get most of the jobs done and even an innovative as well as a very hacker-friendly type of software-defined hardware I/O peripheral. It's also said to be backed by particularly well documentation along with a number of working examples. At the end of the day, it is said to run a pair of other familiar ARM MO+ CPU cores. If this would definitely hit the shelves at just $4, it might be expected to see this become the go-to board for a number of projects that do not require the use of wireless connectivity.
Related Article: Raspberry Pi Pico Projects, Tutorials and Specs: How to Use for Coding, MicroPython and C/C++
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Written by Urian Buenconsejo
