Hi.<p>I've no experience working with microcontrollers, but would like to get some by building a project I have in mind. It would require a motor to push or rotate an object, a basic camera to take a picture, and a simple image recognition program to determine the outcome. The system would also need Internet access, preferably via Wi-Fi.<p>I know I could start by trying out different options, but thought it would be useful to ask for suggestions first.<p>Which microcontroller or board do you think would be a good choice? I guess building a custom board would be a bit too much, so I'm considering Arduino (Uno WiFi REV2?) and Raspberry Pi (Zero 2 W?). I feel that with Arduino I would get more low-level exposure and would also need to do image recognition in the cloud, while with Raspberry Pi the work would be somewhat easier and image recognition could be run locally. Does that make sense? What would you recommend?<p>Do you have any suggestions for the camera component? Monochrome low-res photos would suffice. What about motors? What characteristics should I take into consideration?<p>Also, I'm planning to use TinyGo for programming, but can see that MicroPython is popular as well. Are there any important things to consider when choosing between the two or is it basically a matter of preference?<p>Thank you very much.
I build automated microscopes. Here's what I use: ESP32 w/ stepper motors and a stepper motor controller (<a href="https://www.tindie.com/products/33366583/4-axis-tmc2209-cnc-controller/" rel="nofollow">https://www.tindie.com/products/33366583/4-axis-tmc2209-cnc-...</a>).<p>For cameras I use low-cost UVC-compliant cameras, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/USB-Camera-3264X2448-Industrial-Supported/dp/B07R492622" rel="nofollow">https://www.amazon.com/USB-Camera-3264X2448-Industrial-Suppo...</a> although which specific model I get depends on the imaging application; in my case, I always get C-mount devices so I can put microscope objectives on it.<p>For image analysis I buy an Intel NUC or a PC w/ a graphics card. But you can do a lot of projects with a Raspberry Pi 4 (a zero 2 is pretty weak for this).