Arduino uno R3 vs Raspberry pi 3 which is more advisable for beginners?

Answer 1

contrary to @Oma Falk, I'd say go for both as they can be considered complementary:
Raspberry has more than arduino:
internet connection, usb devices interfacing, display capabilities.
Arduino has what the raspberry pi lacks:
real time input/output, analog inputs a bit more protection on the electronics/circuit side.

If you connect an arduino to a raspberry pi (via usb) you have all the a.m. features.

what is invaluable about raspberry pi and arduino, is that both have ubiquitous and beginner friendly learning material that is already being translated in many languages.
With other platforms such availability is more limited.

Additional tip:
If you connect yoyr phone via bluetooth, you have a large number of sensors for your thinkering(accelerometer, luminosity,gps,microphone,ecc...) without additional costs. Those funny arduino shields are practical but insanely expensive.

Answer 2

If you familiar with electronic and build I/O interface to other devices, you can try to use Arduino.
If you good at Linux setup and need direct internet connection you would like Raspberry pi.

Answer 3

@Oma Falk
what you need to connect your phone is an App and a bluetooth usb dongle(if you connect it to the raspi) or bluetooth module (if you wire it to the arduino serial pins).
(both available for less than 5 USD)
The app is Sensoduino and can be downloaded from google play.
There are other apps but i didn't test them

Regarding other platforms available, i'm personally a big fan of the Makey Makey (for children) but let's say the arduino, although providing a beginner friendly "playground" environment, is just one step away from designing/building your own circuit and do some actual programming.

The makey makey or the microbit (even the picaxe to a certain point with blocky) let you easily play but make it difficoult to move on leaving your "playground", to do some actual projects/circuits. I see both platforms perfect for kids to get their attention by letting them easily create something but a teenager can start strait away with arduino.
The raspberry pi is the raspberry pi and costing 40 USD (9USD for the pi zero) is unbeatable at the moment.

Just leave the accessories and shields that are in most cases only a waste of money.

Fast growing community is a good thing but a well established community is something better.

Answer 4

@Oma Falk real time is fundamental for beginners: debugging your code by looking at how the circuit behaves is priceless.

Try to explain to a beginner that his code/circuit is fine but the OS is lagging...

Answer 5

@Oma Falk I'm not a micro:bit user but i'm curious to know if using scratch on the raspberry pi wouldn't be a comparable coding experience.

I totally agree that teaching electronics with the rpi is like begging for magic smoke (that's why I always reccommemd the arduino to "buffer" between the rpi and tge circuit).

Answer 6

I use Raspberry pi 3 to build a Node.js server to host my test sites.

Answer 7

@seamiki also micro:bit is a good companion to raspi.

the learner friendly material normally needs wiring before use. micro:bit has a fast growing community.
adafruit playground is an arduino.
Linking arduino (or smartphone) to raspi is not for beginners. Even realtime is not needed at the beginning.
smartphone and raspi..
coool ... do you have some material for that?

Answer 8

@seamiki concerning raspi we stay different
but makeymakey is real cool stuff! i absolutely agree!
And makeylike diy is easy with Arduino Micro and MPR121. even if not the same.
just got a mm for 12$ at ebay. I was very happy!

Answer 9

@Oma Falk i understand that not everybody loves the raspberry pi but you have to admit that with it (like with any pc) the possibilities to expand/extend your microcontroller project are endless.
And what is achievable with such an inexpensive hardware saves you more than you spent for it.

Answer 10

@seamiki
I LOVE all my 10 Raspis at home.
And Google AiY with raspi ...wow had a lot of fun!

But when I give classes in Raspi and Arduino, I see students younger than lets say 11 years... cant get the possibilities.
On the other hand 12 agers can do scissors rock paper on micro:bit.
So thats the point for me.

Answer 11

I personally use the Raspberry Pi.

Answer 12

Y do you use the raspberry pi? @keto

Answer 13

yes.

scratch is great. and scratch + microbit is also easy for young people.
https://projects.raspberrypi.org/en/projects/getting-started-with-microbit.

Indeed I prepare raspi and microbit and avoid a confetti of resistors and Leds after class.

Answer 14

none of them!
try BBC:microbit or Adafruit circuit playgground.
They already have some sensors on board.