Need to know what makes a microcontroller different from the sbcs? Microcontrollers or even laptops are more commonly used than single board computers due to the low awareness of single board computers. Understanding what makes single board computers and microcontrollers different is very important as it makes all the difference in any project you’re going to start or any product that you are going to launch. Single board computers are widely available online. Before buying an SBC make sure that you are buying from a reliable website or not. Let’s discuss the differences and usage of microcontrollers and SBCs.
Difference between microcontrollers and SBCs
The major difference between a single-board computer and a microcontroller is that a single-board computer can run an operating system while the other one is known to be a chip with scarce resources. Also, multi-board computers are programmed to perform one operation only repeatedly. However, these two have a lot in common so telling the difference between them is a much hard task. The most important thing is that the microcontrollers are mainly intended to be run for small, repetitive tasks such as switching a button on and off based on the input. These tasks are not resourced intensive and the microcontrollers are not as capable as the SBCs.
Usage of microcontrollers
Microcontrollers are usually used in compact integrated circuits that are mainly designed in a way that helps with a specific operation in any embedded system. A typical type of microcontroller consists of processors, memory, and different input and output peripherals on a single chip. These microcontrollers are mainly founded in robots, transportation vehicles, office machines, medical devices, and radio transceivers among many other devices. A microcontroller is mainly embedded inside any kind of system that controls any kind of single function in the device. It does so by interpreting the data that it receives from its I/O peripherals and using its central memory. These microcontrollers are used in many devices.
Usage of Single board computers
On the other hand, single board computers have a much different design and are very different from that of a single board computer. Single board computers are defined as a complete computer that has their own functions and also has a microprocessor. Some of its functions include input and output, and it has its own built-in memory. These are built on their own single circuit board that has RAM built-in during the predetermined amount and it also does not have any kind of expansion slots for their peripherals which is very different from that of a microcontroller. There are different purposes of a single board computer such as it can be used for experimentation of different things, to help with the ability to learn to program, helping to build a media player or any kind of NAS drive. It is also known to help with robotics, the automation of the home, and additionally helping out with the additional tasks related to computing that compromises web browsing, or the processing of words. These differences are huge and very notable. Thus, microcontrollers and single-board computers are considered to be two sides of a coin.
