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A robot’s single-board computer (SBC) can run its operating system and higher-level software for vision, inference, mapping, and navigation, while a controller handles the robot’s control tasks. “Controller” can mean software running on the SBC or a separate microcontroller or control board. A robot does not automatically need two boards: the right arrangement depends on its workload, timing, interfaces, power, thermal limits, and software support.
What an SBC does—and what a controller means
An SBC is a compact computer that can run a full operating system and applications. Raspberry Pi describes its flagship SBCs as Linux computers with common ports. That makes an SBC a place to run robotics software that needs an operating system, substantial application code, or compute resources for perception and planning.
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In this article, “controller” has two meanings. A software controller is a program or ROS component that issues commands for a robot subsystem. A hardware controller is a separate microcontroller or control board that executes embedded tasks. The distinction matters: installing controller software on an SBC does not turn the SBC into a separate microcontroller, and a microcontroller board is not necessarily a motor driver.
Raspberry Pi distinguishes its Pico microcontroller boards from its Linux SBCs. Pico is intended for real-time control and lightweight embedded projects, but that description alone does not establish that it can drive a particular motor or replace the motor driver and power electronics that motor hardware may require.
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- Powerful Motor Integration: Onboard 3A motor driver directly controls (4 Servo + 4 Encoder Motors) or (4 Servo + 4 DC Motors). Docs: github.com/nulllaborg/maker-esp32-pro
- ESP32 IoT Core: Official ESP32-WROOM-32E module. Features a dual-core module with built-in 2.4GHz WiFi and Bluetooth (BLE) for powerful, low-latency wireless communication and IoT applications.
- Wide Voltage: Supports 6V-16V wide voltage input via DC port.
- Instant Expansion: Includes 5x I2C ports, 1x SPI ports, 13x GPIOs, allowing you to add sensors, OLED displays with ease.
- Application: Essential for robotics; no external shields required. Ideal for DIY your robots, smart cars.
Which robot workloads belong on the SBC?
The SBC is commonly the system’s higher-level compute host. The actual division depends on the robot and its software stack; these tasks are not a requirement that every robot run every capability.
Vision and AI inference
Camera images and other sensor data can feed perception software, including object detection and collision detection. Inference may run on an embedded board or a more capable computer, depending on the model, latency target, software support, and available compute. NVIDIA describes Isaac ROS as an open-source ROS 2 foundation with packages optimized for NVIDIA platforms, including workloads such as perception and AI inference. A compatible camera or perception sensor is only one part of the system: check its interface, drivers, bandwidth, and power needs against the selected compute board.
Rank #2
- Powerful Motor Integration: Onboard 3.5A motor driver directly controls (4 Servo + 2 Stepper Motors) or (4 Servo + 4 DC Motors). Essential for robotics; no external shields required.
- ESP32 IoT Core: Official ESP32-WROOM-32E module. Features a dual-core module with built-in 2.4GHz WiFi and Bluetooth (BLE) for powerful, low-latency wireless communication and IoT applications.
- Wide Voltage: Supports 6V-16V wide voltage input via DC port.
- Instant Expansion: Includes 4x I2C ports, 8x GPIOs, and 4x onboard RGB LEDs, allowing you to add sensors, OLED displays, and status indicators with ease.
Localization, mapping, and navigation
Localization estimates where a robot is; mapping represents its surroundings; navigation uses that information to select and follow a route. These capabilities can depend on data from several sensors and on the robot’s operating environment. NVIDIA’s robotics materials describe support for localization, mapping, and navigation-related capabilities, but do not establish that every board or robot can run them at a suitable rate.
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A robot may also need software for manipulating objects, accepting remote commands, or coordinating subsystems. NVIDIA identifies manipulation and teleoperation among the workloads supported by its Isaac ROS packages. Whether they fit on an embedded system depends on the chosen packages and the rest of the workload.
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- Based on the ESP32-WROOM-32 module, supports wireless communication such as WIFI, blutooth and ESP-NOW. Onboard motor control interfaces for 2x DC motor with encoder or 4x DC motor (2 groups) without encoder
- Onboard serial bus servos control interfaces for controlling up to 253 ST3215 serial bus servos and obtaining servos feedback. Onboard 9-axis IMU to obtain attitude and heading information at any time
- Supports 7~13V power input, and can be powered directly by 2S or 3S lithium battery module. Automatic download circuit for easy uploading programs. Support input voltage/current monitoring. Onboard TF card slot
- Onboard Laser Lidar interface and integrated UART to USB function. IIC interface for connecting peripherals such as OLED, IMU, and other IIC devices. Adapting Multi-functional extended header for additional functions, such as controlling servos or relays
- Onboard 40PIN GPIO header for connecting and powering the host computer (Raspberry Pi/Jetson Nano, etc), communicating via serial port or IIC. Provides open-source demos and detailed tutorials for beginners, easy to get started
What the control path handles
Control turns a desired action into commands for a robot’s hardware and may also bring sensor measurements back into the software system. In ROS 2 Control, controllers cover applications such as wheeled mobile robots and manipulators. Broadcasters publish data from hardware components to ROS topics. These are software roles within a control framework; they do not, by themselves, specify which board electrically interfaces with an actuator.
Some tasks require predictable timing or a control path that remains separate from heavier operating-system workloads. A microcontroller can be used for lightweight embedded or real-time control tasks, while the SBC runs higher-level applications. Whether this separation is necessary—and whether a particular setup meets its timing and safety needs—must be validated for the robot itself. The available documentation does not establish that every SBC fails at control or that every robot needs a separate microcontroller.
Rank #4
- Powerful Motor Integration: Onboard 3A motor driver directly controls (4 Servo + 4 Encoder Motors) or (4 Servo + 4 DC Motors). Docs: github.com/nulllaborg/maker-esp32-pro
- ESP32 IoT Core: Official ESP32-WROOM-32E module. Features a dual-core module with built-in 2.4GHz WiFi and Bluetooth (BLE) for powerful, low-latency wireless communication and IoT applications.
- Wide Voltage: Supports 6V-16V wide voltage input via DC port.
- Instant Expansion: Includes 5x I2C ports, 1x SPI ports, 13x GPIOs, allowing you to add sensors, OLED displays with ease.
- Application: Essential for robotics; no external shields required. Ideal for DIY your robots, smart cars.
Choose the architecture by workload and constraints
There is no universally best board or single architecture established for all robots. Compare the options against the complete system, not a board in isolation.
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| Decision area | Questions to answer |
|---|---|
| Workload | Does the robot need conventional ROS applications, computer vision, accelerated inference, mapping, navigation, manipulation, or some combination? |
| Software support | Which operating system, ROS 2 distribution, drivers, and vendor-accelerated packages are required? Confirm support for the exact board and software release. |
| Control timing | Are tasks high-level planning, embedded control, or both? Measure and validate the required timing and failure behavior on the intended robot. |
| Interfaces | List the required camera, lidar, IMU, motor-controller, GPIO, serial, USB, and network connections. Check drivers and simultaneous bandwidth needs. |
| Connectivity | Determine whether the board has the required Ethernet or wireless networking, whether adapters are needed, and how it will be accessed and managed remotely. |
| Power and thermal limits | Budget for the board, sensors, and peripherals together. Check supply requirements, peripheral power, cooling, and the robot’s operating environment. |
| Physical and lifecycle fit | Check size, mounting, storage, serviceability, expected availability, and budget for the exact products under consideration. |
Jetson and Pico illustrate different roles
A NVIDIA Jetson developer kit is an example of embedded compute for AI-powered applications and robotics. NVIDIA’s Isaac ROS materials describe packages for robotics workloads optimized for NVIDIA platforms, and its robotics overview describes Jetson as an embedded deployment option. This makes Jetson a candidate to evaluate when the robot needs those workloads; it does not establish a universally suitable model, current price, or performance level for a particular robot.
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- Compatible with multiple development boards: Compatible with Raspberry Pi Jetson series development boards, Sunflower Pi, industrial control board development boards, and also has multiple power supply interface outputs, providing stable power supply for DIY expansion boards.★★★Note: 3.0 compatible with raspberry Pi5/Jetson/RDK Series，Support Raspberry Pi 5 power supply protocol.
- Rich peripheral interfaces: The expansion board supports 4-way encoder motors, which can drive various vehicle types, such as mecanum wheels, four-wheel differentials, tracks, etc.; it also supports PWM servos and serial bus servos, which can adapt to various forms of robot arm development; it also supports USB serial communication, CAN bus communication, and SBUS bus communication.
- Multi-functional robot expansion board: The control board is equipped with a 9-axis IMU attitude sensor, which can obtain real-time posture information of the robot and is widely used in ROS robot kit development.
- Fully open source data: Provides basic peripheral driver routines written in STM32CUBEIDE, including driving encoder motors, PWM servos, serial bus servos, reading and solving 9-axis attitude sensor data, and controlling multiple communication interfaces; open hardware schematic, which is more user-friendly when used with the driver routines.
- Support 12V voltage input and multiple power supply interface output, refuse to use a safe and stable power supply system. Support ROS1 and ROS2
Raspberry Pi Pico illustrates the microcontroller category: it is suited to real-time control and lightweight embedded projects, rather than being a Linux SBC. It may serve as a control companion in a design, but the robot’s electrical interfaces, control timing, drivers, and motor hardware still need to be selected and validated.
ROS 2 Control’s Rolling documentation is a development snapshot, not a stable deployment recommendation. The documentation points readers to Kilted for the latest released documentation. Confirm the release and package support required by the robot before choosing a deployment stack.
Check compatibility before assembling the system
- Write down each workload. Separate perception, inference, mapping, navigation, teleoperation, and actuator-control requirements instead of treating “robotics” as a single compute task.
- Choose the software stack. Verify the operating system, ROS 2 distribution, packages, acceleration support, and drivers against the exact compute board. Development documentation and released software may differ.
- Map every sensor and actuator interface. Record connector or bus type, bandwidth, driver availability, power draw, and which component will read or command it. Do not assume a camera or motor peripheral is compatible from its category alone.
- Decide whether control needs a separate path. Identify timing, safety, and failure requirements, then test the selected control software and hardware under the robot’s actual operating conditions.
- Budget power and cooling for the whole build. Board requirements vary by model. For example, Raspberry Pi’s setup documentation recommends 5 V at 5 A at the plug for Raspberry Pi 5; at 5 V and 3 A, it says peripheral power is limited to 600 mA. Those figures apply to that board, not to SBCs generally.
- Plan network and service access. Check the exact board’s networking options, any adapter needs, and the method for initial setup and remote access. Raspberry Pi’s setup documentation describes model-specific networking and headless-access options.
- Test the integrated system. Validate data flow, timing, power, thermal behavior, and recovery from dropped connections or component failures with the chosen sensors, control hardware, and software stack.
Official hardware and software documentation describes capabilities and requirements, but does not provide a universal board-to-sensor compatibility matrix, a head-to-head performance result, or a current price comparison for these architectures. Those details must be checked for the exact components and software releases being considered.
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