Do you want to go into robotics and build projects like this?

Do you want to go into robotics and build projects like this? This or this? Then you'll end up using one of these. An ESP32. Or a microcontroller. But which one should you pick for your next build? That's a question that I ask myself every single time I start a new project. And the answer depends entirely on what you're actually making. So here's what I would usually go for. Let's start with the basics. The Arduino. This is day zero of embedded systems. Great for testing, prototyping, and learning. And it's what I use the servos on my first build. This robotic hand. It has loads of GPIO pins, analog, digital, PWM, running on the ATmega at 16MHz. It's really simple and clones are crazy cheap. Up next, the ESP32. This is a real step up. Dual core, 240MHz, and way more compute. But the killer feature is built-in WiFi and Bluetooth. That's why I use it on my custom flight controller with just as much support as the Arduino, just better. At last, the Raspberry Pi's. You have the Pico, a microcontroller running the RP2040. Cheap and dual core. But what makes this one good is the hardware level timing, which allows you to bit bang almost any protocol you need. The other end, the Raspberry Pi 4 and 5, which is a full Linux computer at the size of a credit card. Great for when you need some actual compute to run AI models. Or if you want to go really crazy, go for the Teensy 4.1, which is like the Pico, but on crack. With that, go build something. Follow for more engineering tips.