from Hacker News

Are Microcontrollers Obsolete?

by jsn on 11/14/12, 2:45 PM with 2 comments

• by dkersten on 11/14/12, 4:55 PM

  For home automation - maybe.

  For a large percentage of the vast number of other uses of microcontrollers - no, most definitely not.

  A microcontroller has a number of properties things like the raspberry pi don't have: they cost a hell of a lot less (the micros I've used cost between about $0.50 and $3 each when buying about 10 at a time), have a much smaller physical footprint (SMD micros are anything from a few mm^2 to a cm^2 or so) and require very very low amounts of power.

• by harrydoukas on 11/14/12, 3:21 PM

  It really depends on the use case and the applications, some times it is an overkill to use a system like the RaspberyPi fo r just monitoring some sensors or controlling a relay switch. Especially when it comes to price, size and power consumption, microcontrollers are the only answer. System on a Chip devices can make great gateways for microcontrollers and supplement functionality by providing e.g., data processing, secure communication, etc.