We offer two host options that we have tested: windowsWindows/mac Mac laptop and raspberry pi Raspberry Pi. Both options work great and each has its unique advantages which we describe below.
Windows/
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Mac laptop
In this case you will use a windows or mac laptop as your host. This means that this will be your central unit which controls all the other components in the setup. Please keep in mind that you will still need a raspberry pi (pi) to interface with some of the sensors.
The advantage of using a windows or mac laptop/tablet is that these have a screen, keyboard and mouse so you don’t have to purchase these separately and mount them in a way that it is comfortable to work with. A bigger computer can also give you more versatility if in the future you want to add features to the setup, like real time image processing for example, which will require higher computing power.
The disadvantage is that you will need a pi anyway so you may find it more convenient to have everything running in the pi instead of having two separate computers. Also the price, it may be cheaper to get a pi, display, mouse and keyboard than a windows or mac machine if you don’t have one laying around that you can repurpose.
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Find a step by step guide on how to set up your laptop in the Windows/ Mac laptop as your host page.
Raspberry Pi
You will use a raspberry pi as your host which is convenient since you need one anyway. Raspberry pis are low cost/small computers but for the purpose of this application they have all the computing power that you need.
The advantages of using a pi is that it has a small footprint what makes it easy to mount wherever is more convenient, it is low cost (~$55 for a pi 4 model B with 4GB of RAM) and as we said before you will be using one anyway.
The disadvantage is that you will need to purchase all peripherals separately (monitor, keyboard and mouse) and figure out a good way to mount them.
Find a step by step guide on how to set up your laptop in the Raspberry Pi as your host page.