Raspberry Pi and the IoT: a guide to understanding their role in the Internet of Things

Introduction

L'Internet of Things (IoT) is no longer a trend: it's a reality that's transforming the home, agriculture, industry and even healthcare. Billions of objects are already connected worldwide, and the number continues to grow.

In order for these sensors and actuators to work, they require a intelligent gateway a device capable of collecting, processing and transmitting their data. This is where the Raspberry Pi intervene.

For more than 10 years, this low-cost mini-computer has seduced millions of enthusiasts, engineers and businesses. Its versatility makes it a pillar of the modern IoT.

👉 In this ultimate guide, we'll look at:

• Why the Raspberry Pi is perfect for the IoT.
• The roles it can play (gateway, edge computing, home automation server).
• Visit concrete uses in the home, agriculture and industry.
• Visit IoT protocols supported.
• The differences between Raspberry Pi models and their applications.
• Visit good safety practices.
• And finally future prospects.

1. Why use a Raspberry Pi in the IoT?

1.1. An affordable price

With costs ranging from €5 for the Pi Zero 100 for the Pi 5Raspberry Pi remains affordable, even for large-scale deployments.

1.2. Versatility

A Raspberry Pi can be :

• A IoT gateway to connect sensors.
• A edge mini-server to analyze data locally.
• A prototyping station to test new ideas.

1.3 Full connectivity

• Wi-Fi and Bluetooth integrated.
• Gigabit Ethernet for stability.
• GPIO for direct connection of sensors and modules.
• Compatible with Zigbee, Z-Wave, LoRa, LTE dongles.

1.4. A global community

Thousands of documented projects, active forums and a huge software offering.

👉 Result: it's the most accessible and versatile IoT minicomputer.

2. The Raspberry Pi's role in the IoT

2.1. IoT gateway

The Pi collects data from sensors (temperature, humidity, pollution, cameras) and sends them :

• to a cloud IoT (AWS, Azure, Google Cloud),
• or to a local server (Home Assistant, Node-RED).

2.2 Edge computing

The Raspberry Pi can filter and analyze data before sending them.
➡ Example: in a factory, the Pi can detect an anomaly on a machine in real time, without waiting for it to be sent back to the cloud.

2.3 Home automation server

With Home Assistant or Domoticzthe Raspberry Pi becomes the the brains of the connected home :

• lighting control,
• heating control,
• camera and alarm management.

2.4. Prototyping and education

Engineers use the Pi to quickly test IoT ideas. Schools use them to teach programming and automation.

2.5. Local interface

With a touch screen, the Raspberry Pi becomes a IoT control console simple and effective.

3. Practical uses of the Raspberry Pi in the IoT

3.1 Smart home

• Energy monitoring with connected sensors.
• Control shutters, lights and heating.
• IP cameras connected to a Raspberry Pi.

3.2. Connected agriculture

• Humidity sensors to control irrigation.
• Local weather stations to optimize crops.
• Automated greenhouses.

3.3 Industry 4.0

• Machine data collection.
• Fault detection via on-board AI.
• Predictive maintenance.

3.4. Health and research

• Air quality monitoring stations.
• Local biomedical monitoring.
• Sensitive data collection without an external cloud.

4. IoT protocols supported by Raspberry Pi

The Raspberry Pi can speak almost any IoT language:

• MQTT the lightweight, efficient standard.
• CoAP similar to HTTP, but optimized for small devices.
• HTTP/HTTPS classic, easy to integrate.
• Zigbee and Z-Wave USB dongles, ideal for home automation.
• LoRaWAN long range for agriculture and smart cities.
• BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy) proximity sensors.

👉 Its compatibility is one of its greatest assets.

5. Raspberry Pi comparison chart and IoT applications

6. Essential IoT software for Raspberry Pi

• Node-RED → visual programming by flow.
• Home Assistant → open source home automation.
• Mosquitto (MQTT broker) → communication connected objects.
• Grafana + InfluxDB → IoT data storage and visualization.
• Docker → containerization of IoT services.
• BalenaOS → large-scale deployment of connected devices.

Best practices :

• Regular updates (OS and packages).
• Securing SSH with keys rather than passwords.
• TLS for MQTT to encrypt data.
• Using an SSD instead of an SD card (more durable).
• Segmenting the network VLAN IoT to prevent compromise.

👉 Without security, a Raspberry Pi can become a vulnerable gateway into your IoT network.

8. Raspberry Pi vs microcontrollers (ESP32, Arduino)

• Microcontrollers (ESP32, Arduino)
  • Very low power consumption.
  • Perfect for local collection.
  • Inexpensive (€2-10).
• Raspberry Pi
  • More powerful, able to analyze and store.
  • Ideal as a gateway and for edge computing.
  • Support for Linux and advanced tools.

👉 They don't clash, they are additional :

• ESP32 picks it up.
• The Raspberry Pi analyzes and centralizes.

9. The future of the Raspberry Pi in IoT

With the Pi 5 and Pi 500the Raspberry Foundation takes things to a new level:

• SSD NVMe to manage large volumes of data.
• More powerful CPU for edge computing.
• On-board AI (TensorFlow Lite, ARM-optimized PyTorch).

Outlook :

• Edge AI : anomaly detection, real-time visual recognition.
• Secure IoT integrated advanced encryption.
• Smart cities Raspberry Pi deployed en masse to manage energy, transport and the environment.

Conclusion

Visit Raspberry Pi is now one of the pillars of theInternet of Things. Accessible, versatile and backed by a global community, it can :

• Serve with gateway IoT.
• Hosting a home automation server.
• Analyze data by edge computing.
• Become a educational and prototyping tool.

Each Pi model has its own role: from Pi Zero for lightweight sensors at Pi 5 for local AI.

👉 To sum up: if you're looking for a simple, economical and powerful platform for your IoT projects, the Raspberry Pi is the ideal solution.