IoT and Embedded Systems Learning Guide¶

Introduction¶

This folder contains systematic learning materials for IoT (Internet of Things) and Embedded Systems. It covers Python-based IoT development centered around the Raspberry Pi, encompassing network connectivity, Edge AI, and cloud integration.

Target Audience¶

Developers with knowledge of basic Python syntax
Engineers interested in building IoT systems
Beginners starting projects with Raspberry Pi
Developers interested in edge computing and AI integration

Differences from C_Programming¶

Category	C_Programming	IoT_Embedded
Language	C (low-level)	Python (high-level)
Platform	Arduino, STM32	Raspberry Pi
Focus	Hardware control, registers	Network, cloud integration
Communication	UART, I2C, SPI (low-level)	MQTT, HTTP, BLE (protocols)
AI	Not included	Edge AI (TFLite, ONNX)
Projects	Firmware development	IoT system construction

C_Programming covers low-level hardware control of microcontrollers, while IoT_Embedded teaches how to build network-connected smart systems on Raspberry Pi using Python.

Learning Roadmap¶

                    ┌─────────────────────────────────────┐
                    │          IoT Learning Roadmap        │
                    └─────────────────────────────────────┘
                                     │
        ┌────────────────────────────┼────────────────────────────┐
        │                            │                            │
        ▼                            ▼                            ▼
  ┌──────────┐               ┌──────────────┐             ┌──────────────┐
  │ 01. IoT  │               │ 02. Raspberry│             │              │
  │ Overview │──────────────▶│  Pi Setup    │             │              │
  └──────────┘               └──────────────┘             │              │
                                     │                    │              │
                                     ▼                    │              │
                            ┌──────────────┐              │              │
                            │ 03. GPIO     │              │              │
                            │   Control    │              │              │
                            └──────────────┘              │              │
                                     │                    │              │
        ┌────────────────────────────┼────────────────────┤              │
        │                            │                    │              │
        ▼                            ▼                    ▼              │
  ┌──────────┐               ┌──────────────┐      ┌──────────────┐     │
  │ 04. WiFi │               │ 05. BLE      │      │ 06. MQTT     │     │
  │Networking│               │Connectivity  │      │  Protocol    │     │
  └──────────┘               └──────────────┘      └──────────────┘     │
        │                            │                    │              │
        └────────────────────────────┼────────────────────┘              │
                                     │                                   │
                                     ▼                                   │
                            ┌──────────────┐                            │
                            │ 07. HTTP/    │                            │
                            │   REST API   │                            │
                            └──────────────┘                            │
                                     │                                   │
        ┌────────────────────────────┴────────────────────┐              │
        │                                                 │              │
        ▼                                                 ▼              │
  ┌──────────────┐                               ┌──────────────┐       │
  │ 08. Edge AI  │                               │ 09. Edge AI  │       │
  │   TFLite     │                               │    ONNX      │       │
  └──────────────┘                               └──────────────┘       │
        │                                                 │              │
        └─────────────────────┬───────────────────────────┘              │
                              │                                          │
        ┌─────────────────────┼─────────────────────┐                   │
        │                     │                     │                   │
        ▼                     ▼                     ▼                   │
  ┌──────────────┐    ┌──────────────┐     ┌──────────────┐            │
  │ 10. Home     │    │ 11. Image    │     │ 12. Cloud    │◀───────────┘
  │  Automation  │    │   Analysis   │     │  IoT Integra │
  └──────────────┘    └──────────────┘     └──────────────┘

File List¶

Filename	Difficulty	Topic	Key Content
01_IoT_Overview.md	⭐	IoT Overview	IoT definition, architecture, protocols
02_Raspberry_Pi_Setup.md	⭐	Raspberry Pi Setup	OS installation, SSH, GPIO pinout
03_Python_GPIO_Control.md	⭐⭐	GPIO Control	RPi.GPIO, gpiozero, sensors
04_WiFi_Networking.md	⭐⭐	WiFi Networking	Sockets, HTTP client
05_BLE_Connectivity.md	⭐⭐⭐	BLE Connectivity	GATT, bleak library
06_MQTT_Protocol.md	⭐⭐	MQTT Protocol	Mosquitto, paho-mqtt
07_HTTP_REST_for_IoT.md	⭐⭐	HTTP/REST	Flask server, API design
08_Edge_AI_TFLite.md	⭐⭐⭐	Edge AI (TFLite)	Model conversion, inference
09_Edge_AI_ONNX.md	⭐⭐⭐	Edge AI (ONNX)	ONNX Runtime, optimization
10_Home_Automation_Project.md	⭐⭐⭐	Home Automation	Smart home, MQTT control
11_Image_Analysis_Project.md	⭐⭐⭐	Image Analysis	Pi Camera, object detection
12_Cloud_IoT_Integration.md	⭐⭐⭐	Cloud IoT	AWS IoT, GCP Pub/Sub

Difficulty Legend: ⭐ Beginner | ⭐⭐ Elementary | ⭐⭐⭐ Intermediate

Environment Setup¶

Hardware Requirements¶

Raspberry Pi 4 Model B (recommended, 2GB+ RAM)
microSD card (32GB or more, Class 10)
Power adapter (5V 3A USB-C)
(Optional) Sensor kit, Pi Camera, relay modules

Software Setup¶

1. Raspberry Pi OS Installation¶

# Use Raspberry Pi Imager (on PC)
# https://www.raspberrypi.com/software/

# Enable SSH: Create ssh file on boot partition
touch /Volumes/boot/ssh  # macOS
# or
touch /media/user/boot/ssh  # Linux

2. Python Environment Setup¶

# Check Python version
python3 --version  # 3.9+ recommended

# Create virtual environment
python3 -m venv ~/iot-env
source ~/iot-env/bin/activate

# Install base packages
pip install --upgrade pip
pip install RPi.GPIO gpiozero

3. IoT Package Installation¶

# MQTT
pip install paho-mqtt

# BLE
pip install bleak

# Web server
pip install flask flask-cors

# Edge AI
pip install tflite-runtime  # For Raspberry Pi
pip install onnxruntime

# Camera
pip install picamera2

# Other utilities
pip install requests numpy pillow

4. Development Environment (PC)¶

You can write code directly on the Raspberry Pi or develop on PC and transfer.

# After installing VS Code Remote SSH extension
# Ctrl+Shift+P > Remote-SSH: Connect to Host
# pi@raspberrypi.local

# Or transfer files with scp
scp script.py pi@raspberrypi.local:~/projects/

Official Documentation¶

Recommended Learning Resources¶

C_Programming: Low-level embedded programming (Arduino, C)
Python: Advanced Python syntax
Networking: Network theory
Machine_Learning: Machine learning basics
Computer_Vision: OpenCV and computer vision

Learning Tips¶

Set up practice environment first: Complete Raspberry Pi setup before starting learning
Step-by-step progress: Complete 01-03, then branch into networking (04-07) or AI (08-09)
Project-oriented: Use projects 10-12 as goals and learn required technologies backwards
Use simulation: If you don't have hardware, you can use GPIO simulators

Last updated: 2026-02-01