Also known as: SBC
A single-board computer (SBC) is a complete computer built on one small circuit board — CPU, memory, storage, and ports — capable of running a full operating system, usually Linux.1
Overview
An SBC sits between a personal computer and a microcontroller. Unlike a microcontroller, it runs a real OS and ordinary languages and tools; unlike a sealed PC or phone, it exposes GPIO pins that let your code talk directly to electronics. Most are credit-card sized and draw only a few watts.
Where it fits
The category is broad: the Raspberry Pi is the best-known general-purpose board, the NVIDIA Jetson adds a GPU for edge AI, and the BeagleBone emphasises real-time I/O. Their low power and small size make them well suited to always-on, embedded, and field roles — for example, a Raspberry Pi by the antenna can run GopherTrunk as a small, low-power SDR capture node.
Sources
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Single-board computer — Wikipedia, on the definition and scope of SBCs. ↩