My current project requires I wire webcams through an external wireless router in order to get the data to a computer to be processed.
I've been wondering, what's the general next step up after Arduino? If 32KB of memory and 16MHz aren't enough for image processing, what do hobbyists typically refer to next for more processor-intensive projects? I'm not looking to follow through with anything at present, but I'd like to get an idea of what the common stepping stones are for more powerful enthusiast chips/processors...
Those look interesting. They seem to be in the same realm of price as Arduino, surprisingly enough. I'll have to keep digging through the stats, the clock speed didn't seem significantly faster (maybe a couple orders), and they made it sound like a 32-bit architecture was a selling point. Does the Arduino run on 32-bit? I write C-code, but it occurs to me I don't know what's under the hood. I'll look through those some more in the morning though, quite a bit there to see.
MIcro-controllers and image processing dont mix
I suppose that lies at the heart of the issue. I hadn't thought to look it up with those precise terms however and ended up coming across RoBoards.
I suppose I'm looking for the sub-$1000 range of processors, so even buying some RAM wouldn't be a problem, I'm just wondering what the professional solution would be to my current design.
Netduino is another one to look at, but do you actually need a microcontroller? - you can get wifi/ethernet enabled cameras so that you can transmit over your network directly.
The arduino y based on the 8bit AVR architecture. They are designed to perforn simple tasks and lack the horse power needed for number crunching. For your application it could be used to monitor the setup and perhaps control some peripherals. For your particular solution, and if you don't want to go designing a board, more or less complex - ARM CORTEX M3, FPGAs, ... - depending on your app, a PC board like the one you've posted with Linux is a good approach.
Cypress processors are a mixed signal, reconfigurable logic on chip and can perform a lot of task via it's reconfigurable HW and they are easy to use through their SDK.
Approach the problem from a: what number crunching do I need to do, and then select your platform.
Need processing power on the cheap, buy a PandaBoard, a dual Core Arm running at 1Ghz with 512Mb of RAM running linux, with WiFi, ethernet, HDMI, audio in and out, and USB, all that for 150$.
