Headless sensor logger
Deliverable: A Pi set up with no monitor that reads a sensor, logs to a file with timestamps, and is reachable over SSH, demonstrated running for at least twenty-four hours.
Course
Raspberry Pi
A small Linux computer used properly — Python, GPIO, camera and networking — building headless devices that start on their own and keep running unattended.
- Duration: 2 months
- Classroom
- Level: beginner to advanced
What you will be able to do
- Set up and administer a Raspberry Pi from the command line
- Control GPIO from Python and read sensors safely at 3.3V
- Capture and process images from the camera module
- Serve a web interface from the device on a local network
- Run a program automatically at boot and restart it after a crash
- Choose correctly between a Pi and a microcontroller for a task
Who this course is for
- Students and graduates in any engineering or computing stream
- Makers and hobbyists moving beyond microcontrollers
- IT staff exploring small-scale edge computing
- Basic Python is helpful but taught from the start
Syllabus
6 modules · 2 months
Module 1. Setup and Linux
- Imaging a card and first boot, headless
- The command line — files, permissions, packages
- Users, sudo and not running everything as root
- SSH, remote access and safe defaults
Module 2. Python on the Pi
- Python basics and virtual environments
- Reading and writing files
- Scheduling with cron
- Logging so you can see what happened overnight
Module 3. GPIO and hardware
- Pin numbering, 3.3V logic and level shifting
- Digital input and output from Python
- I2C and SPI sensors
- Why the Pi has no analogue input, and what to do about it
Module 4. Camera and media
- Camera module setup and capture
- Timelapse and video recording
- Basic image processing with OpenCV
- Motion detection and triggering on a change
Module 5. Networking and services
- Static addressing and finding the device on a network
- Serving a web interface from the Pi
- MQTT and talking to other devices
- Basic security — passwords, keys and exposure
Module 6. Running unattended
- systemd services and starting at boot
- Restarting automatically after a crash
- Read-only filesystems and surviving a power cut
- Remote update and recovery
Tools and technologies you will use
- Raspberry Pi
- Raspberry Pi OS and the Linux command line
- Python
- Camera module and sensors
- systemd and networking tools
Projects you will build
Camera trigger
Deliverable: A camera capturing images on motion detection, storing them with timestamps and serving the latest on a local web page.
Boot-resilient service
Deliverable: A program running as a systemd service that starts on boot, restarts automatically when killed, and survives a hard power cut without corrupting its data.
Sizing decision note
Deliverable: A written comparison of three supplied tasks, deciding for each whether a Pi or a microcontroller is the right choice, with power, cost and capability reasoning.
Where this course can take you
- IoT Developer
- Embedded Linux Engineer
- Automation Technician
- Prototype Developer
- IT Support Engineer
Duration, modes and fees
- Duration
- 2 months
- Delivery modes
- Classroom
- Fees
- Share your details for the current fee
- Fees vary by batch. Boards, cameras and sensors are provided. Classroom mode only — ask about the take-home kit.
Placement assistance
Every student gets placement assistance — that is what 100% placement assistance means. It is support for all, not a job for all. We do not promise a specific salary, a specific number of interviews, or placement at any named company, and you should be wary of anyone who does.
What is included
- A place in the monthly placement drive, held every third Saturday
- The readiness programme every second Saturday — mock interviews and preparation
- CV review against the specific roles you are targeting
- Portfolio review, so your project work is presented the way a reviewer will read it
- Access to the vacancy pool employers send directly to the Samyak network
- Guidance on which roles realistically fit your background and which do not
- A place in the next drive, with coaching, if you are not selected in this one
What is not included
- Any guarantee of a job, an interview, or a particular salary
- Placement at a named or partner company
- Applying to jobs on your behalf
- Support before you have completed the course and its project work
- Visa, relocation or overseas placement assistance
A device that works while you watch it is not a device
The interesting part of Raspberry Pi work is not getting a sensor to read. It is the thing still running a month later.
Starting at boot without anybody logging in. Restarting after a crash. Not corrupting the SD card when the power goes off mid-write — which in most of India is a weekly event rather than an edge case.
The last module and two of the projects exist entirely for this, because it is the difference between a demonstration and something you could actually deploy.
Twenty-four hours, minimum
The sensor logger has to run overnight and produce a log you can inspect the next morning.
Almost every student finds something in that log they did not expect — a gap, a crash, a reading that drifts. Finding it on your own device in a classroom is a cheap lesson. Finding it after installing something at a client site is not.
Pi or microcontroller
Choosing wrong is the most common design mistake in this field, in both directions.
A Pi drawing half a watt is hopeless on a battery and takes thirty seconds to boot. A microcontroller cannot run a camera pipeline or a web server comfortably. The final project makes you argue three cases in writing, because the reasoning is the skill and the answer changes with the requirement.
The Linux is the transferable part
You will spend real time at a command line — files, permissions, packages, services, SSH keys.
That knowledge outlasts the board entirely. A great deal of professional computing happens at a prompt, and students regularly report the Linux comfort being more useful afterwards than the hardware itself.
Questions
Raspberry Pi — frequently asked questions
Raspberry Pi or Arduino?
A Pi is a full Linux computer — use it when you need a filesystem, a camera, networking, or real processing. An Arduino or ESP32 is a microcontroller — use it when you need low power, instant boot, precise timing and battery life. The last project is exactly this decision, because choosing wrong is the most common design mistake.
Do I need to know Linux?
No, the first module builds it from imaging a card upward. Comfort with a command line is the main thing you leave with, and it is transferable well beyond this course — a great deal of professional computing happens at a prompt.
Why does the Pi have no analogue input?
Because it is a computer rather than a microcontroller, and the design assumed sensors would arrive over I2C or SPI. The GPIO module covers using an external ADC chip, which is the normal answer, and it is a good illustration of why the two device families are not interchangeable.
What does running unattended actually involve?
Starting automatically at boot, restarting after a crash, and not corrupting the SD card when the power is cut — which in India is not a hypothetical. That last module is why the sensor logger has to run for twenty-four hours, because a device that works while you watch it is not a device that works.
Enquire about Raspberry Pi
Three details is all we need. A course advisor will call you back.
Related courses
- Arduino
The fastest way to make electronics actually do something — sensors, motors, displays and code — taught by building prototypes you design rather than diagrams you copy.
- IoT (Internet of Things)
Connected hardware from sensor to dashboard — microcontrollers, wireless protocols, cloud ingestion and the power and reliability problems that decide whether a device survives deployment.
- Python Programming
Python taught as a working tool rather than a syntax tour — you finish able to read unfamiliar code, automate real tasks, call APIs and write tests that catch your own mistakes.
- Embedded Systems
Firmware written close to the metal — registers, interrupts, timers and buses — debugged on real hardware, because embedded bugs live where a simulator cannot show them.
Next step
Talk to a course advisor
Tell us what you want to learn and we will help you pick the right course, batch and mode.