Introduction To
Presented by
John Hopkins
K8YYZ
What is Arduino?
“Arduino is an open-source computer hardware
and software company, project and user
community that designs and
manufactures microcontroller-based kits for
building digital devices and interactive objects
that can sense and control the physical world.”Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arduino
What Can Arduino Do?“Arduino is an open-source prototyping platform based on easy-
to-use hardware and software. Arduino boards are able to read
inputs - light on a sensor, a finger on a button, or a Twitter
message - and turn it into an output - activating a motor, turning
on an LED, publishing something online. You can tell your board
what to do by sending a set of instructions to the microcontroller
on the board.”Source: https://www.arduino.cc/en/Guide/Introduction
Microcontroller“A microcontroller is a small computer on a
single integrated circuit containing a processor
core, memory, and programmable input/output
peripherals. Microcontrollers are designed for
embedded applications, in contrast to
the microprocessors used in personal
computers or other general purpose
applications.”Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microcontroller
Why Use A Microcontroller?• Inexpensive
• Small
• Low power
• Many applications
– Consumer electronics
– Vehicles
– Appliances
– Home automation
– Microcontrollers are EVERYWHERE
• Internet of Things (IOT)
Atmel ATmega328P
• 8-bit/16MHz processor– equivalent to Intel 80286
• 32K Flash Memory/2K SRAM
• 5V operating voltage (7V-12V input)
• -40°F to +185°F temperature range
• 23 I/O lines
• Serial interfaces– USART
– SPI
– I2C
Arduino Ecosystem
• Arduino boards – UNO, Pro, Zero, Mega, Due, Mini, Micro, Nano, Yun, Gemma,
Lilypad
• Shields, sensors and peripherals (3rd party)
• Integrated Development Environment (IDE)– Windows, Mac, Linux
• Community– arduino.cc
– YouTube
– Bloggers
– Maker movement (Make: Magazine, Maker Faire, hacker spaces)
– Commercial ventures (adafruit, Maker Shed, Sparkfun, etc.)
Arduino Facts• Open source under Creative Commons license
– Design documents are openly available
– Software is also open source
• Introduced in 2005– Student project at Interaction Design Institute Ivrea in Ivrea,
Italy
– Team formed to provide a low cost alternative to the “BASIC Stamp” microcontroller board made by Parallax (~$100)
– Named after a bar where the team collaborated• Bar named after Arduin of Ivrea, king of Italy 1002-1014
• An estimated 300,000 Arduino boards produced by mid-2011. By 2013, roughly 700,000 boards were in use.Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arduino
Arduino is a BRAND
• Like Kleenex, Band Aid, Xerox, Velcro
• All Arduinos are microcontroller platforms
• Not all microcontroller platforms are Arduinos
• Also Arduino is not the same as Raspberry Pi
Arduino Uno
Shields
• Stackable boards that extend the capabilities
of Arduino
Prototyping Shield
Wifi Shield
GPS Shield LCD Shield
Motor Controller Shields (stacked) Datalogger Shield
IDE
IDE
Anatomy of a Sketch
Servo Control
Servo Control Via Potentiometer
Language
Resources
• Arduino - www.arduino.cc
• Adafruit - www.adafruit.com
• Maker Shed – www.makershed.com
• Sparkfun - www.sparkfun.com
• Digi-Key - www.digikey.com
• All Electronics – www.allelectronics.com
• Jeremy Blum - youtube.com/user/sciguy14
• Make: - youtube.com/user/makemagazine