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Arduino MAKE07

The Arduino is an open-source hardware microcontroller platform that is easy to use and program. It allows users to build interactive objects and prototypes that can sense and control the physical world. The Arduino platform has grown rapidly in popularity worldwide since its creation in 2005, with a large and growing community of developers supporting it across many countries. The Arduino's simple design and low cost have made electronics accessible to more people and demonstrated that open collaboration can support hardware development.

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MC. Rene Solis R.
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464 views

Arduino MAKE07

The Arduino is an open-source hardware microcontroller platform that is easy to use and program. It allows users to build interactive objects and prototypes that can sense and control the physical world. The Arduino platform has grown rapidly in popularity worldwide since its creation in 2005, with a large and growing community of developers supporting it across many countries. The Arduino's simple design and low cost have made electronics accessible to more people and demonstrated that open collaboration can support hardware development.

Uploaded by

MC. Rene Solis R.
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Maker

Arduino Fever
The tale of a cute, blue microcontroller that fits nicely in the
palm of your hand, and the expanding community of devel-
opers who love and support it. By Daniel Jolliffe

A
RDUINO IS SPREADING RAPIDLY build a basic level of intelligence into an object. Once
across the globe. But before you reach for the programmed, it can read sensors, make simple deci-
Merck Manual to find the symptoms you’re sions, and control myriad devices in the real world.
sure to have, check this out. Arduino is actually an Using it is a snap: first, hook up a few sensors
open source hardware project that can be pro- and output devices to the Arduino, then program
grammed to read temperatures, control a motor, it using the free developer’s software. Next, debug
and sense touch, and gets its name from an ancient your code and disconnect the Arduino. Presto — the
Italian king. And it’s fun! little blue Arduino becomes a standalone computer.
Named after the 11th-century king of Ivrea in The original intention of the Arduino project was
northern Italy, the Arduino is both a cute, blue micro- to see what would happen if community support
controller platform that fits nicely in the palm of your were substituted for the corporate support that is
hand and an expanding community of developers usually required for electronics development. The
who support it, distributed across two dozen coun- first developers — Massimo Banzi, David Cuartielles,
tries, four continents, and counting. David Mellis, and Nicholas Zambetti — ran a series
Decidedly 21st-century in its design and construc- of workshops on assembling the Arduino, giving away
tion, the Arduino board is for anyone who wants to the board to stimulate development.

52 Make: Volume 07
A scant year later, the project has spread far and
Photography by David Cuartielles (workshop), Wen Rang (robot), and Nicholas Zambetti (chip)

wide the message that electronic design doesn’t


have to be a solitary, complex, and painful process,
and that it needn’t cost much if you have a little
help along the way. Says Ren Wang, a student at
China’s Xiamen University who used the Arduino to
power Eye, a walking robot: “Arduino is open and
friendly. To make a cool robot was always my dream,
and the Arduino made it come true.”
Today there’s a thriving website with sample code,
tutorials, and a forum that serves as the meeting
point for Arduino developers. While the original devel- Arduino assembly workshop (previous page) at Malmo
opers still give workshops, the project is increasingly University in Sweden.
a standalone endeavor, with newcomers taking up “Eye” (this page top) is a robot based on Arduino,
designed and built by Ren Wang, a student at
the idea that electronics can be a community effort.
Xiamen University in China.
Back in Ivrea, a friendly Italian manufacturer, who
Arduino (bottom) in the palm of a hand.
was courageous enough to support the project from
its inception, still provides low-cost Arduinos, in
both assembled and kit form. In Europe, the price is in Madrid, Spain. Can you imagine one million kids a
€20; Sparkfun (sparkfun.com) is the United States year making experiments in electronics based on
distributor and sells the USB version assembled for this open hardware platform? It would be massive!”
$30. And since the project is open source, all the To get in on the massiveness, and to become a
plans, code, and instructions are available online contributor yourself, check out arduino.cc.
free for those who prefer to roll their own.
Asked what’s next, Cuartielles says: “Arduino for
Daniel Jolliffe is the designer of One Free Minute, an anony-
kids! We have been asked to evaluate the use of mous public speech project. He wrote "Throw Your Voice!"
Arduino for technology classes in secondary schools in MAKE, Volume 04.

Make: 53

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