INTRODUCTION TO THE ARDUINO

MICROCONTROLLER
Hands-on Research in Complex Systems
Shanghai Jiao Tong University
June 17 29, 2012
Instructor: Thomas E. Murphy (University of Maryland)
Assisted by: Hien Dao (UMD), Caitlin Williams (UMD) and
(SJTU)

What is a Microcontroller
(C, MCU)

Computer on a single integrated chip

Processor (CPU)
Memory (RAM / ROM / Flash)
I/O ports (USB, I2C, SPI, ADC)

Common microcontroller families:

Intel: 4004, 8008, etc.

Atmel: AT and AVR
Microchip: PIC
ARM: (multiple manufacturers)

Used in:

Cellphones,
Toys
Household appliances
Cars
Cameras

The ATmega328P Microcontroller

(used by the Arduino)

AVR 8-bit RISC architecture

Available in DIP package
Up to 20 MHz clock
32kB flash memory
1 kB SRAM
23 programmable I/O
channels
Six 10-bit ADC inputs
Three timers/counters
Six PWM outputs

What is Arduino Not?

It is not a chip (IC)

It is not a board (PCB)
It is not a company or a manufacturer
It is not a programming language
It is not a computer architecture
(although it involves all of these things...)

So what is Arduino?
Its a movement, not a microcontroller:
Founded by Massimo Banzi and David
Cuartielles in 2005
Based on Wiring Platform, which dates to
2003
Open-source hardware platform
Open source development environment
Easy-to learn language and libraries (based
on Wiring language)
Integrated development environment (based
on Processing programming environment)
Available for Windows / Mac / Linux

The Many Flavors of Arduino

Arduino Uno
Arduino Leonardo
Arduino LilyPad
Arduino Mega
Arduino Nano
Arduino Mini
Arduino Mini Pro
Arduino BT

Arduino-like Systems
Cortino (ARM)
Xduino (ARM)
LeafLabs Maple
(ARM)
BeagleBoard (Linux)
Wiring Board
(Arduino
predecessor)

Arduino Add-ons (Shields)

TFT Touch Screen

Data logger
Motor/Servo shield
Ethernet shield
Audio wave shield
Cellular/GSM shield
WiFi shield
Proto-shield
...many more

Where to Get an Arduino Board

Purchase from online vendor (available
worldwide)
Sparkfun
Adafruit
DFRobot

... or build your own

PC board
Solderless breadboard http://itp.nyu.edu/physcomp/Tutorials/ArduinoBreadboard

Getting to know the Arduino:

Electrical Inputs and Outputs

Input voltage: 7-12 V

LED
(USB, DC plug, or Vin)
Max output current per pin: 40 mA

14 digital inputs/outputs
(6 PWM outputs)

Power
indicator
Reset
Button

USB connection
16 MHz clock
Voltage regulator

AC/DC adapter
jack

ATmega328P

DC voltage
supply
(IN/OUT)

6 analog
inputs

Download and Install

Download Arduino compiler and development environment from:

http://arduino.cc/en/Main/Software
Current version: 1.0.1
Available for:
Windows
MacOX
Linux

No installer needed... just unzip to a convenient location

Before running Arduino, plug in your board using USB cable
(external power is not necessary)
When USB device is not recognized, navigate to and select the
appopriate driver from the installation directory
Run Arduino

Select your Board

Select Serial Port

Elements of the Arduino IDE

Text editor
syntax and keyword
coloring
automatic
indentation
programming
shortcuts

Compiler
Hardware Interface
Uploading programs
Communicating with
Arduino via USB

Using the Arduino IDE

Name of sketch
Compile sketch
Upload to board

Serial Monitor

Program area

Save
New

Messages /
Errors

Open

Arduino Reference

Arduino Reference is installed locally

or available online at http://arduino.cc/

Arduino Sketch Structure

voidsetup()
Will be executed
only when the
program begins
(or reset button
is pressed)

voidloop()
Will be executed
repeatedly

voidsetup(){
//putyoursetupcodehere,torunonce:
}
voidloop(){
//putyourmaincodehere,torunrepeatedly:
}

Text that follows // is a comment

(ignored by compiler)
Useful IDE Shortcut: Press Ctrl/
to comment (or uncomment) a
selected portion of your program.

Activity 1: LED Blink

Load the Blink example
(FileExamplesBasicsBlink)
Use pin 13 as digital output

Set output high (+5V)

Wait 1000 milliseconds

Set output low (0V)

voidsetup(){
//initializethedigitalpinasanoutput.
//Pin13hasanLEDconnectedonmostArduino boards:
pinMode(13,OUTPUT);
}
voidloop(){
digitalWrite(13,HIGH);//settheLEDon
delay(1000);//waitforasecond
digitalWrite(13,LOW);//settheLEDoff
delay(1000);//waitforasecond
}

Compile, then upload the program

Congratulations! you are now blinkers!

Now connect your own LED

Anatomy of an LED:

http://www.wikipedia.org/

Notes:
Resistor is needed to limit current
Resistor and LED may be
interchanged
(but polarity of LED is important)
Pin 13 is special: has built-in
resistor and LED
Change program and upload

Aside: Using a Solderless

Breadboard

Connected together

300 mils
Connected together

Example: Using a Solderless

Breadboard

Experimenting
Change the blink rate
how fast can the LED blink (before you can
no longer perceive the blinking?)

How would you make the LED dimmer?

(...without changing the resistor?)

Digital Input: Reading Switches

and Buttons
Writing HIGH to an input pin:
enables an internal pull-up resistor
voidsetup(){
pinMode(11,OUTPUT);//Usepin11fordigitalout
pinMode(12,INPUT);//Usepin12fordigitalinput
digitalWrite(12,HIGH);//Enablepullupresistor
}
voidloop(){
boolean state;
state=digitalRead(12);//readstateofpin12
digitalWrite(11,state);//setstateofpin11(LED)
delay(100);//waitfora1/10second
}

Turn on/off LED based on switch

Pin 12 reads LOW when switch is closed
Pin 12 reads HIGH when switch is open (pull-up)
Without the internal pull-up resistor,
unconnected digital inputs could
read either high or low

Activity 2: Seven-Segment
Display
Write a that program that counts from 0 to
9 and displays the result on a sevensegment LED display
Consider writing a function:
voidwriteDigit(int n)
that writes a single digit

Seven-Segment Display Table

Digit
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9

ABCDEFG
07E
030
06D
079
033
05B
05F
070
07F
07B

A
on
off
on
on
off
on
on
on
on
on

B
on
on
on
on
on
off
off
on
on
on

C
on
on
off
on
on
on
on
on
on
on

D
on
off
on
on
off
on
on
off
on
on

E
on
off
on
off
off
off
on
off
on
off

F
on
off
off
off
on
on
on
off
on
on

G
off
off
on
on
on
on
on
off
on
on

Useful:
bitRead(x,n)
Get the value of the nth bit of an integer x
Example:
bitRead(0x7E,7);

//returns1 (seetableabove)

Serial Communication - Writing

IMPORTANT:
USB serial
communication is
shared with
Arduino pins 0
and 1 (RX/TX)

Serial.begin(baud)
Initialize serial port for communication (and sets baud
rate)
Note: Serial.end() command
is usually unnecessary, unless
Example:

Format can be:

BIN, HEX, OCT,
or an integer
specifying the
number of digits
to display

Serial.print(val),Serial.print(val,fmt)
Prints data to the serial port
Examples:

Serial.begin(9600); //9600baud

you need to use pins 0 & 1

Serial.print(Hi);
//printastring
Serial.print(78);//workswithnumbers,too
Serial.print(variable); //workswithvariables
Serial.print(78,BIN);
//willprint1001110

Serial.println(val)
Same as Serial.print(), but with line-feed

Activity 3: Hello World!

Write an Arduino
program that prints the
message Hello world
to the serial port
...whenever you press
a switch/button
Use the Serial Monitor
to see the output
(Ctrl-Shift-M)
Try increasing baud
rate

Serial Monitor:

Make sure this agrees with your

program, i.e., Serial.begin(9600);

Serial Communication - Reading

Serial.available()
Returns the number of bytes available to be read, if any
Example:
if(Serial.available()>0) {
data=Serial.read();
}

To read data from serial port:

letter=Serial.read()
letters=Serial.readBytesUntil(character,buffer,length)
number=Serial.parseInt()
number=Serial.parseFloat()

Activity 4 User Controlled

Blinker
When available (Serial.available), read an integer
from the serial port (Serial.parseInt), and use the
result to change the blink rate of the LED (pin 13)
Useful:
constrain(x,a,b)
Constrains the variable x to be from a to b
Examples:
constrain(5,1,10);
constrain(50,1,10);
constrain(0,1,10);

//returns5
//returns10
//returns1

Analog Input and Sensors

Reference Voltage (optional)

Six analog inputs:

A0,A1,A2,A3,A4,A5
AREF = Reference voltage
(default = +5 V)
10 bit resolution:
returns an integer from 0 to
1023
result is proportional to the
pin voltage

All voltages are measured

relative to GND
Analog Inputs

Note: If you need additional

digital I/O, the analog pins can be
re-assigned for digital use:
pinMode(A0,OUTPUT);

Reading Analog Values

value=analogRead(pin)
Readstheanalogmeasurementonpin
Returnsintegerbetween0and1023
analogReference(type)
type can be:
DEFAULT - the default analog reference of 5 volts (on
5V Arduino boards)
INTERNAL Built-in reference voltage (1.1 V)
EXTERNAL AREF input pin
Note: Do NOT use pinMode(A0,INPUT)unless you want to
use A0 for DIGITAL input.

Aside: Potentiometers
(variable resistors, rheostats)

Activity 5 Volume Knob

Connect the potentiometer from 5V to GND
Use analogRead(A0) to measure the voltage on the center pin
Set the LED blink rate depending on the reading

Activity 6 Arduino
Thermometer

Build a circuit and write a sketch to

read and report the temperature at
1 second intervals

Data Logging Ideas

millis()
Returns the number of milliseconds elapsed since
program started (or reset)
Note: this uses the Time library:

Time functions
#include<Time.h>
setTime(hr,min,sec,day,month,yr)
hour(),minute(),day(),month(),year()

Real-time Clock (RTC):

Use an external, battery-powered chip (e.g., DS1307) to
provide clock

Activity 7 Arduino Nightlight

CdS Photoresistor:
resistance depends on ambient
light level

Build a circuit and write a sketch that turns

on an LED whenever it gets dark
Hint: connect the photoresistor in a voltage
divider

Analog Output?
Most microcontrollers have
only digital outputs
Pulse-width Modulation:
Analog variables can be
represented by the dutycycle (or pulse-width) of a
digital signal

http://arduino.cc/en/Tutorial/PWM

PulseWidth Modulation (PWM)

PWM available on pins 3, 5, 6, 9, 10, 11

analogWrite(pin,val)
set the PWM fraction:
val =0: always off
val =255: always on

Remember to designate pin

for digital output:
pinMode(pin,OUTPUT);
(usually in setup)

Default PWM frequency:

16 MHz / 215 = 488.28125 Hz
Note: the PWM frequency and
resolution can be changed by
re-configuring the timers

Activity 8 PWM LED Dimmer

Use PWM to control the brightness of an LED
connect LED to pin 3, 5, 6, 9, 10 or 11
remember to use 220 current-limiting resistor
Set the brightness from the serial port, or
potentiometer
Watch the output on an oscilloscope
Useful:
newValue =map(oldValue,a,b,c,d)
Converts/maps a number in the range (a:b) to a new number in
the range (c:d)
Example:
newValue =map(oldValue,0,1023,0,255);

Activity 8 PWM LED Dimmer

(contd)
Change your program to sinusoidally
modulate the intensity of the LED, at a 1
Hz rate
Hint: use the millis(), sin() , and
analogWrite()functions

Servomotors

Standard servo:

http://www.parallax.com/

PWM duty cycle controls direction:

0% duty cycle 0 degrees
100% duty cycle 180 degrees

Continuous-rotation servo:
duty cycle sets speed and/or direction

Activity 9 Servomotor Control

Build a program that turns a servomotor
from 0 to 180 degrees, based on
potentiometer reading
Report setting to the serial monitor

Solid State Switching - MOSFETs

D

Logic-level MOSFET
(requires only 5 V)
Acts like a voltagecontrolled switch
Works with PWM!

Activity 10 PWM Speed Control

Build a circuit to control the speed of a
motor using a PWM-controlled MOSFET
Enter the speed (PWM setting) from the
serial port (Serial.parseInt)

Controlling Relays and

Solenoids

Electromechanically
-actuated switch
Provides electrical
isolation
Typically few ms
response time
Note: Arduino cannot supply
enough current to drive relay coil

Relay Driver Circuit

NPN transistor: acts like a current-controlled switch

MOSFET will also work
Diode prevents back-EMF (associated with inductive
loads)
Coil voltage supply and Arduino share common GND

Activity 11: Bidirectional Motor

Driver
Build a circuit (and write an Arduino
sketch) that will use a DPDT relay to
change the direction of a DC motor:
Note: this is called an H-bridge circuit.
It can also be made with transistors

Communication: I2C, SPI

I2C (Inter-Integrated Circuit)
Developed by Phillips
Speed = 100 kHz, 400 kHz, and 3.4 MHz (not
supported by Arduino)
Two bi-directional lines: SDA, SCL
Multiple slaves can share same bus

SPI (Serial Peripheral Interface Bus)

Speed = 1-100 MHz (clock/device limited)
Four-wire bus: SCLK, MOSI, MISO, SS
Multiple slaves can share same bus
(but each needs a dedicated SS, slave select)

Connecting Multiple Devices

(I2C and SPI)
Master with three SPI slaves:
Master (C) with three I2C slaves:

http://en.wikipedia.org/

SPI and I2C on the Arduino

SCK (13)

MISO (12)

MOSI (11)

SS (10)

SPI pins:
SCK = serial clock
MISO = master in, slave out
MOSI = master out slave in
SS = slave select
I2C pins:
SDA = data line
SCL = clock line
SDA (A4)

SCL (A5)

Basic Arduino I2C Commands

COMMAND

EXPLANATION

Wire.begin()

Join the I2C bus as master (usually

invoked in setup)

Wire.beginTransmission(address) Begin communicating to a slave

device
Wire.write(byte)

Write one byte to I2C bus (after

request)

Wire.endTransmission(address)

End transmission to slave device

Note: you must include the Wire library:

#include<Wire.h>

Note: pinMode() not needed

for I2C on pins A4 and A5

Example: MCP4725 12-bit DAC

MCP4725 write command (taken from data sheet)

7-bit I2C address

(1100000)

command power down mode

(010)
(00)

data bits (MSB LSB)

Note: binary numbers are preceded by B:

B1100000 = 96

Arduino program segment:

data>>4: shift bits left by four positions

Wire.beginTransmission(B1100000);//Byte1(Initiatecommunication)
Wire.write(B01000000);//Byte2(commandandpowerdownmode)
Wire.write(data>>4);//Byte3(sendbitsD11..D4)
Wire.write((data&B00001111)<<4);//Byte4(sendbitsD3..D0)
Wire.endTransmission();
Remember: you must include the Wire library at the top:
#include<Wire.h>
and you must also use Wire.begin() in setup

Additional I2C Commands

COMMAND

EXPLANATION

Wire.begin()

Join the I2C bus as master (usually invoked

in setup)

Wire.begin(address)

Join the I2C bus as slave, with address

specified (usually invoked in setup)

Wire.beginTransmission(address)

Begin communicating to a slave device

Wire.write(byte)

Write one byte to I2C bus (after request)

Wire.write(bytes,length)

Write length bytes to I2C bus

Wire.endTransmission(address)

End transmission to slave device

Wire.requestFrom(address,quantity)
Wire.requestFrom(address,quantity,stop)

Request bytes (quantity) from slave

Wire.available()

The number of bytes available for reading

Wire.read()

Reads a byte that was transmitted from a

slave. (Preceded by Wire.requestFrom)
Note: you must include the Wire library:
#include<Wire.h>

Note: pinMode() not needed

for I2C on pins A4 and A5

Activity 12: Sawtooth Wave

Program the MCP4725 DAC to produce a
sawtooth (ramp) wave:
What is the frequency of the sawtooth wave?
Can you make f = 100 Hz?
MCP4725
breakout
board:

http://www.sparkfun.com/

Note: the I2C bus requires pullup resistors on SCL and SDA
(provided on the board)

Basic Arduino SPI Commands

COMMAND

EXPLANATION

SPI.begin()

Initializes the SPI bus, setting SCK,

MOSI, and SS to outputs, pulling
SCK and MOSI low and SS high.

byteIn =SPI.transfer(byteOut)

Transfer one byte (both send and

receive) returns the received byte

Note: you must include the SPI library:

#include<SPI.h>
Note: pinMode() not needed. It is
automatically configured in SPI.begin()

Additional Arduino SPI

Commands
COMMAND

EXPLANATION

SPI.begin()

Initializes the SPI bus, setting SCK, MOSI, and SS to

outputs, pulling SCK and MOSI low and SS high.

SPI.end()

Disables the SPI bus (leaving pin modes unchanged) in

case you need to use pins 10-13 again

SPI.setBitOrder(order)

Set bit order for SPI

order = {LSBFIRST, MSBFIRST}

SPI.setClockDivider(divider)

Set the SPI clock divider

divider = {2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, 128}
SPI clock speed = 16 MHz/divider

SPI.setDataMode(mode)

Set the SPI data mode

mode = {SPI_MODE0, SPI_MODE1, SPI_MODE2, SPI_MODE3}

SPI.transfer(byte)

Transfer one byte (both send and receive)

returns the received byte

Note: you must include the SPI library:

#include<SPI.h>

Note: pinMode() not needed

Example: AD5206 Digital

Potentiometer
Functional block diagram:

Features:
six independent, 3wiper potentiometers
8-bit precision
(256 possible levels)
Available in 10k,
50k and 100k
Programmed
through SPI interface

AD5206 Write Sequence

Note: same as MOSI
(master out slave in)

Note: same as SS
(slave select)

Arduino program segment:

SPI.begin();
//initializeSPI(insetup)
...
digitalWrite(SS,LOW);//holdSSpinlowtoselectchip
SPI.transfer(potnumber); //determinewhichpot(0..5)
SPI.transfer(wipervalue);//transfer8bitwipersetting
digitalWrite(SS,HIGH);
//deselectthechip

Activity 13: Programmable

Voltage Divider
Use the AD5206 to build a programmable
voltage divider
Allow the user to set the resistance from
the serial port
Measure resistance with an Ohm meter,
or using analogRead()

AD5206: Summary of Pins and

Commands
SCK (13)

MISO (12)

MOSI (11)

SS (10)

Remember: SPI.begin() needed in setup()and #include<SPI.h>

digitalWrite(SS,LOW);//holdSSpinlowtoselectchip
SPI.transfer(potnumber); //determinewhichpot(0..5)
SPI.transfer(wipervalue);//transfer8bitwipersetting
digitalWrite(SS,HIGH);
//deselectthechip