THURSDAY 1:00 PM – 5:00 PM

FRIDAY 7:00 AM – 10:00 AM

1. What is Arduino?

Arduino is an open-source electronics platform based on easy-to-use hardware

and software. Its software is easy-to-use for beginners, yet flexible enough for advanced
users. 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. The Arduino project started in 2005 as a
program for students at the Interaction Design Institute Ivrea in Ivrea, Italy, aiming to
provide a low-cost and easy way for novices and professionals to create devices that
interact with their environment using sensors and actuators. In a nutshell, an Arduino is
an open hardware development board that can be used by tinkerers, hobbyists, and
makers to design and build devices that interact with the real world.

2. Advantages and Disadvantages of Arduino

Perhaps the biggest advantage of Arduino is its ready-to-use structure. You

don't have to think about programmer connections for programming or any other
interface. Just plug it into USB port of your computer and that's it. Another one is its
integrated libraries — the software has hundreds of integrated libraries. These libraries
were made and openly shared by the Arduino community. If you want to seek help,
there are a lot of forums present on the internet in which people are talking about the
Arduino. Engineers, hobbyists and professionals are making their projects through
Arduino. You can easily find help about everything. Moreover, the Arduino website itself
explains each and every functions of Arduino.

Of course Arduino’s accessibility is good, but there are quite a few disadvantages
or consequences upon using Arduino. The first advantage of Arduino is its cost — for
example, there are some components that require more than 1 Arduino which will cost
you a lot. On the other hand, if you use a simple microcontroller then it will cost you little.
Another disadvantage of Arduino is its ease of use. Though this is both good and bad, I
will bring out the point that states its disadvantage when it comes to programming. As
Ismail Sarwar, a user of Arduino, stated on his online article titled Advantages and
Disadvantages of Using Arduino, “In my opinion, if you started your journey of micro-
controllers with Arduino then it will be very difficult for you to make the complex
intelligent circuitries in future. The easy to use hardware/software of Arduino unable a
person to learn the basics of many things likes Serial communication, ADC, I2C and
many more”.

3. What is the Importance of Arduino?

Arduino is intended for an artist, tinker, designer or anyone, who are interested in
playing with electronics without the knowhow of complex electronics and programming
skills. It is easy for rookies to learn and understand because of its environment
especially the fact that Arduino makes syntax easier for beginners. This helps the users
get a better grasp on the basics of programming, which in my case, in the field of
robotics.

4. Different Kinds of Arduino and its Functions

There are different Arduino boards which are following: Arduino Uno (R3),
LilyPad Arduino, Red Board, Arduino Mega (R3), and Arduino Leonardo. The Arduino
UNO R3 is a new board and by comparing with the previous Arduino boards it has
some additional features.

The Arduino UNO uses the Atmega16U2 instead of 8U2 and it allows faster
transfer rate & more memory. There is no need of extra devices for the Linux & Mac and
the ability to have the UNO show up as a keyboard, mouse, joystick, and more.

The LilyPad Arduino is designed for e-textiles and wearable projects. It can be
sewn to fabric and similarly mounted power supplies, sensors and actuators with
conductive thread. This is creatively designed to have large connecting pads to allow
them to be sewn into clothing.

The RedBoard Arduino board can be programmed using a Mini-B USB cable
using the Arduino IDE. It will work on Windows 8 without having to modify your security
settings. It is more constant due to the USB or FTDI chip we used and also it is entirely
flat on the back. Creating it is very simple to utilize in the project design. Just plug the
board, select the menu option to choose an Arduino UNO and you are ready to upload
the program. You can control the RedBoard over USB cable using the barrel jack.

The Arduino Mega is similar to the UNO’s big brother. It includes lots of digital
I/O pins (from that, 14-pins can be used as PWM o/ps), 6-analog inputs, a reset button,
a power jack, a USB connection and a reset button. It includes everything required to
hold up the microcontroller; simply attach it to a PC with the help of a USB cable and
give the supply to get started with an AC-to-DC adapter or battery. The huge number of
pins makes this Arduino board very helpful for designing the projects that need a bunch
of digital i/ps or o/ps like lots buttons. Without any modifications in the security system
there, it will work in Windows8 OS. The Arduino red board is more constant because
USB and FTDI chips are used and they are flat on the back.

The first development board of an Arduino is the Leonardo Arduino board. This
board uses one microcontroller along with the USB. That means, it can be very simple
and cheap also. Because this board handles USB directly, program libraries are
obtainable which let the Arduino board to follow a keyboard of the computer, mouse, etc.
It contains everything needed to support the microcontroller; simply connect it to a
computer with a USB cable or power it with an AC-to-DC adapter or battery to get
started. The Leonardo differs from all preceding boards in that the ATmega32u4 has
built-in USB communication, eliminating the need for a secondary processor.

5. Importance of Arduino in Modern Technology

The Shift of Modern Technology has always been changing and evolving. Its
machineries make people’s lives easier and convenient. In today’s fast paced society
modern technology plays the most important role in society. Technology surrounds
almost everywhere and everyone in modern society. It is only a matter of time that the
highest demanding jobs include Computer Programming and Robotics in most parts of
the world. The play is set in a society that advance robotics is common day and robots
are, of course, considered subservient. Before these could all happen, we must acquire
knowledge at the very least about the basics when it comes to programming especially
in robotics. With the help of Arduino, it can teach the people the basics of programming
and/or give us access to a wide variety of resources for us to learn and experiment on
programming. Because of the easy environment of Arduino, it may appear inviting to a
lot of us which may be a potential factor for us to further embrace programming little by
little by learning through softwares like Arduino.