In 2005, Massimo Banzi, David Cuartielles, Tom Igoe, Gianluca Martino, and David Mellis came up with an idea for an easy-to-use programmable device for interactive art design projects at the Interaction Design Institute Ivrea in Ivrea, Italy. The device needed to be simple, easy to connect to various things (such as relays, motors, and sensors), and easy to program. It also needed to be inexpensive to make it cost-effective for students and artists. They selected an AVR family of 8-bit microcontroller (MCU or µC) devices from Atmel and designed a self-contained circuit board with easy-to-use connections, wrote bootloader firmware for the microcontroller, and integrated it all into a simple development environment that used programs called “sketches.” The result was Arduino. Arduino is an open-source microcontroller that enables programming and interaction; it is programmed in C/C++ with an Arduino library to allow it to access the hardware. This allows for more flexible programmability and the ability to use electronics that can interface with Arduino. Because Arduino is open source, the plans for the circuits are available online for free to anyone who wants to use and create their own board based on the schematics, as long as they share what they create. This allows for considerable customizability in projects; till date, users have built Arduinos of different sizes, shapes, and power levels to control their projects. Arduino is composed of two major parts: 1. The Arduino board, which is a piece of hardware you work on when you build your objects. 2. The Arduino IDE, which is a piece of software you run on your computer. You use the IDE to create a sketch (a small computer program) that you upload to the Arduino board. Arduino is different from other platforms in the market because of the following features:
T. Pan and Y. Zhu, Designing Embedded Systems with Arduino, DOI 10.1007/978-981-10-4418-2_1 4 1 Getting Started with Arduino
1. It is a multiplatform environment; it can run on Windows, Macintosh, and
Linux. 2. It is based on a processing programming IDE, which is an easy-to-use devel- opment environment used by artists and designers. 3. You program it via a USB cable, not a serial port. This feature is useful, because many modern computers do not have serial ports. 4. It is open-source hardware and software—if you wish, you can download the circuit diagram, buy all the components, and make your own Arduino board, without paying anything to the makers of Arduino. 5. The hardware is cheap. 6. There is an active community of users, so there are many people who can assist you. 7. The Arduino project was developed in an educational environment, and is therefore, great for newcomers to get things working quickly. Owing to these special features, there are many potential applications: 1. Real-world monitoring • Automated weather station • Lightning detection • Sun tracking for solar panels • Background radiation monitor • Automatic wildlife detector • Home or business security system 2. Small-scale control • Small robots • Model rockets • Model aircrafts • Quadrotor UAVs • Simple CNCs for small machine tools 3. Small-scale Automation • Automated greenhouse • Automated aquarium • Laboratory sample shuttle • Precision thermal chamber • Automated electronic test system 4. Performance Art • Dynamic lighting control • Dynamic sound control • Kinematic structures • Audience responsive artwork 1.2 Arduino Variants 5
1.2 Arduino Variants
Arduino is rapidly becoming one of the most popular microcontrollers used in
robotics. There are many different types of Arduino microcontrollers that differ not only in design and features, but also in size and processing capabilities. However, there are only two models that use completely different chips: the Standard and the Mega. The Standard is the basic Arduino that uses the Atmega8/168/328 chip, whereas the Mega is a different Arduino board with more I/O pins and uses the beefier Atmega1280 chip. The makers of Arduino also developed software that is compatible with all Arduino microcontrollers. The software, also called “Arduino,” can be used to program any of the Arduino microcontrollers by selecting them from a drop-down menu. Being open source, and based on C, Arduino users are not necessarily restricted to this software, and can use a variety of other software to program their microcontrollers. There are many additional manufacturers who use open-source schematics provided by Arduino to make their own boards (either identical to the original, or with variations to add to the functionality), e.g., DFRobot. In this chapter, the Arduino Uno R3 and DFRobot Romeo BLE boards are introduced. 1. Arduino Uno R3 The Arduino Uno is a microcontroller board based on the ATmega328. It has 14 digital input/output pins (of which 6 can be used as PWM outputs), 6 analog inputs, a 16 MHz ceramic resonator, a USB connection, a power jack, an ICSP header, and a reset button. 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. Central to the Arduino interface board, shown in Fig. 1.1, is an onboard microcontroller. Specifications of the Arduino UNO R3 are as follows: • Microcontroller: ATmega328 • Operating Voltage: 5 V • Input Voltage (recommended): 7–12 V • Input Voltage (limits): 6–20 V • Digital I/O Pins: 14 (of which 6 provide PWM outputs) • Analog Input Pins: 6 • DC Current per I/O Pin: 40 mA • DC Current for 3.3 V Pin: 50 mA • Flash Memory: 32 KB of which 0.5 KB is used by the bootloader • SRAM: 2 KB (ATmega328) • EEPROM: 1 KB (ATmega328) • Clock Speed: 16 MHz (Fig. 1.2) 6 1 Getting Started with Arduino
Digital Digital I/O In
Ground Analog Reference
Interrupt 1 Interrupt 0 (SPI)MISO (SPI)MOSI (I2C)SCL (I2C)SDA In-circuit Serial
(SPI)SCK
(SPI)SS Programmer for USB Serial Out (TX) interface Serial In (RX)
Reset Button
In-circuit Serial USB to Programmer for Computer Atmega328 MISO VCC SCK MOSI /RESET GND
7-12V DC Input
(I2C)SDA (I2C)SCL Reset Ground 3.3V Power 5V Power Voltage In Analog In
Fig. 1.1 Arduino UNO interface board
The Arduino Uno pinout is printed in the silkscreen in the top section. While this pinout is a good start, it is not a comprehensive guide. At first, you mainly use the pins in the female headers at the edge of the board (top and bottom in the photo), as well as the USB, and maybe the power Tx and Rx are serial UART pins used for RS-232 and USB communications I2C is another serial communications method that uses a bidirectional data line (SDA) and a clock line (SCL) SPI is another serial communications method that uses one line for the master to transmit (MOSI—Master Out Slave In), another for the master to receive (MISO), and a third as a clock (SCK) A/D, the Analog to Digital input, converts an analog voltage into a digital representation PWM (Pulse Width Modulator) is used to create a square wave with a specific duty cycle (high time vs low time) ICSP is the In Circuit Serial Programming—another way to program the processor Vcc is the voltage supplied to the processor (+5VDC regulated from a higher input voltage) 3.3VDC is a regulated voltage (from the higher input voltage) for peripherals requiring that voltage—50 mA maximum 1.2 Arduino Variants 7
Fig. 1.2 Arduino Uno R3 pinout diagram
IOREF provides a voltage reference so shields can select the proper power source AREF is a reference INPUT voltage used by the A/Ds GND is the ground reference RESET resets the processor (and some peripherals) 2. DFRobot RoMeo BLE The DFRobot Romeo BLE All-in-one Microcontroller (ATMega 328) is an all-in-one Arduino-compatible microcontroller specifically designed for robotic applications. It benefits from the Arduino open-source platform; it is supported by thousands of open-source codes, and can easily be expanded with your Arduino-compatible shields. This robot controller uses an Atmel ATmega328p as the main microcontroller. It comes preprogrammed with an Arduino bootloader for compatibility with the user-friendly Arduino Uno platform. A secondary Texas Instruments CC2540 microcontroller handles the BLE Bluetooth Low Energy communication services. It comes preprogrammed with a firmware that supports transparent serial over Bluetooth and an AT command interpreter. Both microcontrollers are full programmable. The Romeo robot controller contains a built in L298 dual channel motor driver chip. This motor driver can be used to drive two 5–23 V DC motors at up to 2 amps. Screw terminals are provided for connecting two motors and an external motor power supply. 8 1 Getting Started with Arduino
The Romeo BLE microcontroller board also has a large number of pin headers to simplify connections to your robot project. A full set of 3-pin analog and digital GPIO headers provide access to signal, voltage, and ground lines at each connec- tion to simplify wiring arrangements. The digital GPIO headers can also be used to drive servos and a screw terminal can provide an external servo power supply. A full set of Arduino Uno compatible headers allow you to choose from a large number of Arduino-compatible shields for expansion. A triplet of I2C connectors is also provided. Additional features include five optional user push buttons, a reset button, and a number of LED status indicators to assist with diagnostics. The optional user buttons are conveniently wired to a single analog input. They can be enabled or disabled via a slider switch (Fig. 1.3).
Fig. 1.3 Romeo BLE interface board
1.2 Arduino Variants 9
Specifications of the RoMeo BLE are as follows:
• Microcontroller: ATmega328P • Bootloader: Arduino UNO • Onboard BLE chip: TI CC2540 • 14 Digital I/O ports • 6 PWM Outputs (Pin11, Pin10, Pin9, Pin6, Pin5, Pin3) • 8 10-bit analog input ports • 3 I2Cs • Two way H-bridged motor driver with 2A maximum current • 5 Buttons • Power Supply Port: USB or DC2.1 • External Power Supply Range: 5–23 V • DC output: 5 V/3.3 V • Auto sensing/switching external power input • Size: 94 mm 80 mm
1.3 Install the Drivers
Before beginning your work, you must first download the development environ- ment (the IDE) from here: www.arduino.cc/en/Main/Software. 1. Choose the right version for your operating system. 2. Download the file and double-click on it to open it; on Windows or Linux, this creates a folder named Arduino-[version], such as arduino-1.0. 3. Drag the folder to wherever you want it: your desktop, your Program Files folder (on Windows), etc. On the Mac, double-clicking it will open a disk image with an Arduino application (drag it to your Applications folder). 4. Whenever you want to run the Arduino IDE, you will need to open up the Arduino (Windows and Linux) or Applications folder (Mac), and double-click the Arduino icon. Do not do this yet, though; there is one more step. 5. You must install the drivers that allow your computer to communicate with your board through the USB port (Fig. 1.4). 10 1 Getting Started with Arduino
Fig. 1.4 The dialog box of “Found New Hardware Wizard”
Plug the Arduino board into the computer; when the Found New Hardware Wizard window comes up. The Found New Hardware Wizard will open up as Windows will have detected that you have connected a new piece of hardware (your DFRobot Remeo board) to your PC. Tell it NOT to connect to Windows update (Select No, not at this time) and then click Next. On the next page, select “Install from a list or specific location (Advanced)” and click Next (Fig. 1.5). Make sure that “Search for the best driver in these locations” is checked. Uncheck “Search removable media.” Check “Include this location in the search” and then click the Browse button. Browse to the location of the USB drivers and then click Next (Fig. 1.6). 1.3 Install the Drivers 11
Fig. 1.5 Select “Install from a list or specific location (Advanced)”
Fig. 1.6 Select “Search for the best driver in these locations” 12 1 Getting Started with Arduino
Fig. 1.7 Completing the found new hardware wizard
The wizard will now search for a suitable driver and then inform you that a “USB Serial Convertor” has been found and that the hardware wizard is now complete. Click “Finish.” Now, you are ready to upload your first Sketch (Fig. 1.7).
1.4 Arduino IDE
The IDE is split up into the Toolbar across the top, the code, or Sketch Window in the center and the Serial Output window at the bottom (Fig. 1.8). The Toolbar consists of 5 buttons, underneath the Toolbar is a tab, or a set of tabs, with the filename of the code within the tab. There is also one more button on the far right hand side. Along the top is the file menu with drop-down menus with the headers File, Edit, Sketch, Tools, and Help. The buttons in the Toolbar provide convenient access to the most commonly used functions within this file menu. The Toolbar buttons are listed above. The functions of each button are as follows (Table 1.1): 1.4 Arduino IDE 13
Upload Open
Verify New Save Serial Monitor
Code goes here
Board Serial Port
Fig. 1.8 Arduino IDE
Table 1.1 Toolbar buttons list
Verify/compile Checks the code for errors
New Creates a new blank Sketch
Open Shows a list of Sketches in your sketchbook
Save Saves the current Sketch
Upload Uploads the current Sketch to Arduino
Serial Monitor Displays serial data being sent from Arduino
14 1 Getting Started with Arduino
Fig. 1.9 “Blink” example in Arduino IDE
Fig. 1.10 Board type selection in Arduino IDE
1.4 Arduino IDE 15
Now, you are ready to test your first program with your Arduino board. 1. Open the Blink example sketch by going to: File ! Examples ! 01. Basics ! Blink (Fig. 1.9). 2. Select the type of Arduino board you are using: Tools ! Board ! your board type (Fig. 1.10). 3. Select the serial port that your Arduino is attached to: Tools ! Port ! COMxx (Fig. 1.11). 4. If you are not sure which serial device is your Arduino, have a look at the available ports, then unplug your Arduino and look again. The one that dis- appeared is your Arduino. 5. With your Arduino board connected, and the Blink sketch open, press the “Upload” button (Fig. 1.12).
Fig. 1.11 Serial port selection in Arduino IDE
16 1 Getting Started with Arduino
Fig. 1.12 Default codes of
“Blink”
6. After a second, you should see some LEDs flashing on your Arduino, followed by the message “Done Uploading” in the status bar of the Blink sketch. 7. If everything worked, the onboard LED on your Arduino should now be blinking! You just programmed your first Arduino!
