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4148 - File - Lesson 1 What Is Arduino

Arduino is an open-source electronics platform that allows users to build interactive electronic objects by reading inputs from sensors and controlling outputs like motors or LEDs. It uses a simple hardware and software system that allows users to program microcontrollers using the Arduino programming language. Arduino has been used in thousands of projects by students, hobbyists, artists, and professionals for applications like interactive art, robotics, and low-cost scientific instruments. It provides an inexpensive, cross-platform, and easy-to-use system for learning electronics and programming through do-it-yourself prototyping.

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14 views

4148 - File - Lesson 1 What Is Arduino

Arduino is an open-source electronics platform that allows users to build interactive electronic objects by reading inputs from sensors and controlling outputs like motors or LEDs. It uses a simple hardware and software system that allows users to program microcontrollers using the Arduino programming language. Arduino has been used in thousands of projects by students, hobbyists, artists, and professionals for applications like interactive art, robotics, and low-cost scientific instruments. It provides an inexpensive, cross-platform, and easy-to-use system for learning electronics and programming through do-it-yourself prototyping.

Uploaded by

gracilla5426
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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What is Arduino?

An introduction to what Arduino is, and what it can be used for.

Arduino is an open-source electronics 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. To do so you use the Arduino programming language (based on
Wiring), and the Arduino Software (IDE), based on Processing.

Over the years Arduino has been the brain of thousands of projects, from everyday objects to
complex scientific instruments. A worldwide community of makers - students, hobbyists, artists,
programmers, and professionals - has gathered around this open-source platform, their
contributions have added up to an incredible amount of accessible knowledge that can be of great
help to novices and experts alike.

Arduino was born at the Ivrea Interaction Design Institute as an easy tool for fast prototyping,
aimed at students without a background in electronics and programming. As soon as it reached a
wider community, the Arduino board started changing to adapt to new needs and challenges,
differentiating its offer from simple 8-bit boards to products for IoT applications, wearable, 3D
printing, and embedded environments.

Why Arduino?
Thanks to its simple and accessible user experience, Arduino has been used in thousands of
different projects and applications. The Arduino software is easy-to-use for beginners, yet
flexible enough for advanced users. It runs on Mac, Windows, and Linux. Teachers and students
use it to build low cost scientific instruments, to prove chemistry and physics principles, or to get
started with programming and robotics. Designers and architects build interactive prototypes,
musicians and artists use it for installations and to experiment with new musical instruments.
Makers, of course, use it to build many of the projects exhibited at the Maker Faire, for example.
Arduino is a key tool to learn new things. Anyone - children, hobbyists, artists, programmers -
can start tinkering just following the step by step instructions of a kit, or sharing ideas online
with other members of the Arduino community.

There are many other microcontrollers and microcontroller platforms available for physical
computing. Parallax Basic Stamp, Netmedia's BX-24, Phidgets, MIT's Handyboard, and many
others offer similar functionality. All of these tools take the messy details of microcontroller
programming and wrap it up in an easy-to-use package. Arduino also simplifies the process of
working with microcontrollers, but it offers some advantage for teachers, students, and interested
amateurs over other systems:
• Inexpensive - Arduino boards are relatively inexpensive compared to other
microcontroller platforms. The least expensive version of the Arduino module can be
assembled by hand, and even the pre-assembled Arduino modules cost less than \$50
• Cross-platform - The Arduino Software (IDE) runs on Windows, Macintosh OSX, and
Linux operating systems. Most microcontroller systems are limited to Windows.
• Simple, clear programming environment - The Arduino Software (IDE) is easy-to-use for
beginners, yet flexible enough for advanced users to take advantage of as well. For
teachers, it's conveniently based on the Processing programming environment, so
students learning to program in that environment will be familiar with how the Arduino
IDE works.
• Open source and extensible software - The Arduino software is published as open source
tools, available for extension by experienced programmers. The language can be
expanded through C++ libraries, and people wanting to understand the technical details
can make the leap from Arduino to the AVR C programming language on which it's
based. Similarly, you can add AVR-C code directly into your Arduino programs if you
want to.

Open source and extensible hardware - The plans of the Arduino boards are published under a
Creative Commons license, so experienced circuit designers can make their own version of the
module, extending it and improving it. Even relatively inexperienced users can build the
breadboard version of the module in order to understand how it works and save money.

How do I use Arduino?


See the getting started guide. If you are looking for inspiration you can find a great variety of
Tutorials on Arduino Project Hub.

The text of the Arduino getting started guide is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-
ShareAlike 3.0 License. Code samples in the guide are released into the public domain.

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