Introduction

Arduino is a prototype platform (open-source) based on an easy-to-use hardware and

software. It consists of a circuit board, which can be programed (referred to as a
microcontroller) and a ready-made software called Arduino IDE (Integrated Development
Environment), which is used to write and upload the computer code to the physical board.

The key features are −

 Arduino boards are able to read analog or digital input signals from different sensors
and turn it into an output such as activating a motor, turning LED on/off, connect to
the cloud and many other actions.
 You can control your board functions by sending a set of instructions to the
microcontroller on the board via Arduino IDE (referred to as uploading software).
 Unlike most previous programmable circuit boards, Arduino does not need an extra
piece of hardware (called a programmer) in order to load a new code onto the board.
You can simply use a USB cable.
 Additionally, the Arduino IDE uses a simplified version of C++, making it easier to
learn to program.
 Finally, Arduino provides a standard form factor that breaks the functions of the
micro-controller into a more accessible package.

Figure Arduino UNO and its interface

Board Description

Power USB
Arduino board can be powered by using the USB cable from your computer.
All you need to do is connect the USB cable to the USB connection (1).

Power (Barrel Jack)

Arduino boards can be powered directly from the AC mains power supply by
connecting it to the Barrel Jack (2).

Voltage Regulator
The function of the voltage regulator is to control the voltage given to the
Arduino board and stabilize the DC voltages used by the processor and other
elements.
Crystal Oscillator
The crystal oscillator helps Arduino in dealing with time issues. How does
Arduino calculate time? The answer is, by using the crystal oscillator. The
number printed on top of the Arduino crystal is 16.000H9H. It tells us that
the frequency is 16,000,000 Hertz or 16 MHz.

Arduino Reset
You can reset your Arduino board, i.e., start your program from the
beginning. You can reset the UNO board in two ways. First, by using the
reset button (17) on the board. Second, you can connect an external reset
button to the Arduino pin labelled RESET (5).

Pins (3.3, 5, GND, Vin)

 3.3V (6) − Supply 3.3 output volt
 5V (7) − Supply 5 output volt
 Most of the components used with Arduino board works fine with 3.3
volt and 5 volt.
 GND (8)(Ground) − There are several GND pins on the Arduino, any
of which can be used to ground your circuit.
 Vin (9) − This pin also can be used to power the Arduino board from
an external power source, like AC mains power supply.

Analog pins
The Arduino UNO board has six analog input pins A0 through A5. These
pins can read the signal from an analog sensor like the humidity sensor or
temperature sensor and convert it into a digital value that can be read by the
microprocessor.

Main microcontroller
Each Arduino board has its own microcontroller (11). You can assume it as
the brain of your board. The main IC (integrated circuit) on the Arduino is
slightly different from board to board. The microcontrollers are usually of
the ATMEL Company. You must know what IC your board has before
loading up a new program from the Arduino IDE. This information is
available on the top of the IC. For more details about the IC construction and
functions, you can refer to the data sheet.

ICSP pin
Mostly, ICSP (12) is an AVR, a tiny programming header for the Arduino
consisting of MOSI, MISO, SCK, RESET, VCC, and GND. It is often
referred to as an SPI (Serial Peripheral Interface), which could be considered
as an "expansion" of the output. Actually, you are slaving the output device
to the master of the SPI bus.

Power LED indicator

This LED should light up when you plug your Arduino into a power source
to indicate that your board is powered up correctly. If this light does not turn
on, then there is something wrong with the connection.
TX and RX LEDs
On your board, you will find two labels: TX (transmit) and RX (receive).
They appear in two places on the Arduino UNO board. First, at the digital
pins 0 and 1, to indicate the pins responsible for serial communication.
Second, the TX and RX led (13). The TX led flashes with different speed
while sending the serial data. The speed of flashing depends on the baud rate
used by the board. RX flashes during the receiving process.

Digital I/O
The Arduino UNO board has 14 digital I/O pins (15) (of which 6 provide
PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) output. These pins can be configured to
work as input digital pins to read logic values (0 or 1) or as digital output
pins to drive different modules like LEDs, relays, etc. The pins labeled “~”
can be used to generate PWM.

AREF
AREF stands for Analog Reference. It is sometimes, used to set an external
reference voltage (between 0 and 5 Volts) as the upper limit for the analog
input pins.
Installation:
Step 1 − First you must have your Arduino board (you can choose your favorite board) and a
USB cable. In case you use Arduino UNO, Arduino Duemilanove, Nano, Arduino Mega
2560, or Diecimila, you will need a standard USB cable (A plug to B plug), the kind you
would connect to a USB printer as shown in the following image.

In case you use Arduino Nano, you will need an A to Mini-B cable instead as shown in the
following image.

Step 2 − Download Arduino IDE Software.

You can get different versions of Arduino IDE from the Download page on the Arduino
Official website. You must select your software, which is compatible with your operating
system (Windows, IOS, or Linux). After your file download is complete, unzip the file.
Step 3 − Power up your board.

The Arduino Uno, Mega, Duemilanove and Arduino Nano automatically draw power from
either, the USB connection to the computer or an external power supply. If you are using an
Arduino Diecimila, you have to make sure that the board is configured to draw power from
the USB connection. The power source is selected with a jumper, a small piece of plastic that
fits onto two of the three pins between the USB and power jacks. Check that it is on the two
pins closest to the USB port.

Connect the Arduino board to your computer using the USB cable. The green power LED
(labeled PWR) should glow.

Step 4 − Launch Arduino IDE.

After your Arduino IDE software is downloaded, you need to unzip the folder. Inside the
folder, you can find the application icon with an infinity label (application.exe). Double-click
the icon to start the IDE.
Step 5 − Open your first project.

Once the software starts, you have two options −

 Create a new project.

 Open an existing project example.

To create a new project, select File → New.

To open an existing project example, select File → Example → Basics → Blink.

Here, we are selecting just one of the examples with the name Blink. It turns the LED on and
off with some time delay. You can select any other example from the list.
Step 6 − Select your Arduino board.

To avoid any error while uploading your program to the board, you must select the correct
Arduino board name, which matches with the board connected to your computer.

Go to Tools → Board and select your board.

Here, we have selected Arduino Uno board according to our tutorial, but you must select the
name matching the board that you are using.

Step 7 − Select your serial port.

Select the serial device of the Arduino board. Go to Tools → Serial Port menu. This is likely
to be COM3 or higher (COM1 and COM2 are usually reserved for hardware serial ports). To
find out, you can disconnect your Arduino board and re-open the menu, the entry that
disappears should be of the Arduino board. Reconnect the board and select that serial port.

Step 8 − Upload the program to your board.

Before explaining how we can upload our program to the board, we must demonstrate the
function of each symbol appearing in the Arduino IDE toolbar.
A − Used to check if there is any compilation error.

B − Used to upload a program to the Arduino board.

C − Shortcut used to create a new sketch.

D − Used to directly open one of the example sketch.

E − Used to save your sketch.

F − Serial monitor used to receive serial data from the board and send the serial data to the
board.

Now, simply click the "Upload" button in the environment. Wait a few seconds; you will see
the RX and TX LEDs on the board, flashing. If the upload is successful, the message "Done
uploading" will appear in the status bar.