Introduction to Arduino
Arduino – Basics
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
microcontroller into a more accessible package.
Board Types
• Here is a list of different Arduino boards available.
Board Types
• Here is a list of different Arduino boards available.
Arduino boards based on ATMEGA32u4 microcontroller
Board Types
• Here is a list of different Arduino boards available.
Arduino boards based on ATMEGA2560 microcontroller
Board Types
• Here is a list of different Arduino boards available.
Arduino boards based on AT91SAM3X8E microcontroller
ARDUINO – 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).
ARDUINO – BOARD DESCRIPTION
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 – BOARD DESCRIPTION
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.
ARDUINO – BOARD DESCRIPTION
Analog Pins - The Arduino UNO
board has five 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.
ARDUINO – BOARD DESCRIPTION
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.
ARDUINO – BOARD DESCRIPTION
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.
ARDUINO – BOARD DESCRIPTION
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.
ARDUINO – 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.
ARDUINO – INSTALLATION
• 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.
ARDUINO – INSTALLATION
• 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.
ARDUINO – INSTALLATION
• 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.
ARDUINO – INSTALLATION
• Step 5: Open your first project.
Once the software starts, you have two options:
Create a new project.
Open an existing project example.
ARDUINO – INSTALLATION
• 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.
