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Getting started with Arduino Boards – Introduction

The Arduino is an open-source platform. That is, the creators have uploaded the designs online for anyone to use. This platform forms the core of several famous development boards. The Arduino Uno is a good example. It consists of a microcontroller, a programming language to program it and its Integrated Development Environment (IDE). The Arduino IDE is a software that allows you to program the Arduino. Arduino boards are easy to use and an excellent way to start your project building journey!

 

A microcontroller (µC, uC or MCU) is a small computer on a single IC containing a processor core, memory, and programmable input/output peripherals.

Sounds confusing? Read on, we promise it is interesting.

introduction to Arduino - arduino ide window
This is what an Arduino IDE coding window looks like. We will take an in-depth look into setting up and using the Arduino IDE here.

 

introduction to the arduino uno board- parts
Here’s what an Arduino Uno board looks like. You can see some of the components on it. We will study all the hardware and parts of the Arduino Uno board here.

These development boards are basically circuits comprising a programmable microcontroller and peripherals that allow the user to interact with the outside world through output elements like LEDs, motors, LCD screens, touch screens, and even the internet. So let’s say you wish to make a device that responds to some input (Temperature, Light, Motion or just lines of code) through outputs like motors, information (on a screen), lights, etc. then you can do it with an Arduino board.

An Arduino board can be interfaced with any electronic input device and also with any electronic output device in some way. In short, the possibilities of things you could do with an Arduino is endless.

But that holds true for almost all types of development boards like Beagle Board, Raspberry Pi, etc. So why choose Arduino?

Why use Arduino boards?

We chose to start with Arduino instead of advanced industry level embedded system platforms (STM32 etc.) because of the following reasons.

  • Our objective is to start with the basics of electronics project making before we move onto the more complex projects.

  • The system was created to allow beginners and enthusiasts. Hence, it is relatively easy to use. That said, it is also a great platform to learn how a microcontroller based system works.

  • Despite being simple, it is capable of enabling experts to develop complex projects.

 

kids working on arduino projects
Kids working on Arduino projects
arduino being used in projects
The Arduino Uno can be used to make EEGs too!
arduino uno being used in robotics
The Arduino Uno is a very popular board for robotic applications and projects
  • The platform is open-source. So you can take the core functionality (made available by Arduino for free) and make your own customized board with a microcontroller and only the peripherals that you need. (This is a fantastic feature if you are trying to market a particular product that you created on an Arduino core on a large scale.)
arduino is an open source community
Arduino is an open-source community
  • The Arduino community is vast and online is help is readily available. This is great for beginners.
  • Components are easily available.

Fun fact

The original idea behind creating Arduino stemmed from the Wiring platform which was born out of a master’s thesis written by Hernando Barragán and Diego Gonzalez Joven of the Interaction Design Institute Ivrea, Italy. The idea behind Wiring was to allow an easy introduction to programming and sketching with electronics for artists and designers. Arduino was built around Wiring but developed independently from 2005. The two projects are still very much alive, so everything you will learn about Arduino with us could also be done with Wiring boards and its IDE.

 

You may have heard the name Arduino associated with boards like the UNO, Mega, Nano, LilyPad. These all are a part of the Arduino family. Each board has a different type of microcontroller at its core along with varying functionality.

As of now, the Arduino UNO is the simplest Arduino board and thus it’s best that we start with this.

We really liked this video from the authors of one of our favorite magazines giving an introduction to Arduino.

You can buy the original Arduino UNO from Amazon or get a cheaper open-sourced version from Alibaba. You can also build your own UNO by following these steps.

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