What is Arduino? The following functions and definitions

 When we hear the word What is Arduino, we are sure to remember an IoT project that definitely requires great devices, one of which is Arduino. The Arduino software is completely free, the hardware boards are fairly inexpensive, and there is also a large community of Arduino users who have contributed code and released instructions for various Arduino-based projects. But before discussing further about this Arduino device, we must first know what is Arduino?

What is Arduino?

Arduino is an open source platform used to build electronics projects. Arduino consists of a physical programmable circuit board often referred to as a microcontroller and software, or IDE (Integrated Development Environment) that runs on your computer, used to write and upload computer code to the physical board.

The Arduino platform has become very popular among people just starting out with electronics. Unlike most previous programmable circuit boards, the Arduino does not require a separate piece of hardware (called a programmer) to load new code onto the board, you can simply use a USB cable. Additionally, the Arduino IDE uses a simplified version of C++, making it much easier to learn to program. Finally, Arduino provides a standardized form factor that breaks down the microcontroller's functions into more accessible packages. The Uno, on the other hand, is one of the more popular boards in the Arduino family and a great choice for beginners.

Arduino hardware and software are designed to create interactive objects or environments. Arduino can interface with buttons, LEDs, motors, speakers, GPS units, cameras, the internet, and even your smart phone or TV. This flexibility combined with the fact that the Arduino software is free, the hardware boards are reasonably priced, and both software and hardware are compatible. It's easy to learn because there's been a large community of Arduino users who have contributed code and released instructions for various Arduino-based projects.

Arduino function

Actually the main function of Arduino is to facilitate use in various electronic fields such as making running LED applications, traffic LEDs, mobile robots, and many others. By using Arduino, making these applications becomes more practical, inexpensive, and easy to make and use.

Example Arduino Projects

Actually there are so many Aruduino projects that have been created, you can visit the Arduino site directly to find tutorials on how to make them. Some examples of Arduino projects are as below.

1. Sound Alarm

2. Sleepy Timer

3. Game Controllers

4. Flip-Flop light

5. Smart Robots

What's On The Arduino Board?

There are many types of Arduino boards that can be used for different purposes. Some boards look slightly different, but most Arduinos have the majority of the same components:

Power (USB / Barrel Jack)

Every Arduino board needs a way to connect to a power source. The Arduino UNO can be powered from a USB cable coming from your computer or a wall power supply, which terminates in a barrel jack. The USB connection is also how you load code onto your Arduino board. And if you have to make sure never use a power supply greater than 20 Volts because you will destroy your Arduino. The recommended voltage for most Arduino models is between 6 and 12 Volts.

Pins (5V, 3.3V, GND, Analog, Digital, PWM, AREF)

The pins on your Arduino are where you connect wires to build circuits (perhaps along with a breadboard and some wire. They usually have black plastic 'headers' that allow you to just plug the wires right into the board. Arduinos have several different types of pins. different, each labeled on the board and used for a different function.

* GND (3) : Abbreviation of 'Ground'. There are several GND pins on the Arduino, which can be used to connect to your circuit.

* 5V(4) & 3.3V(5) : As you might have guessed, the 5V pin supplies 5 volts of power, and the 3.3V pin supplies 3.3 volts. Most of the simple components used with the Arduino run fine from 5 or 3.3 volts.

* Analog (6) : The pin area under the 'Analog In' label (A0 to A5 on UNO) is the Analog In pin. This pin can read signals from analog sensors (such as temperature sensors) and convert them into digital values that we can read.

* Digital (7) : Opposite the analog pins are the digital pins (0 to 13 on the UNO). These pins can be used for digital input (such as indicating when a button is pressed) and digital output (such as turning on the power of an LED).

* PWM (8) : you may have noticed the tilde (~) next to some of the digital pins (3, 5, 6, 9, 10, and 11 on the UNO). This pin acts as a normal digital pin, but can also be used for something called Pulse Width Modulation (PWM). Assume this pin is capable of simulating analog output (such as fading an LED in and out).

* AREF(9) : Stands for Analog Reference. Most of the time you can leave this pin alone. It is sometimes used to set an external reference voltage (between 0 and 5 Volts) as the upper limit for the analog input pins.

Reset Button

Arduino also has a reset button (10) . Pressing it temporarily connects the reset pin to ground and restarts the code loaded on the Arduino. This can be very useful if your code doesn't repeat itself, but you want to test it over and over again.

LED Power Indicator

Just below and to the right of the word “UNO” on your circuit board, there is a small LED next to the word 'ON' (11) . This LED will light up every time you plug the Arduino into a power source. If this light doesn't come on, there's a good chance something is wrong.

TXRX LEDs

TX stands for transmit or send, RX stands for receive or receive. These markings appear slightly on the electronics to indicate the pin responsible for serial communication. In one case, suppose there are two places on the Arduino UNO where TX and RX appear once by digital pins 0 and 1, and a second time next to the TX and RX indicator LEDs (12). These LEDs will give us some nice visual indications whenever our Arduino is receiving or transmitting data (such as when we load a new program onto the board).

main IC

The black thing with all the metal legs is an IC, or Integrated Circuit (13) . Think of it as the brain of our Arduino. The main IC on the Arduino varies slightly from board type to board type, but is usually from the ATmega line of ICs from the ATMEL company. This can be important, as you may need to know the IC type (along with your board type) before loading a new program from the Arduino software. This information can usually be found written on the top side of the IC.

Voltage Regulators

The voltage regulator (14) isn't really something you can or should interact with the Arduino. But it's potentially useful to know that it's there and what it's for. The voltage regulator does what it says it does which is it controls the amount of voltage that is let through to the Arduino board. Think of it as a sort of gatekeeper, the Regulator will convert extra voltages that can harm the circuit. And what you need to know is that this regulator also has its limits, so don't connect your Arduino to anything greater than 20 volts.

Arduino Types

Arduino makes several different boards, each with different capabilities. Also, because Arduino is Open Source hardware means that anyone can modify and build derivatives of the Arduino board providing more form factor and functionality. Here are some types of arduino boards

1. Arduino Uno (R3)

Arduino Uno (R3)

The Uno is a great choice for your first Arduino. It has everything you need for beginners who are just learning. The device has 14 digital input/output pins (of which 6 can be used as PWM outputs), 6 analog inputs, a USB connection, a power jack, a reset button and more. It also contains everything needed to support a 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.

2. Arduino Due

Arduino Due

Unlike its siblings, Arduino Due does not use ATMEGA, but uses a higher ARM Cortex CPU chip. It has 54 digital I/O pins and 12 analog input pins. For programming it uses Micro USB, available on several cellphones.

3. Lily Pad Arduino

LilyPad is a wearable e-textile technology developed by Leah Buechley and co-designed by Leah and SparkFun. Each LilyPad is creatively designed with large connecting pads and a flat back. LilyPad also has its own array of input, output, power and sensor boards which are also made specifically for electronic textiles. They are even washable.

Lily Pad Arduino

4.Arduino Mega (R3)

Mega Arduino is like the big brother of ArduinoUNO. It has more digital input (54) / output pins (14 can be used as PWM outputs), 16 analog inputs, a USB connection, a power jack, and a reset button. It contains everything needed to support a 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. The large number of pins makes this board especially useful for projects that require lots of digital inputs or outputs (such as lots of LEDs or buttons).

Arduino Mega (R3)

5. Arduino Leonardo

Leonardo was the first Arduino development board to use a single microcontroller with built-in USB. This means it's cheaper and simpler. Also, because this board handles USB directly, code libraries are available that allow the board to emulate a computer keyboard, mouse, and more.

ArduinoLeonardo

Arduino Enhancements

While your Arduino board sure looks great, it can't do it all by itself. You have to connect it to something. Actually there are many other devices that you can install on this Arduino board, for example:

sensors

With some simple code, the Arduino can control and interact with a wide variety of sensors – things that can measure light , temperature , degree of flexibility , pressure , proximity , acceleration , carbon monoxide , radioactivity , humidity , barometric pressure , and much more.

Shields

On top of that, there are these things called Shields, they are basically circuit boards that build on top of your Arduino and provide additional capabilities – controlling motors, connecting to the internet, providing cellular or other wireless communications, controlling LCD screens, and more. .

Conclusion

So What Is Arduino? Arduino is an open source tool used to create electronic projects. Arduino also has several types and several enhancements.

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Resa Risyan

Just an ordinary person who wants to share a little knowledge, hopefully the knowledge I provide can be useful for all of us. Keep in mind! Useful knowledge is an investment in the afterlife.