Arduino for Beginners: step by step instructions. Programming and projects Arduino: where to start?

Arduino is very popular among all lovers of designing. It is necessary to acquaint them with those who have never heard of him.

What is Arduino?

How briefly can you characterize Arduino? The optimal words are: electronic designer. Arduino is a tool with which you can create various electronic devices. In fact, this is a real hardware computing platform of universal purpose. It can be used both for constructing simple schemes, and for implementing rather complex projects.

The designer is based on its hardware, which is an input-output board. To program the board, languages that are based on C / C ++ are used. They received the name, respectively, Processing / Wiring. From group C, they inherited the ultimate simplicity, so that they can be mastered very quickly by any person, and applying knowledge in practice is not a very significant problem. To make you understand the ease of work, it is often said that Arduino is for beginner wizard-designers. To deal with cards "Arduino" can even children.

What can be assembled on it?

Arduino application is quite diverse, it can be used, as for the simplest examples, which will be recommended at the end of the article, and for rather complex mechanisms, including manipulators, robots or production machines. Some craftsmen manage on the basis of such systems to do tablets, telephones, surveillance and security systems of houses, smart home systems or simply computers. Arduino projects for beginners, which even beginners can tackle first without experience, are at the end of the article. They can even be used to create primitive virtual reality systems. All thanks to the content of the universal hardware component and the capabilities that Arduino programming provides.

Where to buy components?

The components produced in Italy are considered to be original. But the price of such sets is not low. Therefore, a number of companies, or even some individuals, use handicrafts to manufacture Arduino-compatible devices and components, which are jokingly called industrial clones. When buying such clones it is impossible to say with certainty that they will work, but the desire to save costs is taking its toll.

Components can be purchased either as part of a kit, or separately. There are even pre-prepared sets to collect cars, helicopters with various types of control or ships. The set, as in the photo above, produced in China, will cost $ 49.

More about equipment

The Arduino board is a simple AVR microcontroller that has been flashed with a bootloader and has a minimum minimum USB-UART port. There are still important components, but within the limits of the article it will be better to focus only on these two components.

First about the microcontroller, the mechanism, built on one scheme, in which the program is located. The program can be influenced by pressing the buttons, receiving signals from the components of the creation (resistors, transistors, sensors, etc.), etc. And the sensors can be very different in their purpose: lighting, acceleration, temperature, distance, pressure, obstacles And so on. As the display devices, simple parts can be used, from LEDs and bitches to complex devices, such as graphic displays. As actuators consider motors, valves, relays, servos, electromagnets and many others, which list very very long. With some of these lists, the MC works directly, with the help of connecting wires. For some mechanisms, transient devices are needed. But if you really start to design, it will be difficult to come off. Now let's talk about programming Arduino.

More about the process of programming the board

The program already ready for use on the microcontroller is called the firmware. There may be either one project or Arduino projects, so each firmware should be stored in a separate folder to speed up the process of finding the right files. It is stitched onto the crystal of the MC with the help of specialized devices: programmers. And here "Arduino" has one advantage - he does not need a programmer. Everything is done so that the programming of Arduino for beginners is not difficult. The written code can be downloaded to the MK via a USB cable. This advantage is achieved not by some already built-in programmer, but by special firmware - a bootloader. A bootloader is a special program that starts right after the connection and listens to whether there will be any commands, whether to flash the crystal, whether there are Arduino projects or not. From the use of the bootloader comes a few very attractive pros:

1. Use only one communication channel, which does not require additional costs over time. So, Arduino projects do not require that you connect a lot of different wires, and there was confusion when using them. For successful operation, one USB cable is enough.
2. Protection from curves of hands. To bring the microcontroller to the state of the brick with the help of straightforward firmware is quite easy, it is not necessary to strain much. When working with a bootloader, you can not get to potentially dangerous settings (with the help of the development program, of course, and so you can break everything). Therefore Arduino for beginners is designed not only from the point of view that is understandable and convenient, it will also allow to avoid undesirable monetary expenses associated with the inexperience of the person working with them.

Projects to start with

When you have got a kit, a soldering iron, rosin and solder, you should not immediately sculpt very complex structures. Of course, they can be blinded, but the chance of success in Arduino for beginners is quite low for complex projects. For training and "stuffing" your hands, you can try to implement a few simpler ideas that will help you understand the interaction and work of Arduino. As such first steps in working with Arduino for beginners, you can advise to consider:

1. Create a flashing LED that will work thanks to Arduino.
2. Connecting a separate button to the "Arduino". It can be done so that the button can adjust the glow of the LED from point # 1.
3. Potentiometer connection.
4. Servo drive control.
5. Connecting and working with a three-color LED.
6. Connecting the piezoelectric element.
7. Connecting the photoresistor.
8. Connection of the motion sensor and signals about its operation.
9. Connect a humidity or temperature sensor.

Projects for the future

Hardly you are interested in "Arduino" in order to connect individual LEDs. Most likely, you are attracted by the opportunity to create your own car, radio-controlled boat or a flying turntable. Such projects are complex in their implementation, they will require a lot of time and perseverance, but, having fulfilled them, you will get what you wanted: a valuable experience of designing with Arduino for beginners.