Arduino

[Boinbo]

Can someone explain what Arduino is, and how it works? The online website and definitions seem confusing to me.

[WereCatf]

4 minutes ago, Boinbo said:

Can someone explain what Arduino is, and how it works? The online website and definitions seem confusing to me.

Arduino is just a simple board with a microcontroller on it. You make a custom firmware for it than then does various kinds of things depending on what you coded it to do. It does not run any desktop-OS or anything -- it's just the firmware you uploaded on it that is running on it and nothing else.

[Boinbo]

Just now, WereCatf said:

Arduino is just a simple board with a microcontroller on it. You make a custom firmware for it than then does various kinds of things depending on what you coded it to do. It does not run any desktop-OS or anything -- it's just the firmware you uploaded on it that is running on it and nothing else.

So it's a programmable micro controller I can mess around with basically?

[WereCatf]

1 minute ago, Boinbo said:

So it's a programmable micro controller I can mess around with basically?

Yes.

[Boinbo]

Just now, WereCatf said:

Yes.

Aight cool. Can I re circuit it as well? Or am I thinking of.something else?

[WereCatf]

Just now, Boinbo said:

Aight cool. Can I re circuit it as well? Or am I thinking of.something else?

What do you mean with "re circuit"?

[minibois]

1 minute ago, Boinbo said:

So it's a programmable micro controller I can mess around with basically?

Mess around would be a decent definition.

You can of course make some more serious things, bit it's mainly a learners' tool (for example student to practice embedded systems tech to further their education towards more advanced devices).

 

You can make a lot fun devices work with an Arduino, including - but if course not limited to - a keyboard, some alarm systems, I've even seen someone on YouTube use an Arduino to control his dust collection system ('I like to make stuff' on YouTube, if you're interested).

 

The possibilities are near endless, it just depends on what you want to do.

 

You can also code some simple interactive programs on it if you use something like a LCD display and some buttons.

 

The only limitation is your imagination and your ability to look up and combine stuff you found online.

 

3 minutes ago, Boinbo said:

Aight cool. Can I re circuit it as well? Or am I thinking of.something else?

Citcuitbending? That can be done with an Arduino, but from what I have seen it's mainly people reiwiring stuff and adding components (e.g. adding a potentiometer to a circuit to control the input to it).

[Boinbo]

1 minute ago, WereCatf said:

What do you mean with "re circuit"?

Like, be able to use your finger for something, by changing the circuit on the controller

[Boinbo]

@WereCatf and @Minibois thx guys!

[WereCatf]

1 minute ago, Boinbo said:

Like, be able to use your finger for something, by changing the circuit on the controller

Well, yes. You can e.g. add a fingerprint-sensor to it and make it do something depending on whether it recognizes the fingerprint or not. There are approximately a billion different sensors you can use and go wild with the code.

[Boinbo]

1 minute ago, James Evens said:

Arduino isn't a µC. It is a ecosystem and should be better defined as a IDE and bootloader.

You don't mess around with the dev board you add external circuity to the dev board.

K got.it, thanks

[WereCatf]

1 minute ago, James Evens said:

You don't mess around with the dev board you add external circuity to the dev board.

By adding sensors and stuff to it, you are changing the overall circuit. I do not think OP meant actually modifying the PCB itself.

[Boinbo]

@WereCatf @James Evens and @Minibois so basically it's a micro controller I can reprogram to do almost anything? From a keyboard to an alarm system?

[WereCatf]

Just now, Boinbo said:

@WereCatf @James Evens and @Minibois so basically it's a micro controller I can reprogram to do almost anything? From a keyboard to an alarm system?

You can find plenty of such projects on e.g. Youtube that people have done with various Arduino-boards, yes.

[Boinbo]

Just now, WereCatf said:

You can find plenty of such projects on e.g. Youtube that people have done with various Arduino-boards, yes.

Okay makes sense, thanks dude

[Boinbo]

Just now, James Evens said:

Yes. 

But be warned that arduino isn't made for complex problems. It is fine for the first step into embedded devices.

That's alright, I'm looking into becoming a hardware engineer, and I heard this is a good first step to use at my age (13)

[minibois]

5 minutes ago, Boinbo said:

That's alright, I'm looking into becoming a hardware engineer, and I heard this is a good first step to use at my age (13)

For sure!

Get your figurative 'feet wet' with an Arduino before designing more complex systems.

You don't become a runner by running a marathon right away, you start out small.

 

That's basically what an Arduino is, a stepping stone for anyone interested in hardware engineering (or programming).

 

It may be cool to get a starter kit of sorts, one with an Arduino and some accessories like a breadboard, LCD, maybe some buttons and LEDs and of course some wires to connect it all.

 

Get yourself a website or book that runs you through some basic first steps to familiarize yourself with the device before trying out some bigger stuff.

 

Write down some projects you might want to do with it. A project is a great way to find more and more subjects you want to learn about. It constantly gives you a next goal to work towards. There is always something you want to expand your project with 

[Guest]

You plug it into your computer, download arduino’s IDE 

& you can program the controller’s pins to do things. Read voltage, write voltage & that’s basically it. 

 

Youll need electronic components to interact with. 

[Olaf6541]

To show you what you can do with an arduino: i made a PWM controller that measures the watertemperature of my loop and adjust the fan speed accordingly. Also features a LED light that can be activated in windows with the arduino software.