Lecture 4

ARDUINO UNO

I. What is Arduino?

Arduino is an open-source prototyping platform based on easy-to-use hardware and software. Arduino
boards are able to read inputs - light on a sensor, a finger on a button, or a Twitter message - and turn it into
an output - activating a motor, turning on an LED, publishing something online. You can tell your board
what to do by sending a set of instructions to the microcontroller on the board. To do so you use the Arduino
programming language (based on Wiring), and the Arduino Software (IDE), based on Processing.

Over the years Arduino has been the brain of thousands of projects, from everyday objects to complex
scientific instruments. A worldwide community of makers - students, hobbyists, artists, programmers, and
professionals - has gathered around this open-source platform, their contributions have added up to an
incredible amount of accessible knowledge that can be of great help to novices and experts alike.

Arduino was born at the Ivrea Interaction Design Institute as an easy tool for fast prototyping, aimed at
students without a background in electronics and programming. As soon as it reached a wider community,
the Arduino board started changing to adapt to new needs and challenges, differentiating its offer from
simple 8-bit boards to products for IoT applications, wearable, 3D printing, and embedded environments.
All Arduino boards are completely open-source, empowering users to build them independently and
eventually adapt them to their particular needs. The software, too, is open-source, and it is growing through
the contributions of users worldwide.

Why Arduino?

Thanks to its simple and accessible user experience, Arduino has been used in thousands of different
projects and applications. The Arduino software is easy-to-use for beginners, yet flexible enough for
advanced users. It runs on Mac, Windows, and Linux. Teachers and students use it to build low cost
scientific instruments, to prove chemistry and physics principles, or to get started with programming and
robotics. Designers and architects build interactive prototypes, musicians and artists use it for installations
and to experiment with new musical instruments. Makers, of course, use it to build many of the projects
exhibited at the Maker Faire, for example. Arduino is a key tool to learn new things. Anyone - children,
hobbyists, artists, programmers - can start tinkering just following the step by step instructions of a kit, or
sharing ideas online with other members of the Arduino community.

There are many other microcontrollers and microcontroller platforms available for physical computing.
Parallax Basic Stamp, Netmedia's BX-24, Phidgets, MIT's Handyboard, and many others offer similar
functionality. All of these tools take the messy details of microcontroller programming and wrap it up in an
easy-to-use package. Arduino also simplifies the process of working with microcontrollers, but it offers
some advantage for teachers, students, and interested amateurs over other systems:

 Inexpensive - Arduino boards are relatively inexpensive compared to other microcontroller

platforms. The least expensive version of the Arduino module can be assembled by hand, and even
the pre-assembled Arduino modules cost less than $50
 Cross-platform - The Arduino Software (IDE) runs on Windows, Macintosh OSX, and Linux
operating systems. Most microcontroller systems are limited to Windows.
 Simple, clear programming environment - The Arduino Software (IDE) is easy-to-use for
beginners, yet flexible enough for advanced users to take advantage of as well. For teachers, it's
conveniently based on the Processing programming environment, so students learning to program in
that environment will be familiar with how the Arduino IDE works.
 Open source and extensible software - The Arduino software is published as open source tools,
available for extension by experienced programmers. The language can be expanded through C++
libraries, and people wanting to understand the technical details can make the leap from Arduino to
 the AVR C programming language on which it's based. Similarly, you can add AVR-C code directly
into your Arduino programs if you want to.
 Open source and extensible hardware - The plans of the Arduino boards are published under a
Creative Commons license, so experienced circuit designers can make their own version of the
module, extending it and improving it. Even relatively inexperienced users can build the breadboard
version of the module in order to understand how it works and save money.

II. Arduino Software (IDE)

The Arduino Integrated Development Environment - or Arduino Software (IDE) - contains a text editor for
writing code, a message area, a text console, a toolbar with buttons for common functions and a series of
menus. It connects to the Arduino and Genuino hardware to upload programs and communicate with them.

Writing Sketches

Programs written using Arduino Software (IDE) are called sketches. These sketches are written in the text
editor and are saved with the file extension .ino. The editor has features for cutting/pasting and for
searching/replacing text. The message area gives feedback while saving and exporting and also displays
errors. The console displays text output by the Arduino Software (IDE), including complete error messages
and other information. The bottom righthand corner of the window displays the configured board and serial
port. The toolbar buttons allow you to verify and upload programs, create, open, and save sketches, and open
the serial monitor.

NB: Versions of the Arduino Software (IDE) prior to 1.0 saved sketches with the extension .pde. It is
possible to open these files with version 1.0, you will be prompted to save the sketch with the .ino
extension on save.

Verify
Checks your code for errors compiling it.
Upload
Compiles your code and uploads it to the configured board.

Note: If you are using an external programmer with your board, you can hold down the "shift" key on
your computer when using this icon. The text will change to "Upload using Programmer"

New
Creates a new sketch.
Open
Presents a menu of all the sketches in your sketchbook. Clicking one will open it within the current
window overwriting its content.

Note: due to a bug in Java, this menu doesn't scroll; if you need to open a sketch late in the list, use
the File | Sketchbook menu instead.
Save
Saves your sketch.
Serial Monitor
Opens the serial monitor.

Additional commands are found within the five menus: File, Edit, Sketch, Tools, Help. The menus are
context sensitive, which means only those items relevant to the work currently being carried out are
available.
File

 New
Creates a new instance of the editor, with the bare minimum structure of a sketch already in place.
 Open
Allows to load a sketch file browsing through the computer drives and folders.
 Open Recent
Provides a short list of the most recent sketches, ready to be opened.
 Sketchbook
Shows the current sketches within the sketchbook folder structure; clicking on any name opens the
corresponding sketch in a new editor instance.
 Examples
Any example provided by the Arduino Software (IDE) or library shows up in this menu item. All the
examples are structured in a tree that allows easy access by topic or library.
 Close
Closes the instance of the Arduino Software from which it is clicked.
 Save
Saves the sketch with the current name. If the file hasn't been named before, a name will be
provided in a "Save as.." window.
 Save as...
Allows to save the current sketch with a different name.
 Page Setup
It shows the Page Setup window for printing.
 Print
Sends the current sketch to the printer according to the settings defined in Page Setup.
 Preferences
Opens the Preferences window where some settings of the IDE may be customized, as the language
of the IDE interface.
 Quit
Closes all IDE windows. The same sketches open when Quit was chosen will be automatically
reopened the next time you start the IDE.

Edit

 Undo/Redo
Goes back of one or more steps you did while editing; when you go back, you may go forward with
Redo.
 Cut
Removes the selected text from the editor and places it into the clipboard.
 Copy
Duplicates the selected text in the editor and places it into the clipboard.
 Copy for Forum
Copies the code of your sketch to the clipboard in a form suitable for posting to the forum,
complete with syntax coloring.
 Copy as HTML
Copies the code of your sketch to the clipboard as HTML, suitable for embedding in web pages.
 Paste
Puts the contents of the clipboard at the cursor position, in the editor.
 Select All
Selects and highlights the whole content of the editor.
 Comment/Uncomment
Puts or removes the // comment marker at the beginning of each selected line.
  Increase/Decrease Indent
Adds or subtracts a space at the beginning of each selected line, moving the text one space on the
right or eliminating a space at the beginning.
 Find
Opens the Find and Replace window where you can specify text to search inside the current sketch
according to several options.
 Find Next
Highlights the next occurrence - if any - of the string specified as the search item in the Find
window, relative to the cursor position.
 Find Previous
Highlights the previous occurrence - if any - of the string specified as the search item in the Find
window relative to the cursor position.

Sketch

 Verify/Compile
Checks your sketch for errors compiling it; it will report memory usage for code and variables in the
console area.
 Upload
Compiles and loads the binary file onto the configured board through the configured Port.
 Upload Using Programmer
This will overwrite the bootloader on the board; you will need to use Tools > Burn Bootloader to
restore it and be able to Upload to USB serial port again. However, it allows you to use the full
capacity of the Flash memory for your sketch. Please note that this command will NOT burn the
fuses. To do so a Tools -> Burn Bootloader command must be executed.
 Export Compiled Binary
Saves a .hex file that may be kept as archive or sent to the board using other tools.
 Show Sketch Folder
Opens the current sketch folder.
 Include Library
Adds a library to your sketch by inserting #include statements at the start of your code.
Additionally, from this menu item you can access the Library Manager and import new libraries
from .zip files.
 Add File...
Adds a source file to the sketch (it will be copied from its current location). The new file appears in
a new tab in the sketch window. Files can be removed from the sketch using the tab menu
accessible clicking on the small triangle icon below the serial monitor one on the right side o the
toolbar.

Tools

 Auto Format
This formats your code nicely: i.e. indents it so that opening and closing curly braces line up, and
that the statements inside curly braces are indented more.
 Archive Sketch
Archives a copy of the current sketch in .zip format. The archive is placed in the same directory as
the sketch.
 Fix Encoding & Reload
Fixes possible discrepancies between the editor char map encoding and other operating systems
char maps.
 Serial Monitor
Opens the serial monitor window and initiates the exchange of data with any connected board on
 the currently selected Port. This usually resets the board, if the board supports Reset over serial
port opening.
 Board
Select the board that you're using. See below for descriptions of the various boards.
 Port
This menu contains all the serial devices (real or virtual) on your machine. It should automatically
refresh every time you open the top-level tools menu.
 Programmer
For selecting a harware programmer when programming a board or chip and not using the onboard
USB-serial connection. Normally you won't need this, but if you're burning a bootloader to a new
microcontroller, you will use this.
 Burn Bootloader
The items in this menu allow you to burn a bootloader onto the microcontroller on an Arduino
board. This is not required for normal use of an Arduino or Genuino board but is useful if you
purchase a new ATmega microcontroller (which normally come without a bootloader). Ensure that
you've selected the correct board from the Boards menu before burning the bootloader on the
target board. This command also set the right fuses.

Help

Here you find easy access to a number of documents that come with the Arduino Software (IDE). You have
access to Getting Started, Reference, this guide to the IDE and other documents locally, without an internet
connection. The documents are a local copy of the online ones and may link back to our online website.

 Find in Reference
This is the only interactive function of the Help menu: it directly selects the relevant page in the
local copy of the Reference for the function or command under the cursor.

Sketchbook

The Arduino Software (IDE) uses the concept of a sketchbook: a standard place to store your programs (or
sketches). The sketches in your sketchbook can be opened from the File > Sketchbook menu or from the
Open button on the toolbar. The first time you run the Arduino software, it will automatically create a
directory for your sketchbook. You can view or change the location of the sketchbook location from with the
Preferences dialog.

Beginning with version 1.0, files are saved with a .ino file extension. Previous versions use the .pde
extension. You may still open .pde named files in version 1.0 and later, the software will automatically
rename the extension to .ino.

Tabs, Multiple Files, and Compilation

Allows you to manage sketches with more than one file (each of which appears in its own tab). These can be
normal Arduino code files (no visible extension), C files (.c extension), C++ files (.cpp), or header files (.h).

Uploading

Before uploading your sketch, you need to select the correct items from the Tools > Board and Tools >
Port menus. The boards are described below. On the Mac, the serial port is probably something like
/dev/tty.usbmodem241 (for an Uno or Mega2560 or Leonardo) or /dev/tty.usbserial-1B1 (for a
Duemilanove or earlier USB board), or /dev/tty.USA19QW1b1P1.1 (for a serial board connected with a
Keyspan USB-to-Serial adapter). On Windows, it's probably COM1 or COM2 (for a serial board) or
COM4, COM5, COM7, or higher (for a USB board) - to find out, you look for USB serial device in the
ports section of the Windows Device Manager. On Linux, it should be /dev/ttyACMx , /dev/ttyUSBx or
similar. Once you've selected the correct serial port and board, press the upload button in the toolbar or
select the Upload item from the File menu. Current Arduino boards will reset automatically and begin the
upload. With older boards (pre-Diecimila) that lack auto-reset, you'll need to press the reset button on the
board just before starting the upload. On most boards, you'll see the RX and TX LEDs blink as the sketch is
uploaded. The Arduino Software (IDE) will display a message when the upload is complete, or show an
error.

When you upload a sketch, you're using the Arduino bootloader, a small program that has been loaded on to
the microcontroller on your board. It allows you to upload code without using any additional hardware. The
bootloader is active for a few seconds when the board resets; then it starts whichever sketch was most
recently uploaded to the microcontroller. The bootloader will blink the on-board (pin 13) LED when it starts
(i.e. when the board resets).

Libraries

Libraries provide extra functionality for use in sketches, e.g. working with hardware or manipulating data.
To use a library in a sketch, select it from the Sketch > Import Library menu. This will insert one or more
#include statements at the top of the sketch and compile the library with your sketch. Because libraries are
uploaded to the board with your sketch, they increase the amount of space it takes up. If a sketch no longer
needs a library, simply delete its #include statements from the top of your code.

There is a list of libraries in the reference. Some libraries are included with the Arduino software. Others can
be downloaded from a variety of sources or through the Library Manager. Starting with version 1.0.5 of the
IDE, you do can import a library from a zip file and use it in an open sketch. See these instructions for
installing a third-party library.

Third-Party Hardware

Support for third-party hardware can be added to the hardware directory of your sketchbook directory.
Platforms installed there may include board definitions (which appear in the board menu), core libraries,
bootloaders, and programmer definitions. To install, create the hardware directory, then unzip the third-
party platform into its own sub-directory. (Don't use "arduino" as the sub-directory name or you'll override
the built-in Arduino platform.) To uninstall, simply delete its directory.

Serial Monitor

Displays serial data being sent from the Arduino or Genuino board (USB or serial board). To send data to
the board, enter text and click on the "send" button or press enter. Choose the baud rate from the drop-down
that matches the rate passed to Serial.begin in your sketch. Note that on Windows, Mac or Linux, the
Arduino or Genuino board will reset (rerun your sketch execution to the beginning) when you connect with
the serial monitor.

Preferences

Some preferences can be set in the preferences dialog (found under the Arduino menu on the Mac, or File
on Windows and Linux). The rest can be found in the preferences file, whose location is shown in the
preference dialog.
Language Support

Since version 1.0.1 , the Arduino Software (IDE) has been translated into 30+ different languages. By
default, the IDE loads in the language selected by your operating system. (Note: on Windows and possibly
Linux, this is determined by the locale setting which controls currency and date formats, not by the language
the operating system is displayed in.)

If you would like to change the language manually, start the Arduino Software (IDE) and open the
Preferences window. Next to the Editor Language there is a dropdown menu of currently supported
languages. Select your preferred language from the menu, and restart the software to use the selected
language. If your operating system language is not supported, the Arduino Software (IDE) will default to
English.

You can return the software to its default setting of selecting its language based on your operating system by
selecting System Default from the Editor Language drop-down. This setting will take effect when you
restart the Arduino Software (IDE). Similarly, after changing your operating system's settings, you must
restart the Arduino Software (IDE) to update it to the new default language.

Boards

The board selection has two effects: it sets the parameters (e.g. CPU speed and baud rate) used when
compiling and uploading sketches; and sets and the file and fuse settings used by the burn bootloader
command. Some of the board definitions differ only in the latter, so even if you've been uploading
successfully with a particular selection you'll want to check it before burning the bootloader.

Arduino Software (IDE) includes the built in support for the boards in the following list, all based on the
AVR Core. The Boards Manager included in the standard installation allows to add support for the growing
number of new boards based on different cores like Arduino Due, Arduino Zero, Edison, Galileo and so on.
 Arduino Yùn
An ATmega32u4 running at 16 MHz with auto-reset, 12 Analog In, 20 Digital I/O and 7 PWM.
 Arduino/Genuino Uno
An ATmega328 running at 16 MHz with auto-reset, 6 Analog In, 14 Digital I/O and 6 PWM.
 Arduino Diecimila or Duemilanove w/ ATmega168
An ATmega168 running at 16 MHz with auto-reset.
 Arduino Nano w/ ATmega328
An ATmega328 running at 16 MHz with auto-reset. Has eight analog inputs.
 Arduino/Genuino Mega 2560
An ATmega2560 running at 16 MHz with auto-reset, 16 Analog In, 54 Digital I/O and 15 PWM.
 Arduino Mega
An ATmega1280 running at 16 MHz with auto-reset, 16 Analog In, 54 Digital I/O and 15 PWM.
 Arduino Mega ADK
An ATmega2560 running at 16 MHz with auto-reset, 16 Analog In, 54 Digital I/O and 15 PWM.
 Arduino Leonardo
An ATmega32u4 running at 16 MHz with auto-reset, 12 Analog In, 20 Digital I/O and 7 PWM.
 Arduino Micro
An ATmega32u4 running at 16 MHz with auto-reset, 12 Analog In, 20 Digital I/O and 7 PWM.
 Arduino Esplora
An ATmega32u4 running at 16 MHz with auto-reset.
 Arduino Mini w/ ATmega328
An ATmega328 running at 16 MHz with auto-reset, 8 Analog In, 14 Digital I/O and 6 PWM.
 Arduino Ethernet
Equivalent to Arduino UNO with an Ethernet shield: An ATmega328 running at 16 MHz with auto-
reset, 6 Analog In, 14 Digital I/O and 6 PWM.
 Arduino Fio
An ATmega328 running at 8 MHz with auto-reset. Equivalent to Arduino Pro or Pro Mini (3.3V, 8
MHz) w/ ATmega328, 6 Analog In, 14 Digital I/O and 6 PWM.
 Arduino BT w/ ATmega328
ATmega328 running at 16 MHz. The bootloader burned (4 KB) includes codes to initialize the on-
board bluetooth module, 6 Analog In, 14 Digital I/O and 6 PWM..
 LilyPad Arduino USB
An ATmega32u4 running at 8 MHz with auto-reset, 4 Analog In, 9 Digital I/O and 4 PWM.
 LilyPad Arduino
An ATmega168 or ATmega132 running at 8 MHz with auto-reset, 6 Analog In, 14 Digital I/O and 6
PWM.
 Arduino Pro or Pro Mini (5V, 16 MHz) w/ ATmega328
An ATmega328 running at 16 MHz with auto-reset. Equivalent to Arduino Duemilanove or Nano w/
ATmega328; 6 Analog In, 14 Digital I/O and 6 PWM.
 Arduino NG or older w/ ATmega168
An ATmega168 running at 16 MHz without auto-reset. Compilation and upload is equivalent to
Arduino Diecimila or Duemilanove w/ ATmega168, but the bootloader burned has a slower timeout
(and blinks the pin 13 LED three times on reset); 6 Analog In, 14 Digital I/O and 6 PWM.
 Arduino Robot Control
An ATmega328 running at 16 MHz with auto-reset.
 Arduino Robot Motor
An ATmega328 running at 16 MHz with auto-reset.
 Arduino Gemma
An ATtiny85 running at 8 MHz with auto-reset, 1 Analog In, 3 Digital I/O and 2 PWM.
III. Installing Additional Arduino

Once you are comfortable with the Arduino software and using the built-in functions, you may want to
extend the ability of your Arduino with additional libraries.

What are Libraries?

Libraries are a collection of code that makes it easy for you to connect to a sensor, display, module, etc. For
example, the built-in LiquidCrystal library makes it easy to talk to character LCD displays. There are
hundreds of additional libraries available on the Internet for download. The built-in libraries and some of
these additional libraries are listed in the reference. To use the additional libraries, you will need to install
them.

How to Install a Library

Using the Library Manager

To install a new library into your Arduino IDE you can use the Library Manager (available from IDE
version 1.6.2). Open the IDE and click to the "Sketch" menu and then Include Library > Manage Libraries.

Then the library manager will open and you will find a list of libraries that are already installed or ready for
installation. In this example we will install the Bridge library. Scroll the list to find it, then select the version
of the library you want to install. Sometimes only one version of the library is available. If the version
selection menu does not appear, don't worry: it is normal.
Finally click on install and wait for the IDE to install the new library. Downloading may take time
depending on your connection speed. Once it has finished, an Installed tag should appear next to the Bridge
library. You can close the library manager.
You can now find the new library available in the Include Library menu. If you want to add your own
library open a new issue on github.

Importing a .zip Library

Libraries are often distributed as a ZIP file or folder. The name of the folder is the name of the library.
Inside the folder will be a .cpp file, a .h file and often a keywords.txt file, examples folder, and other files
required by the library. Starting with version 1.0.5, you can install 3rd party libraries in the IDE. Do not
unzip the downloaded library, leave it as is.

In the Arduino IDE, navigate to Sketch > Include Library. At the top of the drop down list, select the option
to "Add .ZIP Library''.

You will be prompted to select the library you would like to add. Navigate to the .zip file's location and open
it.
Return to the Sketch > Import Library menu. You should now see the library at the bottom of the drop-down
menu. It is ready to be used in your sketch. The zip file will have been expanded in the libraries folder in
your Arduino sketches directory.

NB: the Library will be available to use in sketches, but examples for the library will not be exposed in the
File > Examples until after the IDE has restarted.

Manual installation

To install the library, first quit the Arduino application. Then uncompress the ZIP file containing the library.
For example, if you're installing a library called "ArduinoParty", uncompress ArduinoParty.zip. It should
contain a folder called ArduinoParty, with files like ArduinoParty.cpp and ArduinoParty.h inside. (If the
.cpp and .h files aren't in a folder, you'll need to create one. In this case, you'd make a folder called
"ArduinoParty" and move into it all the files that were in the ZIP file, like ArduinoParty.cpp and
ArduinoParty.h.)

Drag the ArduinoParty folder into this folder (your libraries folder). Under Windows, it will likely be called
"My Documents\Arduino\libraries". For Mac users, it will likely be called "Documents/Arduino/libraries".
On Linux, it will be the "libraries" folder in your sketchbook.

Your Arduino library folder should now look like this (on Windows):

My Documents\Arduino\libraries\ArduinoParty\ArduinoParty.cpp
My Documents\Arduino\libraries\ArduinoParty\ArduinoParty.h
My Documents\Arduino\libraries\ArduinoParty\examples
....

or like this (on Mac and Linux):

Documents/Arduino/libraries/ArduinoParty/ArduinoParty.cpp
Documents/Arduino/libraries/ArduinoParty/ArduinoParty.h
Documents/Arduino/libraries/ArduinoParty/examples
....

There may be more files than just the .cpp and .h files, just make sure they're all there. (The library won't
work if you put the .cpp and .h files directly into the libraries folder or if they're nested in an extra folder.
For example: Documents\Arduino\libraries\ArduinoParty.cpp and
Documents\Arduino\libraries\ArduinoParty\ArduinoParty\ArduinoParty.cpp won't work.)

Restart the Arduino application. Make sure the new library appears in the Sketch->Import Library menu
item of the software. That's it! You've installed a library!

IV. Installing additional Arduino Cores

Starting from the IDE version 1.6.2, only AVR Arduino boards are installed by default. Some Arduino
boards require an additional Core to be installed

One example is the Arduino Due, which uses an ARM/SAM microcontroller. In order for the Arduino IDE
to be able to program an Arduino Due, you need to install the SAM Core using the Boards Manager
How to install a core
In this example we will install the core required by the Arduino Due board.
Click on Tools menu and then Boards > Boards Manager.

The board manager will open and you will see a list of installed and available boards.
Select the SAM core, choose the version in the drop-down menu and click on install.
The download time will depend on your connection speed.

After installation is complete an Installed tag appears next to the core name. You can close the Board
Manager.

Now you can find the new board in the Board menu.