Arduino basic boards

What is Arduino?

In general, Arduino is a small board with a large number of components and possible extensions. This embedded systems platform, developed at Ivrea Interaction Design Institute in Italy as an easy-to-use rapid prototyping tool, was originally intended for students of technical faculties who did not have much experience with electronics and programming. It is worth remembering that the name "Arduino" does not refer to a specific model, but to several dozen variants of boards designed for different purposes and with different functions: since its appearance on the market in 2005, Arduino began to gain more and more users, which led to the development of its next generations. Thanks to Arduino boards, you can develop simple drivers for Internet of Things (IoT) applications, 3D printers, and various controls for widely used embedded systems. The possibilities are basically endless.

What can Arduino do?

Every Arduino board is based on easy-to-use hardware and software. The GPIO-interfaced bus allows you to work with input devices through which you can send signals to output devices through a programmed microcontroller, for example, to start the motor, make the LEDs light up, or control IoT applications. By writing the appropriate set of instructions (code) and loading it into the microcontroller's memory on the Arduino board, you can instruct the board to work with peripheral devices. The Arduino programming language is based on the Wiring environment and is therefore similar to C and C++. The manufacturer provides its own Arduino IDE application with sample programs. Importantly, Arduino has an active and dedicated group of supporters - students, hobbyists, artists, engineers, scientists and other professionals from around the world. This means you can quickly get help with your project and share your ideas and experiences to help other Arduino users.

Why Arduino?

Thanks to its simple and user-friendly interface, Arduino is eagerly used in thousands of electronic projects and is considered an important tool when learning new things. Teachers and students use Arduino to build simple electronic measuring devices to visualize physical phenomena and chemical reactions, and it also serves as an introductory tool for embedded programming and robot building. On the other hand, professional designers and architects use Arduino to build prototypes of interactive devices and smart buildings, while musicians and artists create electronic musical instruments and sound effects. Arduino is recommended for beginners due to its ease of programming, large number of available knowledge sources, high compatibility with various devices and interfaces, and wide range of available add-ons and extensions. Regardless of your age, profession, area of interest and skill level, you can easily start DIY with this platform - with the help of instructions on how to connect additional modules and devices to your Arduino board and program it step by step.