Getting Started with Arduino

What is Arduino?

Arduino is a tool for making computers that can sense and control more of the physical world than your desktop computer. It's an open-source physical computing platform based on a simple microcontroller board, and a development environment for writing software for the board.

Arduino can be used to develop interactive objects, taking inputs from a variety of switches or sensors, and controlling a variety of lights, motors, and other physical outputs. Arduino projects can be stand-alone, or they can be communicate with software running on your computer (e.g. Flash, Processing, MaxMSP.) The boards can be assembled by hand or purchased preassembled; the open-source IDE can be downloaded for free.

The Arduino programming language is an implementation of Wiring, a similar physical computing platform, which is based on the Processing multimedia programming environment.

Why Arduino?

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 runs on Windows, Macintosh OSX, and Linux operating systems. Most microcontroller systems are limited to Windows.
• Simple, clear programming environment - The Arduino programming environment 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 the look and feel of Arduino
• 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 Arduino is based on Atmel's ATMEGA8  and ATMEGA168microcontrollers. The plans for the modules 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.

1 | Get an Arduino board and USB cable

We assume you're using an Arduino Uno, Arduino Duemilanove, Nano, Arduino Mega 2560 , or Diecimila. If you have another board, read the corresponding page in this getting started guide.

You also need a standard USB cable (A plug to B plug): the kind you would connect to a USB printer.

2 | Download the Arduino environment

Get the latest version from the download page.

When the download finishes, unzip the downloaded file. Make sure to preserve the folder structure. Double-click the folder to open it. There should be a few files and sub-folders inside.

3 | Connect the board

The Arduino Uno, Mega, Duemilanove and Arduino Nano automatically draw power from either the USB connection to the computer or an external power supply. If you're using an Arduino Diecimila, you'll need to make sure that the board is configured to draw power from the USB connection. The power source is selected with a jumper, a small piece of plastic that fits onto two of the three pins between the USB and power jacks. Check that it's on the two pins closest to the USB port.

Connect the Arduino board to your computer using the USB cable. The green power LED (labelled PWR) should go on.

4 | Install the drivers

Installing drivers for the Arduino Uno or Arduino Mega 2560 with Windows7, Vista, or XP:

·         Plug in your board and wait for Windows to begin it's driver installation process.  After a few moments, the process will fail, despite its best efforts

·         Click on the Start Menu, and open up the Control Panel.

·         While in the Control Panel, navigate to System and Security. Next, click on System. Once the System window is up, open the Device Manager.

·         Look under Ports (COM & LPT).  You should see an open port named "Arduino UNO (COMxx)"

·         Right click on the "Arduino UNO (COmxx)" port and choose the "Update Driver Software" option.

·         Next, choose the "Browse my computer for Driver software" option.

·         Finally, navigate to and select the driver file named "arduino.inf", located in the "Drivers" folder of the Arduino Software download (not the "FTDI USB Drivers" sub-directory). If you are using an old version of the IDE (1.0.3 or older), choose the Uno's driver file named "Arduino UNO.inf"

·         Windows will finish up the driver installation from there.

5 | Launch the Arduino application

Double-click the Arduino application. (Note: if the Arduino software loads in the wrong language, you can change it in the preferences dialog.)

6 | Open the blink example

Open the LED blink example sketch: File > Examples > 1.Basics > Blink.

7 | Select your board

You'll need to select the entry in the Tools > Board menu that corresponds to your Arduino.

Selecting an Arduino Uno

For Duemilanove Arduino boards with an ATmega328 (check the text on the chip on the board), select Arduino Duemilanove or Nano w/ ATmega328. Previously, Arduino boards came with an ATmega168; for those, selectArduino Diecimila, Duemilanove, or Nano w/ ATmega168.

8 | Select your serial port

Select the serial device of the Arduino board from the Tools | Serial Port menu. This is likely to be COM3 or higher (COM1 and COM2 are usually reserved for hardware serial ports). To find out, you can disconnect your Arduino board and re-open the menu; the entry that disappears should be the Arduino board. Reconnect the board and select that serial port.

9 | Upload the program

Now, simply click the "Upload" button in the environment. Wait a few seconds - you should see the RX and TX leds on the board flashing. If the upload is successful, the message "Done uploading." will appear in the status bar. 

A few seconds after the upload finishes, you should see the pin 13 (L) LED on the board start to blink (in orange). If it does, congratulations! You've gotten Arduino up-and-running.