This document provides an introduction to building IoT prototypes with Arduino. It discusses physical prototyping and the importance of creating low and high fidelity prototypes to test concepts. It then walks through building a basic "blink" circuit with an LED as a first circuit. Troubleshooting tips are provided. Finally, it describes adding a button and buzzer to the circuit and provides a sample code for this. The goal is to get readers started with basic electronics and coding concepts to enable prototyping of IoT devices.

1. Building IoT Prototypes
with Arduino
Kathryn McElroy

2. Introduction

3. Introduction | Kathryn McElroyWho am I?

4. What're we doing?
• Physical Prototyping
• Blink Circuit
• Basics of Electronics*
• Fading LED*
• Code Basics*
• Button & Buzzer*
• Prototyping Best Practices*
* Not included in sample deck

5. Physical
Prototyping

6. Prototyping
The cheapest and easiest way
to get an idea out of your
head and into a testable form.

7. Prototyping | Fidelity
Fidelity is how closely the prototype looks and
functions compared to the final product

8. • Quick and dirty, different
medium, not final materials
• Test high-level concepts
Low Fidelity

9. • Story boarding & user flow
• Inputs/outputs
• Circuit diagrams
Low Fidelity

10. • Breadboarding
• Sensors & components
• Coding
Low Fidelity

11. • Detailed and polished, final
medium and materials
• Test full user flow and
complex interactions
High Fidelity

12. • Component testing
• Material studies
• 3D printing
High Fidelity

13. Why do both?
• Thinking in three-dimensions or with metaphors
for digital interactions
• Testing both digital and physical sides of a smart object
Prototyping | Digital/physical

14. Prototyping | Digital/physical
Physical Buttons Digital Buttons

15. Prototyping | Digital/physical
Physical Slider Digital Sliders

16. Prototyping | Digital/physical
Physical Dial - Potentiometer Digital Dial

17. Prototyping | Tempo

18. Prototyping | Tempo

19. Your First
Circuit

20. • Grab your power
cord and Arduino
• Open the Arduino
software
Your First Circuit

21. Your First Circuit | Arduino IDE

25. • Refer to PDF handout
• Read circuit instructions in
the sketch
• Note:
“LED_BUILTIN” is tied
to pin 13, so we’re going to
actually plug in an LED to
pin 13
Your First Circuit | Blink

26. • A colored LED
• A 220ohm resistor:
red, red, brown, gold
or red, red, black,
black, gold
• Jumper wires
Your First Circuit | Blink

27. Short leg
(GND)
Long leg
(+)
Remember:
• These are jumper wires (color
doesn’t matter)
• LEDs are directional
• Resistor is not directional:
red, red, brown, gold or
red, red, black, black, gold
Your First Circuit | Blink

28. • Check your code
Your First Circuit | Blink

29. • You might get an error
• We can troubleshoot!
Your First Circuit | Blink

30. • Upload code to the
Arduino Uno
Your First Circuit | Blink

31. • Watch it blink!
• Play with the delays to change the
speed and pause between blinks
Your First Circuit | Blink

32. • Do you have any misspellings?
Check your variables.
• Did you mix up code formatting?
Check for semicolons and brackets.
• Is everything capitalized properly?
• If it uploads but doesn’t work, add in
a few “Serial.print( );” commands to
see what’s going on.
Troubleshooting | Code

33. • Are the connections fully plugged in?
• Are the wires going to the proper pin # and
breadboard row?
• Is your power source providing the right amount of
power?
• Are any of the components overheating? Touch them
lightly and unplug power immediately if they are!
• Are your directional components going the correct
direction?
Troubleshooting | Hardware

34. Button &
Buzzer

35. Button Resistor: 10K ohm
brown, black, orange, gold or
brown, black, black, gold, gold
Short leg
(GND)
Long leg
(+)
Button & Buzzer
Button & Buzzer Sample Code
• In Google Drive:
Button_and_buzzer_Example
• Remember: the buzzer is directional

36. Thanks for participating.
You made a thing!
Great job!

37. Now start prototyping all the things!
Prototyping
for Designers
@kemcelroy
hello@kathrynmcelroy.com