This document provides an overview of physical prototyping with an Arduino board. It discusses what an Arduino board is, downloading and installing the Arduino IDE, code structure including the setup function and main loop, how to connect an Arduino to a computer, breadboard layout, common Arduino functions like pinMode and digitalWrite, programming concepts like variables and for loops, and gives an example homework of recreating the Knight Rider car's light effect.

1. PHYSICAL PROTOTYPING
© 2011 K3 Creative Commons v3.0 SA-NC
Lab 1: Inputs & Outputs
With the Arduino prototyping board

2. ARDUINO, WHAT IS THAT?
Image taken from booklet by M. Banzi et al.2

3. Image taken from booklet by M. Banzi et al.
FEEL IT, TINKER
3

4. JUNK IS GOLD
Image taken from booklet by M. Banzi et al.4

5. ARDUINO USB - LAYOUT
ANALOG PINS 0 TO 5POWER OUTPUTS
RESET SWITCH
POWER CONNECTOR
6 v – 24 v
USB CONNECTOR
DIGITAL PINS 0 TO 13
5

6. DOWNLOAD & INSTALL
Download the IDE from:
http://www.arduino.cc
Make sure you download
the right version for
your operating system
6

7. The IDE
IDE stands for Integrated
Development Environment
Arduino's IDE is completely based
on the Processing IDE since
September 2005
Using the IDE is a 3-step process:
1) Write your code
2) Compile the code
3) Upload to Arduino
7

8. FILE MENU
NEW, SAVE, OPEN,
EXAMPLES…
EDIT MENU
CUT, PASTE, FIND…
TOOLS MENU
COM-PORT SETTINGS,
TOOLS,
BOARD TYPE
8

9. 9
OPEN SKETCH
VERIFY / COMPILE
NEW SKETCH
SAVE SKETCH
UPLOAD
SERIAL MONITOR

10. Variables are containers for values.
You can give a variable any name you
like.
The value of a variable can be
changed and used dynamically as
many times as you like.
Variables are good to use when you
use values more than once in your
program.
Arduino Uno has 32 kilobytes of flash
memory and can store up to 1024
bytes as variables.
Code structure
Variable declaration
10

11. The Setup method is used to initiate
the board before the code gets
executed.
This code runs only once when the
reset button has been pressed.
It defines if pins should be used as
inputs or outputs, whether serial
communication is going to be used,
etc.
Code structure
The setup method
11

12. The loop is where the action is!
This is where you write your program
It executes from top to bottom, line by
line, and then starts over (looping back).
Code structure
The program loop
12

13. How to hook up your Arduino to your computer
Check the communication port (COM port)
Windows: COMXX ,
Linux: /dev/ttyUSBXX,
MAC: /dev/cu.usbserial-AXXX.
Did it install correctly?
COM-port number? (remember the port's identity)
Choose right COM port in IDE
Open “LED Blink” example under Examples/1. Basics
Compile and upload to Arduino
A built-in LED at pin 13 should blink
Check out the code and see if you can change the interval
QUICK START-GUIDE
13

14. BREADBOARD LAYOUT
Image taken from booklet by M. Banzi et al.14
The center grid is connected in this way
The outer sides are connected in this way

15. Current (A): is the number of electrons per time and section of cable
Voltage (V): is the difference in the number of electrons between two
points, It only exists in relative terms!, thus we have to “share grounds”
when interconnecting circuits
Resistance (R): reduces the flow of electrons
Current always takes the easiest possible way
If it has the option to pass through cable or resistor, it chooses the cable
In series connection
Rtotal = R1 + R2
A parallel connection
Rtotal = (R3*R4) / (R3+R4)
Voltage, Current & Resistance
15

16. Buttons
Hook up a ”push button” as shown in this diagram:
PRACTICAL EXAMPLE
16

17. Common Arduino methods:
pinMode(pin, MODE);
 Sets pin (”pin”) in a specific mode, INPUT or OUTPUT
 Normally used in the setup.
digitalWrite(pin, HIGH/LOW);
 Will set one of the digital pins on the Arduino board to be either
HIGH (5V) or LOW (0V).
int digitalRead(pin);
 Will read one of the digital pins on the Arduino board and will
answer either HIGH (5V) or LOW (0V).
if(statement) {block_code1} else {block_code2};
 If the conditional statement is met, block_code1 will run, otherwise
block_code2 will be executed.
for (init; end; increment) {}
 Will execute a certain piece of code a certain amount of times.
PROGRAMMING
17

18. for(counter=0; counter<end; counter++){}
1)The FOR loop is a software construct that will execute a
block of code a number of times.
2)The code will be looped until a certain condition is met
3)FOR loops are constructed with an initialization value, a
boolean statement, and a counting statement
4)We use them to iterate a certain action a determined
amount of times
counter initialization
FOR LOOP
condition counter
increment / decrement
18

19. VARIABLES
Predefined Data Types
There are three different variable types:
1) INT – 16 BIT, (-32768 TO 32767)
Port numbers, values read from ports, results from
calculations...
2) CHAR – 8 BIT (1 BYTE), (0 TO 256)
Letters (A-Z), Small values, not suited for calculations,
sending data serially...
3) LONG – 32 BIT, (-2147483648 TO 2147483647)
Results from calculations, counting milliseconds...
The type of variable determines the maximum size of the value
Use the appropriate variable types, because of limited memory
Use variable names that make sense!
NOT myVariable, myValue, port...
INSTEAD firstInput, nbrOfOutputs...
19

20. HOMEWORK: KNIGHT RIDER
Implement the light effect as seen in
KIT, the Knight Rider car
from the iconic 80's TV series
with David Hasselhoff
The light sequence should be activated
when a user presses a button.
20