Arduino is an open-source electronics prototyping platform based on flexible, easy-to-use hardware and software. It is intended for artists, designers, hobbyists, and anyone interested in creating interactive objects or environments. The boards are preassembled and the software can be downloaded for free. The hardware reference designs (CAD files) are available under an open-source license.
Arduino can sense its environment by receiving input from a variety of sensors and can, in turn, affect its surroundings by controlling lights, motors, and other actuators. The microcontroller on the board is programmed using the
Arduino programming language (based on Wiring) and the
Arduino development environment (based on Processing).
Arduino projects can be stand-alone or they can communicate with software running on a computer (e.g. Flash, Processing, MaxMSP).
Arduino Uno
The
Arduino Uno is a microcontroller board based on the
ATmega328. It has 14 digital input/output pins (of which 6 can be used as PWM outputs), 6 analog inputs, a 16 MHz crystal oscillator, a USB connection, a power jack, an ICSP header, and a reset button. It contains everything needed to support the microcontroller; simply connect it to a computer with a USB cable or power it with a AC-to-DC adapter or battery to get started. The Uno differs from all preceding boards in that it does not use the FTDI USB-to-serial driver chip. Instead, it features the
Atmega8U2 programmed as a USB-to-serial converter.
The Uno board is offered with a through hole (
73-4440) or an SMD (
73-4443) microcontroller.
Arduino Nano
The
Arduino Nano is a small, complete, and breadboard-friendly board based on the
ATmega168. It lacks only a DC power jack, and works with a Mini-B USB cable instead of a standard one.
Arduino Mega 2560
The
Arduino Mega 2560 is a microcontroller board based on the
ATmega2560. It has 54 digital input/output pins (of which 14 can be used as PWM outputs), 16 analog inputs, 4 UARTs (hardware serial ports), a 16 MHz crystal oscillator, a USB connection, a power jack, an ICSP header, and a reset button. It contains everything needed to support the microcontroller; simply connect it to a computer with a USB cable or power it with a AC-to-DC adapter or battery to get started. The Mega is compatible with most shields designed for the
Arduino Duemilanove or
Diecimila.
Arduino Ethernet Without PoE
The
Arduino Ethernet Without PoE is a microcontroller board based on the Arduino Uno and the
ATmega328. The shield has 14x digital input/output pins, 6x analog inputs, a 16MHz crystal oscillator, a RJ45 connection, a power jack, an ICSP header, and a reset button.
Arduino Ethernet With PoE
Similar to the ethernet without PoE, this device additionally has a Power-over-Ethernet (PoE) module that is designed to extract power from a conventional twisted pair Category 5 Ethernet cable, conforming to the
IEEE 802.3af Power-over-Ethernet (PoE) standard.
A number of accessories are available to maximise the
Arduino system functionality, please see
Arduino Open-Source Prototyping Platform - Accessories.
- Arduino boards are relatively inexpensive
- A number of supporting accessories are separately available
- Cross-platform - the Arduino software runs on Windows, Macintosh OSX, and Linux operating systems
- Simple, clear programming environment
- Open source and extensible software
- Language can be expanded through C++ libraries
- AVR-C code can be added directly into Arduino programs
- Open source and extensible hardware
- Arduino is based on Atmel's ATMEGA328 and ATMEGA2560 microcontrollers