Millions of people around the world have been saying yes to Arduino since the microprocessor platform was launched
in 2005. Yes to coding; yes to creativity; yes to tweeting plants and cats; yes, most of all, to the satisfaction
and enjoyment that comes from turning an idea into reality. The combination of user-friendly, connectable
hardware, open source software and accessible programming language has made the Arduino prototyping system
beloved by designers, hobbyists, artists and engineers.
The first thing that strikes you about an Arduino board is how small it is: fitting comfortably within the palm
of a hand, the various Arduino microcontroller formats - Nano, Uno, Mega, Leonardo, Due and Yun - pack incredible
power within their petite packages. Arduino boards are pre-assembled with Atmel ATMEGA chips, surface mounted
components and a range of connection ports and digital pins, which can be used to connect inputs and outputs.
If you are an electronics novice, Arduino is your ideal launch pad. Within minutes of plugging an Arduino microcontroller
board into your PC's USB port and opening the IDE software, you can be programming the board to interact
with its environment and perform simple electronic tasks. By linking your Arduino to a range of inputs, devices
and integrating components (such as sensors, LEDs and display modules), there is almost no limit to the projects
that can be created.
