Holding the original Arduino board in my hands, the thought of assembling a clone of it arose in my head. After sitting and thinking about the project, it was decided to fit everything on a single-sided board, and to provide communication with the computer, equip the board with an FT232RL chip. In order to avoid damaging the computer's USB port due to excess current consumption, I decided to sacrifice the ability to be powered from USB, but more on this move a little later.
So, dear readers, I present to your attention our version of the Arduino clone. Meet the Paduino FT232RL
As mentioned above, the board has a drawback - it does not have the ability to be powered by a USB port. However, thanks to the use of the FT232RL chip, the board has a 3.3V output. Also to add. The functionality would include the presence of an automatic loading jumper (ENABLE), as well as a jumper (JP LED13), which allows you to turn off the not always used LED connected to pin number 13.
Also, in addition to the already existing Vin output on the Arduino, a VTG INPUT output was added. In my opinion, the standard Vin output has a number of disadvantages, although on the other hand there are advantages. The disadvantages include the loss of voltage on the diode (0.6-0.8 volts); also, when the Arduino is powered not from the power connector, but directly from the combs, we lose protection against polarity reversal because The Vin output in the circuit is located after the protective diode. At the VTG INPUT pin, we always have a voltage equal to the input without any losses, and also when the Arduino is powered through combs, the polarity reversal protection functionality is preserved because In the diagram, the output is located in front of the protective diode. The advantages of the Vin pin include the fact that if the power is properly supplied, there will always be a plus on it, otherwise there will be nothing, while on the VTG INPUT there will be either a minus or a plus.
The point of this modification is the ability to power homemade motor shields presented on this site and our Arduino clone from one power source without any loss of supply voltage.
Since the FTshka in this assembly uses only the ground and signal lines of the USB port, then, after looking through the datasheet, we will hang the harness on it in the following configuration:
This time I will skip all the manufacturing steps. From the manufacturing process, I will only attach a photo of the etched and tinned board before the installation of the elements began.
A few words about the FT232RL. The microcircuit is quite small in size. In order for you to evaluate your strength, I present a photo of the FT on a ten-kopeck coin.
We place the Ftshka on the board, center it, wet the legs with flux, take a very small amount of solder on the soldering iron tip, and quickly go over each leg. If you are new to soldering and have not yet learned how to solder quickly, with one touch, I advise you to do an interval of 10-15 seconds after each leg.
As for the size, the Paduino is not much larger than the original Arduino.
That's it, we've sorted out the manufacturing. To work in the Arduino environment, all that remains is to fill the controller memory with bootloader.
After loading the bootloader, nothing prevents us from proceeding directly to programming.
First you need to download the Arduino environment. You can download the latest version on the manufacturer's website.
We connect our clone to the computer; if there is Internet access, the device should be detected automatically.
If, upon connection, the driver for the FT232RL was not installed automatically, then download the driver for your OS from the FTDI manufacturer’s website.
In the comments to the article, a person pointed out the possibility of a conflict between new drivers on the FT232RL from the manufacturer’s website. In this regard, it is better to install the driver from the Arduino IDE (arduino-1.0.5-windows\arduino-1.0.5\drivers\FTDI USB Drivers)
Open the downloaded product and select the board. The board will appear as Arduino NG or older w/ATmega 8 when using an ATmega 8 controller, or Arduino NG or older w/ATmega 168 when using an ATmega168.
Then select the COMport to which the board is connected. My cable was identified as number nine.
To check the functionality, add a test flasher program to the controller by following these steps:
After successful download you should see the following
If everything worked, then congratulations to you. You have personally assembled a full-fledged USB Arduino clone.
The archive contains a template for LUT and a list of parts.
Open the image => Print => Full page
To make it easier to solder the SMD components on the back side of the board, where there are no markings, I will provide a picture.
I would like to note that there are no value markings on the SMD capacitors, but to make wiring easier, I marked them in the picture. 104 - 0.1 µF, 22 - 22pF.
This Arduino controlled mechanism can open any combination lock in less than 30 seconds. The hacker project Samy Kamkar demonstrated a vulnerability.
A project for a 3D printed Arduino robot to save time sorting Skittles. Perhaps the biggest disappointment is that the mechanism is not universally suitable for M&M's. Video and more detailed description
Amazing gadget for prototyping. Tired of running around with a tape measure? With this device, you can quickly sketch out a room-sized sketch.
The engine of progress in many cases is laziness. Shovel snow? A robot is needed for this job. Perhaps snow blower sellers will not like this project, because... The author believes that everyone can make one for themselves. .
Everyone has different musical tastes. But sometimes the music is just terrible. No one in the company likes her. It happens. If your dream and such moments are to shoot a gun and change the music... then know that the project has been implemented, dreams come true.
Send messages unnoticed, launch applications, broadcast your location - all this can be done by gently stroking your hair - this is so natural for girls.
To knit, you don’t have to turn to your grandmother or buy professional equipment. Make your own robot that knits using Arduino.
A project for those who dream of making a BB-8 robot from Star Wars.
In this project, an MIT student implemented a door opening using a Google Now voice command. To get into the house, you just need to say: “Open sesame.” Video and description of the project.
The typewriter of 1960 has become not only a printer, but also a musical instrument.
Controlled robot AT-AT from Star Wars.
There are many Terminator fans in the world, but few have recreated the T-800 robot. You can read more about the project and watch the video.
A fun homemade robot that you can make yourself. More details about the project.
The TV remote is no longer needed. All you have to do is think about changing the channel. The project uses a chip from the game Star Wars Force Trainer, released in 2009. Read more.
Good day, dear readers and users of the best portal Trashbox! It's no secret that you can make good money on things you create with your own hands. If the idea is really interesting, then you can create your own business based on it. Using Arduino in this area is a very convenient solution, because Arduino is not prohibited for commercial use. Today we will talk to you about five interesting business ideas.
Doing business on Arduino is very profitable, since you only need to write a sketch once. You simply “fill” the already prepared one into the next copies. See the ideas themselves below.
In order: Arduino Nano, Arduino Uno and NRF24L01
I didn’t want to call this item a “smart” home, because this idea is only about temperature control. I would implement this idea using several Arduino Nanos and one Arduino Mega/Uno. Communication between them will be carried out using the NRF24L01 radio module. This module allows you to connect up to six Arduinos.
The Arduino Nano will be housed in a small case along with a DHT22 temperature and humidity sensor, an NRF24L01 radio communication module and a power source - a battery, for example. Several of these small boxes will be placed throughout the house.
DHT2 and text LCD display
The data from the Arduino Nano will be received by the "base", which is an Arduino Uno or Mega, enclosed in a large case along with an NRF24L01 (as a receiver), a text LCD display and a power source (battery). All this will be located near the heating system. The “base” will be able to receive and process temperature data and, depending on the value of this data, a command will be sent to the heating system to increase or decrease the temperature.
An example of a ready-made solution.
It's no secret that managing your own greenhouse requires a lot of attention: opening and closing doors on time, monitoring soil moisture, and also monitoring the growth of crops planted there. All this can be automated using Arduino.
In order: Arduino Mega, DHT22 and text LCD display.
One Arduino is capable of monitoring the temperature of the greenhouse (using the same DHT22 sensor), displaying the necessary information on the LCD display, sending a command to open the tap to supply water, and also control the motors to open and close the doors.
In order: Arduino Mega, L298N and stepper motor.
This also includes 3D printers. There are many ways on the Internet to make a CNC machine based on Arduino. Not all of them are working, but there will definitely be good options. For hardware, you will need an Arduino, preferably a Mega, as well as an L298N motor driver and, of course, the motors themselves. Everything else is a frame and program code. I must note that this is one of the most difficult ideas to implement.
An example of a ready-made solution.
There is no doubt that children really like robots, especially those that they can control themselves. With the help of Arduino, robots can be made even from scrap materials. I once toyed with the idea of making a robot in a vacuum cleaner shell that was very similar to the astromech droid from Star Wars.
In order: HC-SR04, L293D, HC-06 and NRF24L01
The HC-SR04 ultrasonic rangefinder can determine the distance to obstacles in order to subsequently avoid them. The L293D motor driver, which is used as an expansion board, is capable of controlling four motors and three servos at once. In terms of communication, we are not very limited. You can use the HC-06 bluetooth module, which will allow you to control your brainchild from a smartphone, but it cannot boast of a good communication range, which cannot be said about the already known NRF24L01 radio communication module. However, then you will lose the ability to control from your smartphone.
As a power source, you can use 18650 batteries connected in parallel to increase the total capacity.
In any case, I hope you found it interesting. Write in the comments, have you come across similar ideas?
In this article you will find an overview of Arduino engineering projects with a brief description of each of them. We tried not only to talk about projects for beginners, but also to provide brief comments with examples and implementation diagrams. Most projects can be created with Arduino Uno R3, Nano or Mega controllers. We hope that your acquaintance with the platform will continue, and you will be able not only to repeat existing ideas, but also to come up with your own solutions inspired by the examples.
If you look at all Arduino projects, information about which is available on the Internet, you can divide them into several main groups:
For each of these groups you can find a wide variety of materials in books and on websites. In this article we will begin our acquaintance with a description of the simplest projects that beginners are recommended to start with.
An Arduino project is always a combination of an electronic circuit, some interconnected hardware and mechanical devices, a power supply system, and the software that controls all this chaos. Therefore, when starting work, you must firmly understand that when creating a device alone, you will have to become a programmer, an electronics engineer, and a designer.
If we are not talking about an educational project, then you will definitely encounter the following stages of implementation with the following tasks:
Each of these stages of creating a project is worthy of a separate article. But we will focus on the stages of assembling electronic circuits (the basics of electronics) and programming the controller.
Electronic circuits are usually assembled using elements that are fastened together without soldering or twisting. You can find out how the modules and connection diagrams work on our website. Typically, the project description indicates how the parts will be installed. But for most popular modules there are already dozens of ready-made diagrams and examples on the Internet.
The creation and firmware of sketches is carried out in a special program - a programming environment. The most popular version of such an environment is the Arduino IDE. On our website you can find information about.
Let's start our review with the traditionally simplest, but very important projects, which include a minimum number of elements: LEDs, resistors and, of course, an Arduino board. All examples are designed for use, but with minimal changes they will work on any board: from and to, and even LilyPad.
Without exception, all textbooks and guides for beginners on Arduino start with an example of LED blinking. There are two reasons for this: such projects require minimal programming and they can be launched even without assembling an electronic circuit - really, and there is an LED on any Arduino board. Therefore, we will not be an exception - let's start with the beacon.
We will need:
What should happen in the end:
The LED flashes - turns on and off at regular intervals (default - 1 second). The speed of switching on and off can be adjusted.
Project diagram
The project diagram is quite simple: we only need an Arduino controller with a built-in LED connected to pin 13. It is with this LED that we will blink. Any popular boards will do: Uno, Nano, Mega and others.
We connect the Arduino to the computer, make sure that the board comes to life and flashes the boot lights. In many boards, the “blinking” sketch is already written into the microcontroller, so the LED can start blinking immediately after switching on.
With the help of such a simple beacon project, you can quickly check the functionality of the board: connect it to the computer, upload a sketch, and by the blinking of the LED it will immediately become clear whether the board is working or not.
If your board does not have a loaded beacon sketch, it doesn’t matter. You can easily download a ready-made example available in the Arduino programming environment.
Open the Arduino IDE program and make sure the correct port is selected.
Checking the Arduino port - select the port with the maximum number Then we open the ready-made Blink sketch - it is in the list of built-in examples. Open the File menu, find the sub-item with examples, then Basics and select the Blink file.
Opening the Blink example in Arduino IDE The open window will display the source code of the program (sketch), which you will need to load into the controller. To do this, simply click on the button with the arrow.
Arduino IDE Information - Download Complete We wait a little (you can track the download process below) - that’s all. The board will again blink with several LEDs, and then one of the LEDs will begin its measured cycle of on and off. Congratulations on your first uploaded project!
In this project we will create a blinking LED - we will connect it using wires, a resistor and a breadboard to an Arduino. The sketch itself and the operating logic will remain the same - the LED turns on and off.
A graphical representation of the connection diagram is available in the following figure:
Other LED project ideas:
A detailed description of the connection diagram and logic of the program can be found in a separate article dedicated to projects with LEDs.
On the Internet you can find a huge number of examples of various projects with Arduino. We have made a small selection of the most unusual projects.
Today you can easily find hundreds of projects created by the hands of enthusiastic engineers around the world. It is impossible to do a quality review of all of them. In this collection we just made a short review
This original project seems incredible, because to change the channel you don’t need a remote control, but the thought of changing it. To create, you will need an Arduino Uno, the Star Wars Force Trainer game, an infrared receiver and transmitter.
The project was carried out by Daniel Davis at home. He took the 2009 game Star Wars Force Trainer as a basis and disassembled it. The game itself contains a headset that can detect electrical fields of the mind (similar to EEG). Inside was a NeuroSky EEG chip, which Daniel connected to an Arduino board. EEG data is collected and converted on a computer.
Using a serial monitor, you can view the signals that the remote control transmits to the IR receiver when switching channels. Next, the button code is written down and a small program is written.
After completing the programming part, the person is put on a helmet and can switch the TV cables and turn it off by focusing their thoughts.
Plotclock is a simple robot that consists of a hand with a marker that writes the current time on a board. When the time changes, the hand erases the previously written number and writes new values. The project is constantly evolving, the technology described is the simplest.
To implement the project, you need a 3D printer, Arduino Uno, 3 servos, bolts and nuts, a whiteboard marker, and a white surface.
The mechanical component of the robot is made of plastic elements and interconnected mechanisms. The arm is controlled using an Arduino board and three servo motors.
The project implements opening a door using a specific voice command. To enter the room, just say the phrase “Open Sesame.”
To create it you will need an Arduino Uno, a servo motor, and a Bluetooth module.
Google Now commands are used to unlock the door. For smartphones and tablets there is an application called “Sesame”, which sends a command to the door lock when the words “Okay Google, Sesame, open” are pronounced.
The servomotor is connected to the door lock. The Bluetooth module waits for a command, and when it receives it, it sends a signal to the Arduino via the serial port. The Arduino Uno issues a command to the servo and the door opens.
An Arduino-based LED cube is an entertainment lighting device. It can be of different sizes with different backlight modes. The cube is equipped with a mode switch button.
To create, you will need 64 LEDs, 4 100 Ohm resistors, conductors, a breadboard, connectors, a box, a 9V power supply and an Arduino Uno board.
A sketch of a 4x4 square is drawn or printed on the box. Holes are made into which LEDs are placed. The anodes need to be connected to each other, then the box needs to be turned and the diodes pulled out. 3 more layers are formed in the same way. All layers must be connected using the remaining cathodes. The resulting cube is placed on the breadboard and connected to the board.
Using Arduino, you can create a useful thing for your home - a cleaning robot. A self-made model will not be inferior in its characteristics to a store-bought copy.
For assembly you will need:
The vacuum cleaner is equipped with IR sensors. They react when the vacuum cleaner approaches an obstacle and command it to stop and turn around. When colliding with a wall or other obstacle, one of the switches connecting the bumper and the robot body is activated.
The webcam is mounted on a rotating mechanism and connected to a PC running OpenCV software. When the program detects a face, it begins calculating its center point. The resulting coordinates are transmitted to the Arduino microcontroller, which controls the servos and monitors the face.
For implementation you will need:
Automating aquarium tasks helps make the user's life easier. The project must be responsible for the following activities:
To assemble the device, you will need an Arduino Uno board, a piezo signal, an RGB strip, a white diode strip, a temperature and humidity sensor, an LCD screen, a clock, 2 relays, an IR receiver, and transistors.
There are many schemes for implementing the device. An example of one of them is given below.
You also need to write a code to turn on one color or another depending on the conditions and configure the operation of the LCD screen.
In a smart greenhouse for flowers, temperature and lighting are monitored and adjusted, and soil is watered. This is especially true for heat-loving tropical plants, in which it is necessary to constantly maintain a high temperature. You can control it automatically or remotely from a tablet or smartphone.
To assemble the project, you need the following components:
The photoresistor is responsible for measuring illumination. The temperature sensor receives the air temperature. The soil moisture module is placed in the ground and measures the water level in the ground.
The device can be used in a smart home as a meter for electricity consumption on modern meters. The information is read through the counter LED - the duration between blinks is calculated.
The operating principle is as follows. Arduino reads the blinking frequency and provides information via the wireless module. A module installed on the computer receives this data and transmits it to LabVIEW, which displays power consumption data in real time.
The blinking of the LED is detected by a photoresistor. Analog data is read using a voltage divider.
To work you will need:
The program will display a consumption graph for the last 5 minutes and in real time.
You can create an audio player using Arduino with your own hands. Its design is simple - it consists of a speaker, a transistor, a micro-SD card with tracks recorded on it. Arduino is used as a board; you can also take a Seeeduino 2.21 or Garagino controller on ATmega328.
For assembly you need:
The player works as follows. Arduino loads files with the extension .wav of the memory card. A signal is generated, which is output through speakers connected to pin 9 on the board.
The song must first be converted to .wav format. This can be done using the simplest online converter. Music files have limitations when playing melody. The transistor will not be able to read complex .wav files, so it is recommended to convert the tracks to the following form: 16 kHz per second, mono channel, bits per sample - 8.
Music is recorded on a pre-formatted memory card and saved with simple names. After collecting the circuit, you need to write the code, turn on the power, after which the music will start playing.
Having found a project that interests you on the Internet, first try to understand its operating principle. Look at how the elements are connected, what functions they perform, and what the limitations are. Try to first create a prototype of the device (an electronic circuit with firmware) and only then try to completely repeat what you see in the description.
Smart home projects are one example of how to move from “toys” and exercise equipment to real systems that help and make life easier. As a rule, it is impossible to create full-fledged autonomous solutions using Arduino, but it is quite possible to make individual components.
At the same time, we need to understand that when faced with real infrastructure objects, we must take special precautions when working with electricity, heating, pressurized water supply, and sewerage. Any experiments here must be carried out under the supervision of a professional.
What could be a prototype of a smart home using Arduino:
Each of these areas can contain dozens of different projects. You can easily find a suitable option on the Internet or in one of our articles.
Young Arduino makers living in small towns and rural areas, where there is a lot of nature and not much “civilization,” can successfully use Arduino for research and nature conservation, as well as agricultural automation. Here are some of the project ideas that you can implement on your own at the level of prototypes and ready-made solutions:
Projects with drones: aerial photography, fertilization.
Arduino is a small electronic device consisting of a single printed circuit board that is capable of controlling various sensors, electric motors, lighting, transmitting and receiving data... Arduino is a whole family of devices of different sizes and capabilities. And also this is a whole zoo of Arduino clones and a world of Arduino-compatible devices. But let's talk about everything in order.
The "brain" of Arduino is microcontroller families Atmega. A microcontroller is a microprocessor with memory and various peripheral devices, implemented on a single chip. In fact, it is a single-chip microcomputer that is capable of performing relatively simple tasks. Different models from the Arduino family are equipped with different microcontrollers.
Atmega328 - the brain of the Arduino UNO
The photo shows a microcontroller Atmega328. Such microcontrollers cost Arduino UNO And Arduino Nano(but in a different building).
But what good is a brain if it has no hands? In this case, the hands are electrical terminals, placed around the perimeter of the Arduino board. There are boards with more pins, and some with fewer. For example, the largest board in the Arduino family is Arduino Mega- has more than 70 independent outputs, and the smallest - Arduino Pro Mini- 22 pins in total.
The photo shows a comparison of Arduino Mega and Arduino Pro Mini. Can you imagine what a person could do with as many hands as there are Arduino Mega pins?
Not all Arduino pins are the same. There are conclusions digital, is there analog. The fundamental difference between them is that the digital pins can have only two values: either logical “1” (TRUE, from 3 to 5 volts) or logical “0” (FALSE, from 0 to 1.5 volts), and On the analog pins, the range from logical “1” to “0” is divided into many small sections.
Why is this necessary? Let's look at such a clear example. If you connect an LED to the Arduino digital pin and apply a logical “1” to the output, the LED will light up with maximum brightness; If you apply "0" the LED will go out. There are no intermediate options. If the LED is connected to an analog output, then the brightness of the LED can be controlled smoothly. In practice, some kind of analog sensors are most often connected to the analog outputs.
As a result, such a number of “arms” of Arduino allows you to connect a huge number of different peripheral devices to it. Among them, for example:
And also dozens of different sensors:
And much, much more
All this turns Arduino into a universal system core that can be configured in a completely variety of ways. Want to make a radio-controlled pet feeder? Please! Do you want the window on your loggia to close when it starts to rain? Please! Do you want to control the brightness of the lighting in your room from your smartphone? Easily! Would you like to receive email notifications if your houseplants' soil becomes too dry? And this is possible!
The photo shows only a tiny part of the peripherals that can be connected to the Arduino. In fact, there are many, many more.
How does the processor know what exactly it should do? You should tell him this. Writing messages for Arduino is called programming. There is a language for communicating with a microcontroller, simplified and adapted specifically for Arduino. Mastering this language is not at all difficult if you have the desire and some persistence, even if you have never programmed before.
And to simplify this process, a special software environment has been developed - Arduino IDE. It includes dozens of examples of good, working programs. After studying them, you will very quickly learn a lot about the language of communication with Arduino.
Arduino will allow your programs to move from the virtual world into the real world. You'll be able to see how the programs you write make an LED blink or a motor rotate, and then do more complex and useful things. Arduino will allow you to learn a lot of new and interesting things in both electronics and programming. In the end, this can serve as an excellent hobby for you, a fun activity with children, and a wonderful and useful pastime.
You can order Arduino and a wide variety of sensors for it in the Chinese online store Ali-Express. Here prices are lower, but delivery takes from 3 weeks to 1.5 months. You can order Arduino at the Voltiq.ru electronics store. The prices here are slightly higher than in Chinese online stores, but you don’t have to wait a whole month. Another good electronics and robotics store is FastNVR.ru.
And finally, look at what different and wonderful projects can be implemented using Arduino!
