Interacting with the World

Can simple, cheap micro-controllers be used to enhance educational projects ?

Most people think that working with electronics is difficult and requires complicated computer programming skills. In fact, measuring sensory inputs, evaluating them against your chosen parameters, and effecting a change in the physical world is available to everyone.

The Arduino hardware and software combination make it simple and affordable to interact with the physical world. The hardware connects to the computer via a standard USB connector, and the Open Source software is available for all platforms.

The Arduino project itself was created for non-technical people to be able to use electronics in their non-technical work; similarly this presentation is aimed at computer users who have little experience with electronics or programming. It is hoped that this knowledge will be useful in courses other than ICT.

Arduino kits make it possible to make useful circuits without any soldering by using a breadboard. The kits have a number of interesting sensors, dials and lights; all of which will be investigated.

This presentation will introduce the Arduino hardware and software platform. Some projects using the Arduino will be showcased, highlighting the large variety of projects it is used in. The concept of shields will be explained. Each component of the Arduino will be explained, demystifying the hardware.

This presentation will cover ...

* Load a sketch in the IDE and download it to the hardware
* Understand the basic uses of all the pins on the Arduino
* Understand wiring diagrams and convert them to breadboards
* Understand the difference between analogue and digital input, and know which to use for each sensor
* Write basic code for the Arduino
* Understand PWM (Pulse Width Modulation)
* Know the available resources to learn more about the Arduino

This is how you cite this paper:

All delegates attending this session must bring and ensure:

Their imagination !