Microcontrol of a Macroworld: Physical Computing with Arduino

April 13th, 2014 | Published in Arduino

Downloads

What You Need: The Essentials

Arduino – A good starting model is the Uno
USB cable
Arduino IDE
Computer (Mac or PC) with USB port
Some things to connect (see Input and Output below)

Resources

Tom Igoe – Great research on physical computing and the world of microcontrollers.
Arduino – Super helpful resource for programming & using your Arduino. See Getting Started, Examples, and Reference.
Mouser – They now sell Arduinos. Also a great resource for components.
Sparkfun – All things microcontroller, though a bit on the steep side. Here’s their Arduino page.
Ebay – Do a search for Funduino. These are inexpensive Arduino knockoffs and they work just as well.
Allied – Good resource for inexpensive components with quick shipping.

Books

Physical Computing by Tom Igoe and Dan O’Sullivan
Getting Started with Arduino by Massimo Banzi

Input Sensors
Arduinos take a variety of input sensors, both analog and digital. These sensors can be used to control information inside the computer (such as a virtual synthesizer) and/or devices in the real world (such as a DC motor):

LDRs (light dependent resistors)
Potentiometers
Switches (toggles, momentary, rotary)
Flex Resistors
Pressure Resistors
IR (infrared) Rangers & Break Beams

Output Devices
Arduinos can also be used to control real world devices:

DC Motors
LEDs (light emitting diodes)
Servos
Solenoids
Relays

Let’s Go!

Check out the Arduino Getting Started tutorial and choose your platform. We’ll step through the process of installing the Arduino IDE on your computer and we’ll load our first sketch.

For Mac