Adventures in Arduino

Arduino programming for the absolute beginner, with
project-based learning

Adventures in Arduino is the beginner's guide to Arduino
programming, designed specifically for 11-to 15-year olds who want
to learn about Arduino, but don't know where to begin. Starting
with the most basic concepts, this book coaches you through nine
great projects that gradually build your skills as you experiment
with electronics. The easy-to-follow design and clear,
plain-English instructions make this book the ideal guide for the
absolute beginner, geared toward those with no computing
experience. Each chapter includes a video illuminating the
material, giving you plenty of support on your journey to
electronics programming.

Arduino is a cheap, readily available hardware development
platform based around an open source, programmable circuit board.
Combining these chips with sensors and servos allows you to gain
experience with prototyping as you build interactive electronic
crafts to bring together data and even eTextiles. Adventures in
Arduino gets you started on the path of scientists,
programmers, and engineers, showing you the fun way to learn
electronic programming and interaction design.

• Discover how and where to begin Arduino programming

• Develop the skills and confidence to tackle other projects

• Make the most of Arduino with basic programming concepts

• Work with hardware and software to create interactive
  electronic devices

There's nothing like watching your design come to life and
interact with the real world, and Arduino gives you the capability
to do that time and again. The right knowledge combined with the
right tools can create an unstoppable force of innovation, and your
curiosity is the spark that ignites the flame. Adventures in
Arduino gets you started on the right foot, but the path is
totally up to you.

Autorentext

Becky Stewart founded Codasign, a London education company that teaches Arduino and other technology skills to young people. She documents her engineering work at http://blog.theleadingzero.com/.

Zusammenfassung
Arduino programming for the absolute beginner, with project-based learning Adventures in Arduino is the beginner's guide to Arduino programming, designed specifically for 11-to 15-year olds who want to learn about Arduino, but don't know where to begin. Starting with the most basic concepts, this book coaches you through nine great projects that gradually build your skills as you experiment with electronics. The easy-to-follow design and clear, plain-English instructions make this book the ideal guide for the absolute beginner, geared toward those with no computing experience. Each chapter includes a video illuminating the material, giving you plenty of support on your journey to electronics programming.

Arduino is a cheap, readily available hardware development platform based around an open source, programmable circuit board. Combining these chips with sensors and servos allows you to gain experience with prototyping as you build interactive electronic crafts to bring together data and even eTextiles. Adventures in Arduino gets you started on the path of scientists, programmers, and engineers, showing you the fun way to learn electronic programming and interaction design.

• Discover how and where to begin Arduino programming
• Develop the skills and confidence to tackle other projects
• Make the most of Arduino with basic programming concepts
• Work with hardware and software to create interactive electronic devices
  There's nothing like watching your design come to life and interact with the real world, and Arduino gives you the capability to do that time and again. The right knowledge combined with the right tools can create an unstoppable force of innovation, and your curiosity is the spark that ignites the flame. Adventures in Arduino gets you started on the right foot, but the path is totally up to you.

Inhalt

Introduction 1

What Is an Arduino? 1

What You Will Learn 1

Parts You Will Need 2

Tools You Will Need 11

Software You Will Need 15

Other Useful Materials 15

What I Assume You Already Know 16

How This Book Is Organised 16

Conventions 18

The Companion Website 20

Reaching Out 20

Adventure 1

Setting Up Your Arduino 21

What You Need 22

Downloading and Installing the Arduino Software on Your Computer 22

Installing Arduino Software on a Mac 24

Installing Arduino Software on a Windows PC 25

Installing Arduino Software on a Linux Machine 27

Exploring the Arduino IDE 27

Using Blink to Test That Everything Is Set Up Correctly 29

Uploading Blink 30

Troubleshooting Common Problems 33

Building an LED Circuit 38

What You Need 38

Understanding Circuit Schematics 38

Using a Breadboard 41

Building Your First Circuit 43

Further Adventures with Arduino 45

Adventure 2

Reading from Sensors 47

What You Need 47

Adding More LEDs 48

Printing Messages to the Computer 54

Reading Data from a Potentiometer 58

Making Decisions in Code 62

Building a Status Message Sign 64

What You Need 64

Understanding the Circuit 65

Prototyping on a Breadboard 66

Writing the Code 67

Creating your Sign 71

Cutting Holes for the Potentiometer and LEDs 72

Adding the Status Messages and Decorating the Sign 72

Soldering the Circuit 73

Inserting the Electronics 76

Further Adventures with Arduino 77

Adventure 3

Working with Servos 79

What You Need 79

Understanding Different Types of Motors 81

Controlling a Servo with Arduino 82

Repeating the Same Thing Over and Over 85

Digital Input with a Push Button 87

Building a Combination Safe 91

What You Need 92

Understanding the Circuit 94

Prototyping on a Breadboard 95

Writing the Code 95

Making the Safe 102

Soldering the Wires 104

Inserting the Electronics 107

Further Adventures with Arduino 107

Adventure 4

Using Shift Registers 109

What You Need 110

Organising Your Code 111

Using Functions 111

Using for Loops 115

Getting More Outputs with Shift Registers 117

How a Shift Register Works 118

Clock 118

Data 119

Latch 119

Making the Connections for a Shift Register 119

Adding LEDs 122

Writing the Code 123

Adding More Shift Registers 127

Building Your Name in Lights 129

What You Need 130

Understanding the Circuit 131

Prototyping on a Breadboard 131

Writing the Code 132

Making the Lights 136

Soldering the Wires 137

Inserting the Electronics 138

Further Adventures with Shift Registers 139

Adventure 5

Playing Sounds 141

What You Need 141

Making a List 142

Making Your Intentions Known 144

Looping Through an Array 146

Putting It Into Practice 146

Making Noise 150

Wiring the Circuit 151

Writing the Code 151

Building an Augmented Wind Chime 155

What You Need 157

Understanding the Circuit 158

Prototyping on a Breadboard 158

Writing the Code 160

Making the Wind Chime 160

Making the Base 162

Making the Chimes 162

Attaching the Chimes 164 Connecting the Ele...