Arduino is an open source prototyping platform based on easy-to-use hardware and software. Arduino has been used in thousands of different projects and applications by a wide range of programmers and artists, and their contributions have added up to an incredible amount of accessible knowledge that can be of great help to novices and experts alike.
This book will be your companion to bring out the creative genius in you. Asyou progress through the book, you will learn how to develop various projects with Arduino.
Chapter 1, Getting Started with Arduino and LEDs, introduces you to different Arduino boards followed by installation instructions for the Arduino IDE. You will write a "Hello World" program using the Arduino IDE and will learn about serial communication.
Chapter 2, Project 1 – LED Night Lamp, presents you with some cool stuff of controlling LEDs and will show you how to control different LEDs with an artistic approach.
Chapter 3, Project 2 – Remote Controlled TV Backlight, teaches you the basics of IR LEDs and the basics of IR communication. Once you have learnt about programming IR sensor, you will use an IR sensor to control the TV backlight using a remote.
Chapter 4, Project 3 – LED Cube, introduces you to soldering in detail. You will also understand how to create a 4*4*4 LED Cube using the Arduino UNO board.
Chapter 5, Sound Visualization and LED Christmas Tree, shows you how to visualize sound using Arduino and then we will develop an LED Christmas tree.
Chapter 6, Persistence of Vision, helps us create an even more intensive experience by moving LEDs using motors. You will create a Persistence of Vision wand using an LED array and a motor.
Chapter 7, Troubleshooting and Advanced Resources, starts with common troubleshooting techniques. The second and last part of the chapter discusses resources that will be useful if you want to do advanced stuff with Arduino.
All you need is an Arduino IDE and the enthusiasm to work on interesting projects.
Anyone with basic computer knowledge should be able to get the most out of this book. Although familiarity with some of the electronics would be helpful, it is not a must.
In this book, you will find a number of text styles that distinguish between different kinds of information. Here are some examples of these styles and an explanation of their meaning.
Code words in text, database table names, folder names, filenames, file extensions, pathnames, dummy URLs, user input, and Twitter handles are shown as follows: "If you have downloaded "Windows ZIP file for non admin install", extract it and you will find arduino.exe."
A block of code is set as follows:
// the setup function runs once when you press reset or power the board
void setup() {
// initialize digital pin 13 as an output.
pinMode(13, OUTPUT);
}New terms and important words are shown in bold. Words that you see on the screen, for example, in menus or dialog boxes, appear in the text like this: "Make sure you have selected Arduino UNO under the Tools | Board section."
Feedback from our readers is always welcome. Let us know what you think about this book—what you liked or disliked. Reader feedback is important for us as it helps us develop titles that you will really get the most out of.
To send us general feedback, simply e-mail <[email protected]>, and mention the book's title in the subject of your message.
If there is a topic that you have expertise in and you are interested in either writing or contributing to a book, see our author guide at www.packtpub.com/authors.
Now that you are the proud owner of a Packt book, we have a number of things to help you to get the most from your purchase.
You can download the example code files for this book from your account at http://www.packtpub.com. If you purchased this book elsewhere, you can visit http://www.packtpub.com/support and register to have the files e-mailed directly to you.
You can download the code files by following these steps:
Log in or register to our website using your e-mail address and password.
Hover the mouse pointer on the SUPPORT tab at the top.
Click on Code Downloads & Errata.
Enter the name of the book in the Search box.
Select the book for which you're looking to download the code files.
Choose from the drop-down menu where you purchased this book from.
Click on Code Download.
You can also download the code files by clicking on the Code Files button on the book's webpage at the Packt Publishing website. This page can be accessed by entering the book's name in the Search box. Please note that you need to be logged in to your Packt account.
Once the file is downloaded, please make sure that you unzip or extract the folder using the latest version of:
WinRAR / 7-Zip for Windows
Zipeg / iZip / UnRarX for Mac
7-Zip / PeaZip for Linux
The code bundle for the book is also hosted on GitHub at https://github.com/PacktPublishing/Arduino-BLINK-Blueprints. We also have other code bundles from our rich catalog of books and videos available at https://github.com/PacktPublishing/. Check them out!
We also provide you with a PDF file that has color images of the screenshots/diagrams used in this book. The color images will help you better understand the changes in the output. You can download this file from https://www.packtpub.com/sites/default/files/downloads/ArduinoBLINKBlueprints_ColorImages.pdf.
Although we have taken every care to ensure the accuracy of our content, mistakes do happen. If you find a mistake in one of our books—maybe a mistake in the text or the code—we would be grateful if you could report this to us. By doing so, you can save other readers from frustration and help us improve subsequent versions of this book. If you find any errata, please report them by visiting http://www.packtpub.com/submit-errata, selecting your book, clicking on the Errata Submission Form link, and entering the details of your errata. Once your errata are verified, your submission will be accepted and the errata will be uploaded to our website or added to any list of existing errata under the Errata section of that title.
To view the previously submitted errata, go to https://www.packtpub.com/books/content/support and enter the name of the book in the search field. The required information will appear under the Errata section.
Piracy of copyrighted material on the Internet is an ongoing problem across all media. At Packt, we take the protection of our copyright and licenses very seriously. If you come across any illegal copies of our works in any form on the Internet, please provide us with the location address or website name immediately so that we can pursue a remedy.
Please contact us at <[email protected]> with a link to the suspected pirated material.
We appreciate your help in protecting our authors and our ability to bring you valuable content.
If you have a problem with any aspect of this book, you can contact us at <[email protected]>, and we will do our best to address the problem.