Chapter 1. Introduction
Arduino is an open source physical computing platform based on a simple input/output (I/O) board and a development environment that implements the Processing language (www.processing.org). Arduino can be used to develop standalone interactive objects or can be connected to software on your computer (such as Flash, Processing, VVVV, or Max/MSP). The boards can be assembled by hand or purchased preassembled; the open source IDE (Integrated Development Environment) can be downloaded for free from www.arduino.cc
Arduino is different from other platforms on the market because of these features:
It is a multiplatform environment; it can run on Windows, Macintosh, and Linux.
It is based on the Processing programming IDE, an easy-to-use development environment used by artists and designers.
You program it via a USB cable, not a serial port. This feature is useful, because many modern computers don't have serial ports.
It is open source hardware and software—if you wish, you can download the circuit diagram, buy all the components, and make your own, without paying anything to the makers of Arduino.
The hardware is cheap. The USB board costs about €20 (currently, about US$35) and replacing a burnt-out chip on the board is easy and costs no more than €5 or US$4. So you can afford to make mistakes.
There is an active community of users, so there are plenty of people who can help you.
The Arduino Project was developed in an educational environment and is therefore great for ...
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