Getting Started with Netduino

Chapter 4. Expansion Shields and Electronic Components

Netduino projects consist of up to three types of components—actuators, sensors, and microchips:

• Actuators are things that do things (act). Some examples of actuators are LEDs that illuminate, motors that spin, and relay circuits that turn things on and off.

• Sensors are things that measure (sense). Some examples of sensors are light sensors (photocells), temperature sensors, and pushbuttons.

• Microchips (also known as integrated circuits or ICs) are tiny computer chips that have specialized functions. Some examples of microchips are shift registers (which allow you to hook up even more actuators and sensors), wireless networking chips, GPS chips, and digital temperature sensors.

There are hundreds of thousands of components that can be connected to a Netduino. You can find them online or at an electronics shop. You can even scavenge them from discarded electronics.

But sometimes it is nice to have these components pre-assembled so that you can focus on the logic of your app rather than the details of the components. For this reason, there are a number of expansion shields available for Netduino.

There are hundreds of shields available for Netduino. Some shields provide the circuitry needed to power motors. Some shields provide wireless networking, GPS location data, or sound capabilities. Other shields are project shields, which contain all the components needed to build your own robot, alcohol sensor, video game console, or other ...