Introduction to Arduino

What is Arduino?

Arduino is an open-source prototyping platform based on easy-to-use hardware and software. Arduino boards are able to read inputs - light on a sensor, a finger on a button, or a Twitter message - and turn it into an output - activating a motor, turning on an LED, publishing something online. You can tell your board what to do by sending a set of instructions to the microcontroller on the board. To do so you use the Arduino programming language (based on Wiring), and the Arduino Software (IDE), based on Processing. Arduino was born at the Ivrea Interaction Design Institute as an easy tool for fast prototyping, aimed at students without a background in electronics and programming. As soon as it reached a wider community, the Arduino board started changing to adapt to new needs and challenges, differentiating its offer from simple 8-bit boards to products for IoT applications, wearable, 3D printing, and embedded environments.

Why Arduino?

Thanks to its simple and accessible user experience, Arduino has been used in thousands of different projects and applications. The Arduino software is easy-to-use for beginners, yet flexible enough for advanced users. It runs on Mac, Windows, and Linux. Teachers and students use it to build low cost scientific instruments, to prove chemistry and physics principles, or to get started with programming and robotics.

Arduino Software

The open-source Arduino Software (IDE) makes it easy to write 

code and upload it to the board. It runs on Windows, Mac OS X,

and Linux. The environment is written in Java and based on 

Processing and other open-source software. This software can be

used with any Arduino board.

There are two special functions that are a part of every Arduino sketch: setup() and loop() . The setup() is called once, when the sketch starts. It's a good place to do setup tasks like setting pin modes or initializing libraries. The loop() function is called over and over and is heart of most sketches.

Programming Microcontroller

Programming or burning a microcontroller means to transfer the program from the compiler to the memory of the microcontroller. A compiler is a software which provides an environment to write, test and debug a program for the microcontroller. The program for a microcontroller is generally written in C or assembly language. Finally the compiler generates a hex file which contains the machine language instruction understandable by a microcontroller. It is the content of this hex file which is transferred to the memory of the microcontroller. Once a program is transferred or written in the memory of the microcontroller, it then works in accordance with the program.There are many compilers for programming microcontroller. Example: MPLab, MikroC, AVR compiler, Keil uvision etc.

  

    

In order to know how to program a microcontroller, we need a device called a burner/programmer. A programmer is a hardware device with dedicated software which reads the content of the hex file stored on the PC or the laptop and transfers it to the microcontroller to be burned. It reads the data of the hex file by connecting itself to the PC via a serial or USB cable and transfers the data to the memory of the microcontroller to be programmed in accordance with the protocols as described by the manufacturer in the datasheet.

                                        

The programmer and the compiler differ for microcontrollers from different companies. In some cases the compiler has programmer software inbuilt in it. You simply need to connect the programmer hardware and the microcontroller can be programmed from the compiler itself.We also need some basic circuit knowledge for programming and working with microcontroller. Circuit simulation softwares can be used to simulate microcontroller program.Example: Proteus IDE, PSpice, Eagle etc.

Microcontroller World

A microcontroller (or MCU, short for microcontroller unit) is a small computer (SoC) on a single integrated circuit containing a processor core, memory, and programmable input/output peripherals. Program memory in the form of Ferroelectric RAM, NOR flash or OTP ROM is also often included on chip, as well as a typically small amount of RAM. Microcontrollers are designed for embedded applications, in contrast to the microprocessors used in personal computers or other general purpose applications consisting of various discrete chips.Microcontrollers are used in automatically controlled products and devices, such as automobile engine control systems, implantable medical devices, remote controls, office machines, appliances, power tools, toys and other embedded systems. By reducing the size and cost compared to a design that uses a separate microprocessor, memory, and input/output devices, microcontrollers make it economical to digitally control even more devices and processes. Mixed signal microcontrollers are common, integrating analog components needed to control non-digital electronic systems.

                                                  

                                                

Top Ten Micro-controller Manufacturing Companies across the Globe

                        1. Texas Instruments
                        2. Microchip Company
                        3. Silicon Labs
                        4. Renesas Technology Corp
                        5. Intel Corporation
                        6. Dallas Semiconductor
                        7. Fujitsu Semiconductor Europe
                        8. ST Microelectronics
                        9. ZiLog Company

              10. Freescale Semiconductor Company

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As of 2008, there are several dozen microcontroller architectures and vendors including:

• ARM core processors (many vendors)
  • ARM Cortex-M cores are specifically targeted towards microcontroller applications
• Atmel AVR (8-bit), AVR32 (32-bit), and AT91SAM (32-bit)
• Cypress Semiconductor's M8C Core used in their PSoC (Programmable System-on-Chip)
• Freescale ColdFire (32-bit) and S08 (8-bit)
• Freescale 68HC11 (8-bit), and others based on the Motorola 6800 family
• Intel 8051, also manufactured by NXP Semiconductors, Infineon and many others
• Infineon: 8-bit XC800, 16-bit XE166, 32-bit XMC4000 (ARM based Cortex M4F), 32-bit TriCore and, 32-bit Aurix Tricore Bit microcontrollers
• MIPS
• Microchip Technology PIC, (8-bit PIC16, PIC18, 16-bit dsPIC33 / PIC24), (32-bit PIC32)
• NXP Semiconductors LPC1000, LPC2000, LPC3000, LPC4000 (32-bit), LPC900, LPC700 (8-bit)
• Parallax Propeller
• PowerPC ISE
• Rabbit 2000 (8-bit)
• Renesas Electronics: RL78 16-bit MCU; RX 32-bit MCU; SuperH; V850 32-bit MCU; H8; R8C 16-bit MCU
• Silicon Laboratories Pipelined 8-bit 8051 Microcontrollers and mixed-signal ARM-based 32-bit microcontrollers
• STMicroelectronics STM8 (8-bit), ST10 (16-bit) and STM32 (32-bit)
• Texas Instruments TI MSP430 (16-bit), MSP432 (32-bit), C2000 (32-bit)
• Toshiba TLCS-870 (8-bit/16-bit)

                                     

Solar Energy The Renewable Energy Technology

Solar energy is radiant light and heat from the Sun that is harnessed using a range of ever-evolving technologies such as solar heating, photovoltaics, solar thermal energy, solar architecture and artificial photosynthesis.

It is an important source of renewable energy and its technologies are broadly characterized as either passive solar or active solar depending on how they capture and distribute solar energy or convert it into solar power. Active solar techniques include the use of photovoltaic systems, concentrated solar power and solar water heating to harness the energy. Passive solar techniques include orienting a building to the Sun, selecting materials with favorable thermal mass or light-dispersing properties, and designing spaces that naturally circulate air.

Solar power is the conversion of sunlight into electricity, either directly using photovoltaics (PV), or indirectly using concentrated solar power (CSP). CSP systems use lenses or mirrors and tracking systems to focus a large area of sunlight into a small beam. PV converts light into electric current using the photoelectric effect.

Solar power is anticipated to become the world's largest source of electricity by 2050, with solar photovoltaics and concentrated solar power contributing 16 and 11 percent to the global overall consumption, respectively.

Commercial CSP plants were first developed in the 1980s. Since 1985 the eventually 354 MW SEGSCSP installation, in the Mojave Desert of California, is the largest solar power plant in the world. Other large CSP plants include the 150 MW Solnova Solar Power Station and the 100 MW Andasol solar power station, both in Spain. The 250 MW Agua Caliente Solar Project, in the United States, and the 221 MW Charanka Solar Park in India, are the world’s largest photovoltaic plants. Solar projects exceeding 1 GW are being developed, but most of the deployed photovoltaics are in small rooftop arrays of less than 5 kW, which are connected to the grid using net metering and/or a feed-in tariff. In 2013 solar generated less than 1% of the world's total grid electricity.

Nokia eye re-entering mobile market

Nokia is reportedly planning for a comeback to the smartphone market with two new smartphones powered by Google's latest Android Nougat operating system version 7.0. The handsets are expected towards the end of 2016 or might be pushed to a later date sometime in the first quarter of next year, which is depending on the testing and development.

In June 2015 Nokia's chief executive officer Rajiv Suri revealed the company is planning to re-enter the mobile phone market in 2016 and it was looking for suitable partners. At the Mobile World Congress convention this year, Suri said the company is aiming at a premium device with its return to the mobile business without providing further detail about the device.

Now details shared by NokiaPowerUser, quoting its trusted sources, suggest the devices are currently in their prototype phase. Both devices belong to high-end category featuring premium metallic design, while delivering the famous Nokia feel seen on company's other devices.

Both the devices are expected to be water and dust-resistant with IP68 rating, like Samsung's new Galaxy S7, S7 Edge and S7 Active devices. What's more? Nokia's phone will stuff all the Android Nougat goodies.

The devices are like to come in two different screen sizes: the smaller variant with 5.2in screen and a bigger one with 5.5in screen. Expect the phones to feature OLED screens with QHD resolution.

Nokia is said to be secretly working to improve its Z Launcher user interface that comes with company's Android tablet, dubbed Nokia N1. The UI might have features like touch and hover interaction. Another key element is a fingerprint scanner. The smartphones might come with sensors that are most sensitive ever and based on Nokia's wonder material graphene.

In 2013 Nokia announced that it has received a $1.35bn (£1.03bn) grant from the European Union for the research and development of graphene.