Arduino

The PS2 keyboard uses a simple synchronous serial protocol using only two wires for communication. Due to its simplicity the PS2 keyboards are widely used with simple microcontroller based boards also. The PS2 keyboard always acts as a slave device which can send the equivalent ASCII value of the key which has been pressed to its master device which can be a PC or a microcontroller.The SD memory card comes in large storage capacities from 1 GB up to 32 GB are available. They are used mostly in costly devices like digital camera, media players etc. The SD memory cards are interfaced in high end devices using SD bus which provides very high speed data transfer between the device and the memory card.  They also can be interfaced with a device using the low speed and comparatively simple SPI bus and hence they are widely used in microcontroller based system also. 

The applications of microcontroller are not limited to control simple electrical or electronic device but they are widely used in robotics and automotive industries nowadays. From simple rear view mirror control to complex engine control functions are done by the microcontroller. The microcontroller can even implement to automatically controlling the vehicle without a human driver inside it and such kinds of vehicles are called Unmanned Vehicles (UV). The UVs are commonly used research, military, rescue and agriculture fields. For any UVs the real time tracking of their path is necessary to ensure that they are moving through the proper way.This project demonstrates how it is possible to make a simplest path tracking device for a ground vehicle with the help of optical mouse. This project makes use of an optical mouse which works on PS2 protocol and is interfaced with an Arduino board to read the data from it.   

The mouse and the Keyboard form the standard input unit for a Personal computer. The QWERT keyboard which is used in the PC comes with a PS2 connector or USB port connector. The PS2 keyboard uses a simple synchronous serial protocol using only two wires for communication. Due to its simplicity the PS2 keyboards are widely used with simple microcontroller based boards also. The PS2 keyboard always acts as a slave device which can send the equivalent ASCII value of the key which has been pressed to its master device which can be a PC or a microcontroller. The ZigBee is the name of a wireless protocol maintained by the IEEE 802.15 standard. This is a protocol specified for wireless Personal Area Network (PAN) using low powered wireless transceivers. There are already wireless transmitter and receiver modules which can do point to point communication.   

One can use a cell phone with any cellular networks around the globe if the proper SIM card is inserted in it. This is possible because there is some device inside the cell phone which follows a global standard enabling them to connect with different cellular networks. This standard is called Global System for Mobile communications (GSM). The mobile phones have built in GSM modules which then be used by the processor inside the phone to make a call, send or receive message or even connect with the GPRS network.  In certain applications the microcontroller based systems has to be connected with the GSM network which will enable a user to control the system by sending messages or making a call. The systems can also send messages to the user to alert or inform about the status of the system running.   

The mobile phones have built –in GSM module which enables them to connect with any cellular network around the globe. The GSM stands for Global System for Mobile communications. In certain applications the microcontroller based systems has to be connected with the GSM network which will enable a user to control the system by sending messages or making a call. The systems can also send messages to the user to alert or inform about the status of the system running. In all such cases a separate GSM module is used rather than using the mobile phones. There are GSM modules available which can do serial communication with microcontroller based systems. The communication is done by sending or receiving AT commands with the GSM module. This particular project demonstrates how to interface a GSM module and dial a call using the standard PS2 keyboard with the help of an Arduino board. 

In certain applications the microcontroller based systems has to be connected with the GSM network which will enable a user to control the system by sending messages or making a call. The advantage of using a GSM communication with a system or device is that the user can control the system wirelessly no matter how far it is kept compared to any other wireless communication, provided that both the user and the device should be in a cellular coverage area. The mobile phones have built in GSM modules which then be used by the processor inside the phone to make a call, send or receive message or even connect with the GPRS network.  When it comes to a microcontroller based system a separate GSM module is used rather than using a cell phone as such.  There are GSM modules available which can do serial communication with microcontroller based systems.  

Renesas Electronics Corporation, a supplier of advanced semiconductor solutions, has announced an investment in Arduino’s new round of Series B funding. The partnership with Arduino enables Renesas to make its broad range of products available for Arduino’s technology platforms used by its worldwide developer community. Arduino was first developed as an easy-to-use tool for fast…

In previous tutorials, we’ve covered serial communication using the UART and software serial in Arduino. The universal asynchronous receiver/transmitter (UART), I2C, and SPI are the most commonly used serial interfaces in embedded systems.  UART is useful for full-duplex serial communication with a single device over two wires. The I2C or two-wire interface (TWI) is used for half-duplex…

In the previous tutorial, we covered the I2C bus in Arduino. We also learned about using the wire library to communicate with the Inter-integrated circuit or I2C devices using Arduino boards.  The I2C bus is commonly used by digital sensors. When using this interface, hundreds of slave devices can be connected over just two wires. Each device —…

In the previous tutorial, we learned how to display custom characters on a character LCD. Character LCD is the most commonly used display device in embedded systems and circuits.  Although character LCDs are from sophisticated, they provide a simple interface that’s easy to use and learn. They also convey useful information about operating conditions, warnings,…

In the previous tutorial, we learned how to interface an LM35 temperature sensor with Arduino. LM35 is an analog sensor that can be interfaced with Arduino’s analog input pin.  In this tutorial, we’ll cover how to interface a DHT-11 sensor with Arduino. DHT-11 is a digital temperature and humidity sensor. It outputs a much more…

In the previous tutorial, we learned how to interface a DHT-11 sensor with Arduino. DHT-11 is a digital sensor that comes integrated with an 8-bit microcontroller. This integrated microcontroller outputs humidity and temperature values in the form of a 40-bit digital data packet.  In the last tutorial, we read the data packet by polling one…

In the previous tutorial, we learned about serial communication in Arduino using the universal asynchronous receiver-transmitter (UART). We also discussed how Arduino can talk with a computer system using the UART protocol.  The UART is a dedicated circuit that implements serial communication according to its protocol. Arduino boards have one or more UART/USART. These UART/USART interfaces are available through…

Electronic door locks are safer than conventional door locks. There is no possibility of lock picking in such door locks as the entire mechanism is electronic. Such door locks have an underlying embedded access control system which is generally impenetrable. Several access control systems are used in electronic door locks. The most common access control…

In the previous tutorial, we discussed interfacing RGB LEDs with Arduino. In this tutorial, you’ll learn how to interface seven-segment display (SSD) when using Arduino.  When interfacing with any kind of display device, Arduino and other controllers use digital output or serial communication. Driving SSDs by Arduino is as simple as driving an LED on it. The seven-segment…

In the previous tutorial, we learned how to interface a seven-segment display with Arduino. A seven-segment display is comprised of a unit of eight LEDs and seven of which are bar-shape and one is a dot. These display units are ideal for displaying numbers or letters. For example, they’re often used as a display unit…

In the previous tutorial, we discussed:  The functional blocks of a character LCD How character LCD works and is interfaced with a controller  How to display text on a character LCD In this tutorial, we will learn about scrolling long string of text on a character LCD, which can be tricky. A character LCD module has…

In the previous tutorial, we discussed analog output in the form of PWM signals when using Arduino. We generated a PWM wave from Arduino by employing the analogWrite() function that approximates to a rectified sine wave. It, then, uses that analog output to fade an LED.  A controller can interface and interact with external electronic components…

In the previous tutorial, we discussed analog input when using Arduino. So far, we have covered four out of the five ways that controllers can interface and interact with other electronic components and devices. This includes digital output, digital input, analog output, and analog input.  In this tutorial, we discuss how to interface RGB LEDs using Arduino.…

In the previous tutorial, we discussed multiplexing seven-segment displays (SSDs). Continuing with the display devices, in this tutorial, we will cover how to interface character LCD when using Arduino. Character LCDs are the most common display devices used in embedded systems. These low-cost LCDs are widely used in industrial and consumer applications. Display devices in embedded systems…