Type of Arduino

There are many different types of Arduino boards available for hobbyists.
Arduino shields and special Arduino starter kits offer more for the money.

Arduino Board
These boards are the backbone to an Arduino build and contain the
processors, memory, input, and output ports. There are many from which to
choose. The Uno and Leonard are underpowered for bigger, more ambitious builds,
but they make a good starting place for those wanting to learn.

Type of Arduino

ARDUINO UNO

This is the latest revision of the basic Arduino USB board. It connects to the computer
with a standard USB cable and contains everything else you need to program and use
the board. It can be extended with a variety of shields: custom daughter-boards with
specific features. It is similar to the Duemilanove, but has a different USB-to-serial chip
the ATMega8U2, and newly designed labeling to make inputs and outputs easier to
identify.
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ARDUINO DUE

The Arduino Due is the second iteration of the classic Arduino and offers more
features for advanced users. The Dues processor is faster, has more memory, and
more I/O ports. It does not support many shields. Because of the faster CPU, the
Arduino Due runs on a lower voltage: 3.3V over the Unos 5V. This means it cannot
always support the same devices.The Arduino Due is a microcontroller board based
on the Atmel SAM3X8E ARM Cortex-M3 CPU. It is the first Arduino board based on a
32-bit ARM core microcontroller. It has 54 digital input/output pins of which 12 can be
used as PWM outputs, 12 analog inputs, a 84 MHz clock, an USB OTG capable
connection, 2 DAC, 2 TWI, a power jack, an SPI header, a JTAG header, a reset
button and an erase button.

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ARDUINO MEGA

The Arduino Mega is a microcontroller board based on the ATmega1280 It has 54

digital input/output pins of which 14 can be used as PWM outputs), 16 analog inputs,
4 UARTs hardware serial ports, a 16 MHz crystal oscillator, a USB connection, a power
jack, an ICSP header, and a reset button. It contains everything needed to support the
microcontroller; simply connect it to a computer with a USB cable or power it with a AC-
to-DC adapter or battery to get started. The Mega is compatible with most shields
designed for the Arduino Duemilanove or Diecimila

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The Leonardo is not a common board, but has similar features to the Uno,
including the 5V power supply and the processing power. It is a good board for those
who need more input and output ports than the Arduino Uno, but do not need the
horsepower or size of the Due. It uses a micro-USB adapter instead of the Unos full-
size USB port.
The Arduino Shields

Arduino Shields are boards that connect to a number of different Arduino models.
They extend the abilities of the basic board by adding features such as wireless
network access, cell access, or the ability to prototype circuits.

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Wireless Shields

The wireless-enabled shields for the Arduino come in two types. One, the Wi-Fi
Shield, allows the board to access the Internet through an 802.11 b/g-supported
network and has a built-in micro-SD card slot to host files accessible through the Internet or
the network. The Wireless SD Shield has an Xbee module and enables communications
between the Arduino and other Xbee-supported devices, including the Wireless Proto Shield.

The GSM Shield

The GSM Shield has a slot for a cell phone SIM card. This allows users to create an
alert system where they would receive a text or phone call from the Arduino. The
shield could also allow performing functions when it received a call or a text from the
user.

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The Ethernet Shield
The Ethernet Shield is much like the Wi-Fi Shield but supports connections to the
network through Ethernet or network cables instead. It also features an SD slot to
host files on the network or the Internet.

The Proto Shields

These shields allow users to practice or breadboard their designs without needing to
solder anything. There is the Wireless Proto Shield and the Proto Shield available.
The Wireless Proto Shield uses the Xbee chip to communicate with other devices,
while the Proto Shield connects directly to the Arduino board. They support through-
hole integrated circuits as well as surface mount integrated circuits.

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Arduino/Genuino Uno Board Anatomy

Arduino/Genuino boards senses the environment by receiving inputs

from many sensors, and affects their surroundings by controlling lights, motors, and
other actuators. Arduino/Genuino boards are the microcontroller development
platform that will be at the heart of your projects. When making something you will
be building the circuits and interfaces for interaction, and telling the microcontroller
how to interface with other components. Here the anatomy of Arduino/Genuino Uno.

1. Digital pins Use these pins with digitalRead(), digitalWrite(), and analogWrite().
analogWrite() works only on the pins with the PWM symbol.

2. Pin 13 LED The only actuator built-in to your board. Besides being a handy
target for your first blink sketch, this LED is very useful for debugging.

3. Power LED Indicates that your Genuino is receiving power. Useful for
debugging.

4. ATmega microcontroller The heart of your board.

5. Analog in Use these pins with analogRead().

6. GND and 5V pins Use these pins to provide +5V power and ground to your
circuits.

7. Power connector This is how you power your Genuino when its not plugged into
a USB port for power. Can accept voltages between 7-12V.

8. TX and RX LEDs These LEDs indicate communication between your Genuino

and your computer. Expect them to flicker rapidly during sketch upload as well
as during serial communication. Useful for debugging.

9. USB port Used for powering your Genuino Uno, uploading your sketches to your
Genuino, and for communicating with your Genuino sketch (via Serial. println()
etc.).

10. Reset button Resets the ATmega microcontroller.

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