What is Arduino?

I2C, SPI, UART

I2C (Inter-Integrated Circuit)
• I2C is a two-wire communication protocol used for
connecting multiple low-speed peripherals to a
microcontroller. The two wires are SDA (Serial Data
Line) and SCL (Serial Clock Line).
• It's a multi-master, multi-slave, packet-switched,
single-ended, serial communication bus. This
means multiple devices (masters and slaves) can
be connected to the same bus, and communication
occurs in a serial format where data packets are
switched between different devices.
• Each device connected to the bus is addressed
through a unique address. The master device,
usually your Arduino, initiates and terminates the
data transfer, controls the clock line, and can
communicate with any slave on the bus.
• Suppose you are designing a weather station
with Arduino. You need to connect multiple
sensors like a temperature sensor, humidity
sensor, and a barometric pressure sensor to
the Arduino. These sensors can easily
communicate with the Arduino using the I2C
protocol.
• In this setup, Arduino acts as the master,
initiating communication with the sensors
(slaves), each having a unique address. The
SDA line is used for transmitting data, while
the SCL line synchronizes the communication.
You can connect all these sensors using only
two wires (apart from power and ground),
which simplifies wiring and conserves GPIO
pins on the Arduino.
SPI (Serial Peripheral Interface)
• SPI is a synchronous serial communication
interface used for short-distance communication,
primarily in embedded systems. It operates in full
duplex, meaning it can transmit and receive data
simultaneously.
• It typically uses four lines: MOSI (Master Out Slave
In), MISO (Master In Slave Out), SCK (Serial Clock),
and SS (Slave Select). MOSI and MISO are data
lines, SCK provides the clock generated by the
master, and SS is used by the master to select and
control individual slave devices.
• SPI is faster than I2C and is often used for devices
that require high-speed data transfer, like SD cards
or TFT displays.
• Consider a project where you need to display
data or images quickly, like an interactive
game on an Arduino with a TFT display. The
SPI protocol is ideal for this.
• In this scenario, Arduino is the master, and
the TFT display is the slave. The MOSI line
sends data from Arduino to the display, MISO
is used if the display has to send data back,
SCK provides a clock signal to synchronize the
data transfer, and SS selects the TFT display
among potentially multiple SPI devices. Due
to SPI's high data transfer rate, it's great for
applications requiring fast and efficient
communication.
Serial (UART):
• Serial communication in Arduino usually
refers to UART (Universal Asynchronous
Receiver/Transmitter) communication. It's a
protocol for two-way data transfer between
devices.
• It involves two pins: RX (Receive) and TX
(Transmit). Data transmitted through TX of
one device is received by the RX of another,
and vice versa.
• UART communication is asynchronous,
meaning there is no shared clock signal
between the sender and receiver. Data bits,
start bits, stop bits, and optionally parity bits
are used to ensure proper data transmission.
• A common application is Arduino
communicating with a computer for data
logging or control. Here, UART
communication is used.
• The Arduino transmits data using its TX pin,
which is received by the RX pin of the
computer's serial port (or a USB-to-serial
adapter). Conversely, data sent from the
computer's TX pin is received by the Arduino's
RX pin. This asynchronous communication
allows for easy data exchange between the
Arduino and the computer, without the need
for a shared clock signal. It's useful for
sending sensor data to the computer for
analysis or receiving commands from the
computer to control various devices
connected to the Arduino.