A very suitable introduction to working with microcontrollers is the Arduino platform. With standardized hardware boards and its own development environment based on the programming language C, the main focus of Arduino is on the rapid realization of new and individual projects. Numerous code libraries and compatible hardware extensions such as WIFI boards, SD card slots, various sensors, mp3 modules and much more enable complex projects even for beginners.

The scope of the two-week course “Arduino hard- and software for lab applications and beyond” reaches from the understanding of basic hardware components and electronics to the implementation of a multitude of libraries and modules. In addition to theoretical lectures, each group of two to three students will work on hard- and software every day. In the last few days of the course, the students apply their knowledge in an own project of their choice. Thereby, first ideas to lab automation can be implemented.

Table of contents (preliminary)

• Basics of electronics

• What is a microcontroller

• Arduino platform

• Setup, first steps

• Simple examples

• Arduino Uno

• Basic hardware connections

• Serial communication

• Software: using libraries

• Hardware: shields, modules, sensors

• Further Arduino boards

• NodeMCU and ESP8266: WIFI for Arduino

• Testing without hardware: simulators

• Individual projects with Arduino

Credits: 2,5