What Is Arduino?
Arduino is an easy-to-program, open-source development board family built around a microcontroller. It's the most common tool for those starting with electronics.
Basic Idea
Arduino offers the chip together with a supply and USB programming circuit. Thanks to a simple IDE and a plain C/C++-based library, code can be written and uploaded to the board without deep embedded knowledge.
What Can It Do?
It easily controls sensors and modules with digital I/O (GPIO), analog reading (ADC), PWM and I2C/SPI/UART.
| Property | Arduino |
|---|---|
| Core | Microcontroller (MCU) |
| Operating system | None (bare-metal) |
| Strong point | Hardware/real-time, simplicity |
Difference From Raspberry Pi
Arduino is an MCU, has no operating system and does a single task in real time, stably. A Raspberry Pi is a computer running Linux; the two are for different jobs.
Where Is It Used?
Education, hobby projects, sensor reading, robotics, automation prototypes and fast proof of concept.
Open-Source Ecosystem
Arduino's strength is in its ecosystem more than the hardware: the designs are open source, and there are countless compatible "shields" and ready libraries. There's usually a ready library for a sensor; this speeds up development and lowers the entry barrier.
Common Mistakes
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Arduino a computer?+
Which is good for beginners?+
Search parts related to "What Is Arduino?"
Find the right part by comparing price, stock and distributors.