Sneak peak at Arduino platform

Just like I said. Arduino basically composed of two parts.

1. 1. hardware (Arduino board)
2. 2.software (The programs we write to Arduino)

Imagine Arduino is like a mother board of your computer. Each mother board has its form factor. Meaning each board is made according to a specification like these number of components should be there, these components should be placed there, these are the voltages to be used like that.

Well Arduino boards also has its own classifications.

Basically there are 5 hardware classes in which any Arduino board falls in.  These hardware are classed according to their functionality and specifications. So each class is used for specific tasks. Of course, you cant have simple LED blinking Arduino board to enterprise level highly complex robots. Can you ? :D

Each hardware class has Arduino models and here are the classes and some models.

Hardware class - Models - Functions

Basic - Uno, Leanardo - Most popular class. Good for experiments

Mega - Mega2560, MegaADK - Good for complex robots, More external device connections

Mini - MiniPro, Nano - Ideal for space utilization when building small robots

Breadboard - Boarduino - A solderless breadboard, Good for ever changing projects because you can attach parts anytime

Specialty - Lilypad, Fio, Ethernet - For specific application usages


This is some model comparison from Arduino site.
http://arduino.cc/en/Products.Compare

More on these components later. :D

These are some comparisons of Arduino models I`ve found on the web. Check them also.

http://www.robotshop.com/blog/en/arduino-microcontroller-feature-comparison-2-3631
https://learn.adafruit.com/adafruit-arduino-selection-guide/arduino-comparison-chart