Version 39 of Arduino

Updated 2013-03-08 10:30:35 by VH

General

Arduino is the official name for an open source micro-controller hardware technology developed in Italy. The boards (manufactured, kits or do-it-yourself plans) are available fairly cheaply and there are sensor, motor, communication and other hardware add-ons available. They have been adapted for many purposes. See the handout from an Arduino training course from http://www.sparkfun.com for some great references.

Tcl/Tk seems ideally suited as a programming languages for this technology as the interface to deliver code and i/o to the microcontroller boards. What a great new future for tcl as a Tool Command Language for actual tools as well as software tools. (But wait! According to Linuxcnc.org , Tcl/Tk was used for the interface to early CNC equipment at NIST . It is still used as an interface to EMC2 in a software called Axis .)

The Hardware

Arduino is the not the only type of hardware out there. An incomplete overview of the landscape:

  • Arduino - a specific set of Arduino-approved devices. The makers and sellers of these boards support the Arduino project financially. Check out the hardware comparison guide at sparkfun.com
  • 'duino - spin-off technologies which are not specifically authorized by Arduino
  • RaspberryPi - Credit-card sized complete computer. Runs Linux OS. Buy it here (this one does not have distributors in North America, though) and here
  • Android - Android computer boards and USB-keys are now available. An Example .
  • ARM -
  • AVR -
  • Beagle -
  • Chumby -
  • FPGA -
  • Gadgeteer -

Tcl Projects

There are a few projects noted around the web:

References

Category Embedded