Electronics GLOSSARY

Arduino UNO WiFi Rev2 is the Arduino board that is used throughout CTC GO!

This board is empowered with the ATMEGA4809 microprocessor to balance between processing speed and power consumption.

The board has 14 digital input/output pins (5 of which can be used as PWM outputs), 6 analog inputs, a USB connection, a power jack, an ICSP header, and a reset button.

As its name suggests, it is also able to communicate via WiFi.

An array is a numbered list of the same type of elements. It is a group of variables that are identified by one name, and accessed by an index number, first index being 0.

An arithmetic operator is a mathematical function that takes two values and performs a calculation on them.

+ addition

- subtraction

/ division

= assignment operator

% remainder

* multiplication

Only two states are possible. A typical use in electronics is: ON and OFF, or HIGH and LOW to indicate if there is current flowing through or not.

A button is a component that connects two points in a circuit when you press them. We can read the state of the button with digitalRead() function. Button is connected to ground and digital pin and does not have polarity.

A breadboard is a piece of plastic with holes. As some of the holes are connected by metal strips inside, a breadboard allows us to build circuit without having to connect the components to each other directly.

Comparison operators compare values to each other and return true or false statement.

!= not equal to

< less than

<= less than or equal to

== equal to

> greater than

>= greater than or equal to

A conditional statement is a programming concept that helps the microcontroller decide what part of the program it needs to execute based on a condition.

Current is the flow of electric charge through a closed circuit. It flows from the positive end to the negative end of the battery. Measured in Amps.

delay(ms)

Pauses the program for the amount of time (in milliseconds) specified as parameter. (There are 1000 milliseconds in a second.)

digitalWrite(pin, value)

This function allows us to create digital signals through the selected pin. Digital signals have two states: ON and OFF. If the pin has been configured as an OUTPUT with pinMode(), replacing "value" with HIGH will turn it ON and to turn it OFF, we will use LOW.

digitalRead(pin)

This function measures if the voltage in the digital pin, indicated between the brackets, is HIGH or LOW.

else{action}

The if...else allows greater control over the flow of code than the basic if statement, by allowing multiple tests to be grouped together. An else clause will be executed only when the if statement results in false.

A flowchart is a visual diagram of an algorithm. In the flowcharts the rectangles indicate actions and the rhombuses indicate conditions (to check the status of something).

for(condition){action}

The for statement is used to repeat a block of statements enclosed in curly braces. An increment counter is usually used to increment and terminate the loop. The for statement is useful for any repetitive operation, and is often used in combination with arrays to operate on collections of data/pins.

Function is a block of code that executes a specific task and can be called later by writing its name. Once a function is written, it can be used over and over again. They are used to combine several lines of code into a single line.

A programming language generally consists of many predefined functions, such as digitalWrite() in Arduino code.

The ground is the point of a circuit where there is 0 potential electrical energy. Without a ground, electricity will not have a place to flow in a circuit. In the Arduino board, the ground pin is marked GND.

IoT stands for Internet of Things and refers to devices that are connected to the internet and are communicating with each other. The Arduino UNO WiFi Rev2 is an example of a device that can be connected to the internet.

if(condition){action}

The condition inside of the if's parentheses can only return true or false. When it is true, the action inside of the curly brackets { } is executed. When false, everything inside those brackets is skipped. See else().

Inputs are the signals or instructions sent to a computer when the board is receiving information from any external component. It means that the information flows IN towards the microcontroller. Components that detect information and send it to the board are called inputs, such as button, potentiometer, and phototransistor.

LED, stands for light-emitting diode is a small light source that converts eletrical energy into light. LEDs have polarity and two terminals. The longer terminal is called anode, which needs to be connected to the positive (+) end of the circuit, power. The shorter terminal is called cathode and needs to be connected to the negative (-) side, ground.

Logical operators are used to compare Boolean values to each other and they will return true or false.

! logical not

&& logical and

|| logical or

The loop(){} function does precisely what its name suggests, and loops consecutively, allowing your program to change and respond. Every command we write between the curly brackets is going to be repeated as long as the board is powered.

map(value, fromLow, fromHigh, toLow, toHigh)

The map() function allows us to transform the range of a variable. It re-maps a number from one range to another. That is, a value of fromLow would get mapped to toLow, a value of fromHigh to toHigh, values in-between to values in-between.

A microcontroller is the brain of the Arduino, a small computer that we will program to listen for, process, and display information. It is capable of controlling outputs and reading input values, as well as processing these pieces of information by a processor built into it.

noTone(pin)

When we use the tone() function in one pin, it is playing a sound until we tell it to stop playing, and to do that we use the function noTone().

Ohm is an unit of measurement of resistance. Ohm's law is a mathematical equation that demonstrates the relationship between resistance, current and voltage. Usually stated as V (voltage) = I (current) x R (resistance).

Being open-source means that anyone can peek inside the blueprints and softwares, add modifications to them and distribute the content.

An output is when the microcontroller sends information to the components, it means that the information flows OUT from the microcontroller. Components that receive information from the microcontroller and react to it are called outputs, such as LED, servo motor, and piezo.

A program is a set of coded instructions organized in a certain way. A program contains one or more commands that are executed sequentially from top to bottom. The program tells the microcontroller what to do to achieve a certain outcome.

PWM, stands for "Pulse Width Modulation" and is a way to simulate a varying static voltage. A PWM signal is a digital signal that turns on and off very very fast. The different voltage values generated by using a PWM signal depends on the time the signal is in high state.

Potentiometer is a simple knob that provides a variable resistance, which can be read by the Arduino board as an analog value. By turning the shaft of the potentiometer, we change the amount of resistance, controlling the amount of voltages (from 0 to 5) going to the pin.

random(min, max)

We can use the random() function to generate a random integer from the range between values min and max-1. The bottom limit is inclusive and the top is exclusive, so that random(1,4) would give us a value of 1, 2 or 3.

Resistance is a measure of how efficiently a material will conduct electricity. In particular, resistance can be calculated by Ohm’s Law as: R = V / I.

A resistor is an electronic component that regulates the amount of current in a circuit. The bigger the resistance value of a resistor, the less current will go through it.

Sketch is the term given to programs written in the Arduino IDE.

The syntax of a code is the set of rules that we need to follow in order to secure the readability of the code. As an example, it is part of the syntax of the Arduino language to differentiate between lower-case and upper-case letters. This means that if we type inputLED and inputLed, they will be seen different from each other.

It prints text, any combination of characters or value of a variable to the Serial monitor. Adding ln to the command will add a linebreak at the end and next print will go in a new line.

Serial.print("text")

Serial.println("text")

Serial.print(variable)

Serial.println(variable)

tone(pin, frequency)

The tone() function creates an analogic signal that allows us to play sounds by using a piezo. Only one tone can be generated at a time. The sound continues until a call to noTone().

An ultrasonic sensor can be used to measure the distance of an object. In the middle ultrasonic has four pins:

VCC to power the sensor,

Range to select the distance and precision of the sensor,

Out for measuring, and

GND for ground.

USB, stands for Universal Serial Bus. USB port in a computer is used to upload programs as well as to power the Arduino board. It’s a generic port that is standard on most computers today. With a USB cable, it’s possible to program and power an Arduino over a USB connection.

Variable is a data type that stores values which are likely to change as our program runs. For each variable you need to specify the type of data it will contain, the name of the variable, and the value to assign to it. A variable’s type depends on the type of information we want to store, and the maximum size of the information; for example, a byte can store 256 different values, but an int can store up to 65,536 different values.

Examples of different variable types:

int = integers(whole numbers)

float = decimal numbers

long = large numbers

char = single quote characters, 'A'

string = text/multiple characters, "ABC"

bool = true or false

Voltage is an electromotive force or potential difference that is measured in volts (V).

WiFi is a type of wireless connection allowing devices to connect to the Internet or communicate with each other in a particular area.