Hey there Eggheads, Juan Carlos Bagnell here, wrapping up our month-long series
of Maker videos with a look at the wonderful world of Arduino. What is
Arduino and why is it such a big deal for makers? When you start doing research
around the topic online, you’ll notice that sometimes it’s called “Arduino” and
sometimes it’s called “AN Arduino.” What gives?
Well, that’s because Arduino can refer to both a physical, programmable circuit
board, called “AN Arduino,” and a piece of software, known
as an “Integrated Development Environment,” or IDE, that you use on your computer to
actually write code and program that programmable board. So “AN Arduino” usually
refers to one of those physical boards, and “Arduino” without the “an” is usually
talking about the programming language, the software, or the family of products
overall. It’s sort of right to say that Arduino is an alternative to Raspberry
Pi, which we've covered previously on this channel. That's technically correct,
which is the best kind of correct. In reality, an Arduino is a “microcontroller,”
which is a basic computer that’s good at doing a single task at a time, usually
something repetitive, over and over again. Raspberry Pi, on the other hand, is a
full fledged mini-computer, usually running on an operating system like
Linux, and is capable of more complicated projects. If you’re new to the Maker
world, an Arduino starter kit can be a good first purchase, because it’s much
simpler in just about every way than Raspberry Pi. At the same time though,
when a lot of people get excited about “Maker” projects, they might be imagining
something more involved and complicated than you can pull off with just an
Arduino kit - so it’s good to be aware of the strengths and limitations of each
option before you make that purchase. For those of you interested in getting
started with Maker projects and looking to make the plunge into Arduino, you’ll
find a great first purchase in the Inventor’s Kit V4.1 from SparkFun.
For about 100 bucks you’ll get everything you need to get started, and
you’ll be guided through five projects that give you a sense of what Arduino
can do and how to make it happen. The Inventor’s Kit is kind of like a videogame
tutorial in a box. You’ll follow steps in the included guidebook and
learn how to create interconnected circuits, light up LEDs, read sensors and -
when you put all your new skills together - finally create a simple,
autonomous robot which is pretty rad. The kit includes the basic board itself,
along with wires, LED lights, pins, clips, connector cables, and the wheels for your
eventual DIY robot buddy. And a huge plus of the Inventor’s Kit is that you can do
it all with no soldering required, which is a major part of the hassle and risk
involved with more complicated Maker projects. That makes this Inventor’s Kit a
nice gift for the younger DIY fan in your life, because your eleven year old
nephew won’t need to bust out the trusty soldering iron to build his new toy.
SparkFun recommends the inventor’s kit for beginners, age 10 and up. But don't
be ashamed if you're coming at this as an adult.
That's ages 10 and up, so grown-ups you're good too. The kit also works as an
introduction to SparkFun’s “Qwiic” (Quick) ecosystem, which is a collection of
compatible maker components designed to work simply together. You’ll find a bunch
of hese on Newegg, including sensors, actuators, cables, and compatible boards,
all built to common specifications, to make prototyping faster and less
complicated. If you don’t need the full inventor’s kit to get started, there are
plenty of basic Arduino boards available from SparkFun on Newegg, ready to be
programmed and to provide the backbone of your Maker projects. Using these
boards you can get started on a bunch of cool basic electronics projects, like
creating a motion-sensing light for your home, a robot that will follow you around,
or a mini weather display station. Check out the description below this video for
inks to the SparkFun inventor’s kit and all the related products on Newegg, as
well as more information about Arduino from SparkFun themselves. As always
thanks so much for watching, for sharing, and subscribing.
Let us know in the comments below what you thought of our Maker videos this
month, and what you'd like to see us cover in an upcoming monthly series. We
like working with a theme. For Newegg Studios I'm Juan Carlos Bagnell and I'll
catch y'all on the next video