Arduino is a piece of multimedia and open source software based on an easy-to-use hardware. More precisely, it is a physical computing prototyping platform created to make experimenting with electronics more intuitive and fun. After the invention of Processing in 2001 and Wiring in 2003, Arduino was born at the Ivrea Interaction Design Institute in Italy in 2005 and is nowadays considered to be a key tool to learn new things. Arduino had to adapt to new needs since its beginning and can now run on Linux, Windows and Mac. It has its own unique programming language, based on Wiring, and simplifies the process of working with microcontrollers significantly. The open-source platform Arduino has the ability of taking inputs and interpreting that information to control various outputs, e.g. a blinking LED light.


















To put it straight, Arduino is essentially a small portable computer, which is considered the child of traditional desktop and laptop computers and is the perfect platform for both beginners and advanced DIY enthusiasts. Not only students, hobbyists, children and designers make use of this platform, but also artists, architects, programmers and professionals as it is a quite cheap alternative to other microcontrollers. A microcontroller is a small computer on an integrated circuit (IC), which contains a processor, memory and can be programmed to function with inputs and outputs. In fact, a microcontroller has the same fundamental parts as a computer. Microcontrollers are to find in cameras, robots, refrigerators, phones, dishwashers and microwaves for example.

As the Arduino software (IDE), which goes along with the board, is an open-source software, users are allowed to develop themselves independently and contribute to this accessible knowledge.

To sum up, Arduino is taking the world of electronics and relating it to the physical world in a real and tangible way. The idea of something being open for anyone to use via a free licence, including the software, hardware and design, is part of the open design movement that takes place nowadays. Massimo Banzi, who helped inventing Arduino, even mentions the term 'third industrial revolution' while talking about 3D printers in his Ted Talk in 2012, because they enable today’s DIY community to create crafts without needing anyone’s permission. All of this is possible thanks to Arduino - a mashup of open source technologies.

















In class, we did some experiments with Arduino by working in pairs. First, we created a circuit with cables and plugged the Arduino board to the USB input of our laptop. The first assignement was to make an LED light blink on and off for a second.







































After the first exercise, we had to create a circuit that made the LED light dim, when touching the sensor with your finger. We had to use two resistors to accomplish this task.



































After that, we used Arduino to navigate another object, which was connected to the Arduino board. By turning the black stick, digital information was sent to the other object to pick up the same movement.


















































Physical computing describes the process of building (interactive) physical systems by the use of software and hardware that can sense and respond to the analog world. It is an area within art and design that explores the relationship between the human and the digital world. The possibilities with physical computing are endless as the use of sensors and microcontrollers enables to exceed the limits of the expression of the human body.

By combining the physical and the virtual world, physical computing creates a conversation between those two elements.

These days, more and more brands refuse to stick to print-based material and want physical computing and everything that belongs to the field of interaction design, which exists since about 20 years.

Physical computing