What is an Arduino Board?
An Arduino board is a microcontroller board that is designed to be easy to use and program. It consists of a microcontroller, which is a small computer that can be programmed to perform a variety of tasks, as well as various input and output pins that can be used to connect sensors, actuators, and other electronic components.
Arduino Boards come in a variety of shapes and sizes, each with its own set of features and capabilities. Some boards are designed for specific applications, such as wearable electronics or Internet of Things (IoT) projects, while others are more general-purpose and can be used for a wide range of projects.
Types of Arduino Boards
Arduino Uno
The Arduino Uno is the most popular and widely used Arduino board. It is a great choice for beginners who are just starting out with Arduino, as well as for more experienced users who need a reliable and versatile board for their projects.
| Feature | Specification |
|---|---|
| Microcontroller | ATmega328P |
| Operating Voltage | 5V |
| Input Voltage (recommended) | 7-12V |
| Input Voltage (limit) | 6-20V |
| Digital I/O Pins | 14 (of which 6 provide PWM output) |
| PWM Digital I/O Pins | 6 |
| Analog Input Pins | 6 |
| DC Current per I/O Pin | 20 mA |
| DC Current for 3.3V Pin | 50 mA |
| Flash Memory | 32 KB (ATmega328P) of which 0.5 KB used by bootloader |
| SRAM | 2 KB (ATmega328P) |
| EEPROM | 1 KB (ATmega328P) |
| Clock Speed | 16 MHz |
| Length | 68.6 mm |
| Width | 53.4 mm |
| Weight | 25 g |
Arduino Nano
The Arduino Nano is a compact and breadboard-friendly board that is perfect for projects where space is at a premium. Despite its small size, the Nano packs a lot of power and features into its tiny package.
| Feature | Specification |
|---|---|
| Microcontroller | ATmega328 |
| Operating Voltage | 5V |
| Input Voltage (recommended) | 7-12V |
| Input Voltage (limit) | 6-20V |
| Digital I/O Pins | 14 (of which 6 provide PWM output) |
| PWM Digital I/O Pins | 6 |
| Analog Input Pins | 8 |
| DC Current per I/O Pin | 40 mA |
| Flash Memory | 32 KB (ATmega328) of which 2 KB used by bootloader |
| SRAM | 2 KB (ATmega328) |
| EEPROM | 1 KB (ATmega328) |
| Clock Speed | 16 MHz |
| Length | 45 mm |
| Width | 18 mm |
| Weight | 5 g |
Arduino Mega
The Arduino Mega is a powerful board that is designed for more advanced projects that require more memory and I/O pins. It is based on the ATmega2560 microcontroller and has 54 digital I/O pins, 16 analog inputs, and 4 UARTs (hardware serial ports).
| Feature | Specification |
|---|---|
| Microcontroller | ATmega2560 |
| Operating Voltage | 5V |
| Input Voltage (recommended) | 7-12V |
| Input Voltage (limit) | 6-20V |
| Digital I/O Pins | 54 (of which 15 provide PWM output) |
| Analog Input Pins | 16 |
| DC Current per I/O Pin | 20 mA |
| DC Current for 3.3V Pin | 50 mA |
| Flash Memory | 256 KB of which 8 KB used by bootloader |
| SRAM | 8 KB |
| EEPROM | 4 KB |
| Clock Speed | 16 MHz |
| Length | 101.52 mm |
| Width | 53.3 mm |
| Weight | 37 g |
Arduino Leonardo
The Arduino Leonardo is a unique board that is based on the ATmega32u4 microcontroller. It has built-in USB communication, which allows it to appear to a connected computer as a mouse or keyboard. This makes it ideal for projects that require user input, such as game controllers or custom keyboards.
| Feature | Specification |
|---|---|
| Microcontroller | ATmega32u4 |
| Operating Voltage | 5V |
| Input Voltage (recommended) | 7-12V |
| Input Voltage (limit) | 6-20V |
| Digital I/O Pins | 20 |
| PWM Channels | 7 |
| Analog Input Channels | 12 |
| DC Current per I/O Pin | 40 mA |
| DC Current for 3.3V Pin | 50 mA |
| Flash Memory | 32 KB (ATmega32u4) of which 4 KB used by bootloader |
| SRAM | 2.5 KB (ATmega32u4) |
| EEPROM | 1 KB (ATmega32u4) |
| Clock Speed | 16 MHz |
| Length | 68.6 mm |
| Width | 53.3 mm |
| Weight | 20 g |
Arduino Due
The Arduino Due is a high-performance board that is based on the Atmel SAM3X8E ARM Cortex-M3 CPU. It is the first Arduino board based on a 32-bit ARM core microcontroller, which makes it significantly faster and more powerful than other Arduino boards.
| Feature | Specification |
|---|---|
| Microcontroller | AT91SAM3X8E |
| Operating Voltage | 3.3V |
| Input Voltage (recommended) | 7-12V |
| Input Voltage (limit) | 6-16V |
| Digital I/O Pins | 54 (of which 12 provide PWM output) |
| Analog Input Pins | 12 |
| Analog Output Pins | 2 (DAC) |
| Total DC Output Current on all I/O lines | 130 mA |
| DC Current for 3.3V Pin | 800 mA |
| DC Current for 5V Pin | 800 mA |
| Flash Memory | 512 KB all available for the user applications |
| SRAM | 96 KB (two banks: 64KB and 32KB) |
| Clock Speed | 84 MHz |
| Length | 101.52 mm |
| Width | 53.3 mm |
| Weight | 36 g |
Arduino Zero
The Arduino Zero is a simple and powerful 32-bit extension of the Arduino UNO platform. It is based on the Atmel SAMD21 MCU, which features a 32-bit ARM Cortex® M0+ core.
| Feature | Specification |
|---|---|
| Microcontroller | ATSAMD21G18, 32-Bit ARM Cortex M0+ |
| Operating Voltage | 3.3V |
| Input Voltage (recommended) | 7-12V |
| Input Voltage (limit) | 6-20V |
| Digital I/O Pins | 20 |
| PWM Pins | All but pins 2 and 7 |
| UART | 2 (Native and Programming) |
| Analog Input Pins | 6, 12-bit ADC channels |
| Analog Output Pins | 1, 10-bit DAC |
| External Interrupts | All pins except pin 4 |
| DC Current per I/O Pin | 7 mA |
| Flash Memory | 256 KB |
| SRAM | 32 KB |
| EEPROM | None |
| Clock Speed | 48 MHz |
| Length | 68 mm |
| Width | 30 mm |
| Weight | 12 g |
Arduino MKR Series
The Arduino MKR series is a collection of boards that are designed for IoT projects and other applications that require low power consumption and wireless connectivity. The series includes several different boards, each with its own unique features and capabilities.
Arduino MKR1000
The Arduino MKR1000 is a powerful board that combines the functionality of the Zero and the Wi-Fi Shield into a single board. It is based on the Atmel ATSAMW25 SoC, which is part of the SmartConnect family of Atmel Wireless devices, specifically designed for IoT projects and devices.
| Feature | Specification |
|---|---|
| Microcontroller | SAMD21 Cortex-M0+ 32bit low power ARM MCU |
| Board Power Supply (USB/VIN) | 5V |
| Supported Battery* | Li-Po single cell, 3.7V, 700mAh minimum |
| Circuit Operating Voltage | 3.3V |
| Digital I/O Pins | 8 |
| PWM Pins | 12 (0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, A3 – or 18 -, A4 -or 19) |
| UART | 1 |
| SPI | 1 |
| I2C | 1 |
| Analog Input Pins | 7 (ADC 8/10/12 bit) |
| Analog Output Pins | 1 (DAC 10 bit) |
| External Interrupts | 8 (0, 1, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, A1 -or 16-, A2 – or 17) |
| DC Current per I/O Pin | 7 mA |
| Flash Memory | 256 KB |
| SRAM | 32 KB |
| EEPROM | no |
| Clock Speed | 32.768 kHz (RTC), 48 MHz |
| LED_BUILTIN | 6 |
| Full-speed USB Device and embedded Host | |
| Length | 61.5 mm |
| Width | 25 mm |
| Weight | 32 g |
Arduino MKR WiFi 1010
The Arduino MKR WiFi 1010 is a good choice for IoT projects that require more memory and processing power than the MKR1000 provides. It is based on the Microchip ATSAMD21G18A and has an ESP32 module for wireless connectivity.
| Feature | Specification |
|---|---|
| Microcontroller | SAMD21 Cortex-M0+ 32bit low power ARM MCU |
| Board Power Supply (USB/VIN) | 5V |
| Supported Battery* | Li-Po single cell, 3.7V, 700mAh minimum |
| Circuit Operating Voltage | 3.3V |
| Digital I/O Pins | 8 |
| PWM Pins | 12 (0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, A3 – or 18 -, A4 -or 19) |
| UART | 1 |
| SPI | 1 |
| I2C | 1 |
| Analog Input Pins | 7 (ADC 8/10/12 bit) |
| Analog Output Pins | 1 (DAC 10 bit) |
| External Interrupts | 8 (0, 1, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, A1 -or 16-, A2 – or 17) |
| DC Current per I/O Pin | 7 mA |
| Flash Memory | 256 KB |
| SRAM | 32 KB |
| EEPROM | no |
| Clock Speed | 32.768 kHz (RTC), 48 MHz |
| LED_BUILTIN | 6 |
| Full-speed USB Device and embedded Host | |
| Length | 61.5 mm |
| Width | 25 mm |
| Weight | 32 g |
Arduino Portenta Series
The Arduino Portenta series is a new generation of high-performance boards that are designed for industrial and enterprise applications. The series includes two boards: the Portenta H7 and the Portenta H7 Lite.
Arduino Portenta H7
The Arduino Portenta H7 is a powerful board that is based on the STM32H747XI dual-core processor. It has a Cortex-M7 running at 480MHz and a Cortex-M4 running at 240MHz, as well as 2MB of Flash memory and 1MB of SRAM.
| Feature | Specification |
|---|---|
| Microcontroller | STM32H747XI |
| CPU | Dual core ARM Cortex-M7 (480MHz) and Cortex-M4 (240MHz) |
| RAM | 1MB SRAM |
| Non-volatile Storage | 2MB Flash, 16MB NOR Flash, MicroSD Card slot |
| GPU | Chrom-ART graphical hardware Accelerator |
| Wireless | WiFi/BT Combo (Murata 1DX) IEEE 802.11b/g/n 65Mbps |
| USB | USB-C, USB Micro, USB HS in Device and Host Mode |
| Crypto Chip | NXP SE050C2 (Secure Element) |
| Video | MIPI DSI Host interface |
| Audio | Input-Output jack, Microphone, Amplifier and Speaker interface |
| Camera | Camera interface compatible with Sony IMX Vision Sensor |
| Display | User programmable RGB LED |
| Power | 5V DC |
| Dimensions | 66.04 x 25.4 mm |
| Weight | 10g |
Arduino Portenta H7 Lite
The Arduino Portenta H7 Lite is a lower-cost version of the Portenta H7 that is designed for applications that require lower power consumption and cost. It is based on the STM32H7 microcontroller and has 1MB of Flash memory and 128KB of SRAM.
| Feature | Specification |
|---|---|
| Microcontroller | STM32H747XIH6 |
| CPU | Dual core ARM Cortex-M7 (480MHz) and Cortex-M4 (240MHz) |
| RAM | 128KB SRAM |
| Non-volatile Storage | 1MB Flash, MicroSD Card slot |
| GPU | Chrom-ART graphical hardware Accelerator |
| Wireless | WiFi/BT Combo (Murata 1DX) IEEE 802.11b/g/n 65Mbps |
| USB | USB-C, USB Micro, USB HS in Device and Host Mode |
| Video | MIPI DSI Host interface |
| Audio | Input-Output jack, Microphone, Amplifier and Speaker interface |
| Camera | Camera interface compatible with Sony IMX Vision Sensor |
| Display | User programmable RGB LED |
| Power | 5V DC |
| Dimensions | 66.04 x 25.4 mm |
| Weight | 10g |
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
1. What is the difference between an Arduino board and a microcontroller?
An Arduino board is a complete development board that includes a microcontroller, along with other components such as Voltage Regulators, Crystal Oscillators, and USB interfaces. A microcontroller, on the other hand, is just the processor chip that is used on an Arduino board.
2. Can I use any Arduino board for any project?
While most Arduino boards can be used for a wide range of projects, some boards are better suited for specific applications than others. For example, if you need a lot of memory and processing power, you may want to use an Arduino Mega or Due instead of an Uno or Nano.
3. What programming language is used with Arduino boards?
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