The basis for this book is the Arduino platform, which refers to three different things: software, hardware, and the Arduino philosophy. The hardware is the Arduino board, and there are multiple versions available for different needs. In this book, we will be focusing on Arduino boards that were made with wearables in mind. The software used to program the boards is also known as the Arduino IDE. IDE stands for Integrated Development Environment, which are programs used to write programs in programming code. The programs written for the board are known as sketches, because the idea aids how to write programs and works similar to a sketchpad. If you have an IDE, you can quickly try it out in code. This is also a part of the Arduino philosophy. Arduino is based on the open source philosophy, which also reflects on how we learn about Arduino. Arduino has a large community, and there are tons of projects to learn from.
First, we have the Arduino hardware, which we will use to build all the examples in this book along with different additional electronic components. When the Arduino projects started back in 2005, there was only one piece of headwear to speak of, which was the serial Arduino board. Since then, there have been several iterations of this board, and it has inspired new designs of the Arduino hardware to fit different needs. If you are familiar with Arduino for a while, you probably started out with the standard Arduino board. Today, there are different Arduino boards that fit different needs, and there are countless clones available for specific purposes. In this book, we will be using different specialized Arduino boards such as the FLORA board and Spark core board.
The Arduino software that is Arduino IDE is what we will use to program our projects. The IDE is the software used to write programs for the hardware. Once a program is compiled in the IDE, it will upload it to the Arduino board, and the processor on the board will do whatever your program says. Arduino programs are also known as sketches. The name sketches is borrowed from another open source project and software called Processing. Processing was developed as a tool for digital artists, where the idea was to use Processing as a digital sketchpad.
The idea behind sketches and other aspects of Arduino is what we call the Arduino philosophy, and this is the third thing that makes Arduino. Arduino is based on open source, which is a type of licensing model where you are free to develop you own designs based on the original Arduino board. This is one of the reasons why you can find so many different models and clones of the Arduino boards. Open source is also a philosophy that allows ideas and knowledge to be shared freely. The Arduino community has grown strong, and there are many great resources to be found, and Arduino friends to be made.
The only problem may be where to start? Books like this one are good for getting you started or developing skills further. Each chapter in this book is based on a project that will take you from the start, all the way to a finished "prototype". I call all the project prototypes because these are not finished products. The goal of this book is also for you to develop these projects further, once you have completed the chapter. As your knowledge progresses, you can develop new sketches to run on you prototypes, develop new functions, or change the physical appearance to fit your needs and preferences.
In this chapter, you will have a look at:
- Installing the IDE
- Working with the IDE and writing sketches
- The FLORA board layout
- Connecting the FLORA board to the computer
- Controlling and connecting LEDs to the FLORA board
This book is all about wearables, which are defined as computational devices that are worn on the body. A computational device is something that can make calculations of any sort. Some consider mechanical clocks to be the first computers, since they make calculations on time. According to this definition, wearables have been around for centuries, if you think about it. Pocket watches were invented in the 16th century, and a watch is basically as small device that calculates time. Glasses are also an example of wearable technology that can be worn on your head, which have also been around for a long time. Even if glasses do not fit our more specified definition of wearables, they serve as a good example of how humans have modified materials and adapted their bodies to gain new functionality. If we are cold, we dress in clothing to keep us warm, if we break a leg, we use crutches to get around, or even if an organ fails, we can implant a device that replicates their functionality. Humans have a long tradition of developing technology to extend the functionality of the human body.
With the development of technology for the army, health care, and professional sport, wearables have a long tradition. But in recent years, more and more devices have been developed for the consumer market. Today, we have smart watches, smart glasses, and different types of smart clothing.
In this book, we will carry on this ancient tradition and develop some wearable projects for you to learn about electronics and programming. Some of these projects are just for fun and some have a specific application. The knowledge presented in all the chapters of this book progresses from the chapter before it. We will start off slow, and the chapters will gradually become more complex both in terms of hardware and software. If you are already familiar with Arduino, you can pick any project and get started. If you find it too hard, you can always go back and take a look at the chapter that precedes it. If you're completely new to Arduino, continue reading this chapter as we will go through the installation process of the Arduino IDE and how to get started with programming.