This section contains introductory reading on technical topics in physical computing. If you learn new material best through reading, you’ll find this section valuable. If you prefer learning new material through video, check out the Video menu. To understand these topics through hands-on exercises, see the Labs.
These notes are divided into several sections:
Electronics
An overview of basic electronics concepts.
- Breadboard Layouts
- Distance Sensors: The Basics
- Electricity: the Basics
- Transistors, Relays, and Controlling High-Current Loads
- Understanding DC Power Supplies
Microcontroller Fundamentals
What a microcontroller is, how they work, and what their most common input and output functions are.
- Microcontroller Pin Functions
- Microcontrollers: The Basics
- Digital Input & Output
- Interpreting Serial Data
- Analog Input
- Picking a Microcontroller
- Analog Output
Programming
General concepts and terminology of computer programming. The topics covered here are mostly about programming as applied to microcontroller programming.
- Using the Arduino Command Line Interface
- Using a Programming Editor
- Variables
- Microcontrollers: The Basics
- Programming Terms and Programming Environments
- Interpreting Serial Data
- Analog Input
- p5.serialport and p5.webserial Compared
Sensors
Sensors are components that convert other forms of energy, such as heat, light, and motion, into electrical energy. This section introduces sensors and explains how to interface them to microcontrollers.
- Distance Sensors: The Basics
- Analog Input
- Synchronous Serial Communication: The Basics
- Accelerometers, Gyros, and IMUs: The Basics
Serial Communication
Computers, including microcontrollers, communicate with each other through various forms of serial communication. This section introduces both synchronous and asynchronous serial communication.
- Asynchronous Serial Communication: The Basics
- Interpreting Serial Data
- Synchronous Serial Communication: The Basics
- p5.serialport and p5.webserial Compared
Motors
In order to control motion from an electrical circuit, you need a motor. This section introduces DC motors and how they work, and how to interface them to electronic circuits.