The Emergence of Arduino

Many people may have heard of Arduino before Micro:bit, or even used Arduino.

Before the advent of Micro:bit, Arduino was hailed as the most suitable circuit board for maker education, as we can see that many maker product manufacturers use the Arduino UNO’s 328P chip as their main control chip. In fact, if we consider cost-effectiveness, the 328P is not the most cost-effective chip, but it is the most suitable new product. Now, let’s listen to Miaoren explain in detail.

Before Arduino appeared, many electronic circuit boards used 51 microcontrollers, STM32 microcontrollers (even now in consumer products). Later, due to the ease of use of Arduino, it became popular. What is the difference between Arduino and other microcontrollers? First, let’s talk about installation. Previously, Miaoren used a STC 51 microcontroller. The process was roughly as follows: first, you need to download a programming environment. For example, Keil, which is a paid software, okay, you need PJ… Then you need the STC downloading software, let me give you an interface for everyone to feel. If you are not an electronics major and see this interface for the first time, you would be scared to death; it looks like controlling precision instruments, fearing that changing a single value will burn out the chip. The interface of the STC downloading software:

The emergence of Arduino is mainly due to its good experience; the software is well made, integrating programming and downloading, with a clean and refreshing interface. The software also contains program examples, which is the best for beginners. You may not know how to write a program, but you should know how to download it, right? The Arduino interface:

Is Micro:bit meant to replace Arduino?

When new things appear, people often compare them to similar old products. So, will Micro:bit really replace Arduino? O(∩_∩)O Haha~ It seems that everyone has a persecution complex. Miaoren believes that Micro:bit will not replace Arduino; they are not in direct competition but rather have a complementary relationship. In Miaoren’s opinion, Micro:bit is easier to get started with programming education than Arduino. Here’s Miaoren’s suggestion: If you have never been exposed to electronics or programming knowledge and want to get started quickly to make your DIY product, choose Micro:bit. If you have played with Arduino but need to choose a circuit board for students (non-electronics majors), choose Micro:bit. If you have played with Arduino but still don’t know how to use Bluetooth, 2.4G communication, gyroscopes, compasses, and other advanced modules, choose Micro:bit. If you pursue cost-effectiveness and have the technical skills to control any module with Arduino, and you don’t need to teach others, choose Arduino.

Comparison of Micro:bit and Arduino

First, let’s talk about hardware:

When we often talk about Arduino, we are usually referring to Arduino UNO, which is the cheapest and most commonly used board in the Arduino system. It essentially consists of a main chip circuit and a downloader circuit, without any sensors. If we must say it has peripheral sensors, it would be the LED light on pin 13. However, it has many controllable IO ports, from pins 0-13, and A0-A5. You can connect any 3PIN sensor to these IO ports. Its DIY properties are very strong. Another point is its price; a counterfeit board on Taobao is around 25 yuan, while the genuine Micro:bit costs about 130 yuan.

Micro:bit currently has only one version, and codebug has not circulated in the market. Although the price of 130 seems much more expensive than counterfeit Arduino, in terms of time, Micro:bit not only has a main control chip but also rich peripherals.

It has an LED array, two programmable buttons, Bluetooth, 2.4G, a gyroscope, a compass, a temperature sensor, etc. If you buy a genuine Arduino and add the above modules, the price may be close to that of Micro:bit. Therefore, overall, Micro:bit is not an expensive circuit board; in fact, it is a complete package of commonly used modules, with one board in hand, all functions are available. It also has three programmable IO ports, P0, P1, and P2, which is a bit limited, but this is designed for beginner learning, and it is relatively sufficient.

Why is Micro:bit more suitable for classes from a hardware perspective?

Because commonly used modules are already integrated into the Micro:bit board, during teaching, especially in large classes, when there are many students, some distracted students often plug in wires incorrectly. This may lead to incorrect experimental structures, and then the teacher has to act like a doctor, tirelessly finding and solving problems. In severe cases, incorrect connections may cause short circuits, damaging modules and circuit boards. For beginners, holding Dupont wires or breadboard wires and plugging them into densely packed headers feels like a little kid using a heavy machine gun to fight. Additionally, cleaning up after class can be very cumbersome if the teaching tools are very flexible; students must disassemble the modules and return them to their places. As a teacher, you also need to check whether the storage is correct. If you are more responsible, you will also have to test the modules to prevent some children from damaging them during class but not knowing it. If you don’t identify the damaged modules, the next class will be a big pitfall. You definitely won’t get the correct results. In terms of classroom workload, Miaoren believes that the integrated Micro:bit board is more suitable for teachers, reducing workload and making it easier to control the classroom pace, allowing students to focus more on programming rather than the cumbersome wiring.

From a software perspective:

The Arduino programming software is a qualitative leap compared to the 51 microcontroller. The process of using Arduino software is as follows: you need to download the Arduino IDE program from the official website, install it, then plug in the Arduino board. Generally, the computer cannot successfully recognize the new hardware; you need to manually set the driver path in the Arduino folder, blah blah blah. After the driver is installed, open the software, and you need to select the board type. Are there many types of boards? Not many, just a dozen or twenty kinds. You also need to select the COM port, which corresponds to the name of the board in the device manager. You need to right-click on My Computer to check the device manager, note it down, and then return to the software to set it. Okay, then you can start programming! Hmm, it feels like a pure engineer coding. Don’t understand? Then go read a beginner’s C language tutorial book first; get the basic syntax down before programming.

Micro:bit’s programming software, strictly speaking, does not have the concept of software; you only need to enter a website to jump to the programming interface. Plug in the board, and the computer will automatically recognize it as a USB drive, allowing you to happily drag and drop graphical blocks for programming. Downloading programs is as simple as saving the downloaded files to the recognized USB drive of Micro:bit.

Why is Micro:bit more suitable for classes from a software perspective?

For primary and secondary schools, we focus on cultivating programming thinking rather than the specific installation methods of tools. Here’s a side note: some people often complain that graphical programming is not a conventional form of programming, and they believe that learning should start directly from writing code. Should learning programming mean sitting in front of a computer and typing code? Dear! Don’t forget that in front of you are a bunch of innocent and naive children, middle and primary school students. We must consider the feasibility; just like when you learned to ride a bicycle as a child, why did you learn to pedal a bicycle rather than directly drive a four-wheeled car? Could you handle it at that time? The emergence of graphical programming should not be criticized outright; we should think about how to better use it in our education rather than completely deny it. We should view things with a developmental perspective; although we start with graphical programming, does that mean we will always be limited to it after getting started? Micro:bit is more suitable for software 1. Quick installation and use 2. Graphical programming for beginners 3. Downloading without complicated settings, with a low probability of errors 4. It has a simulation window, so even without hardware, you can play around So in summary: If it is for classroom teaching or for those with no electronic knowledge who want to DIY, Micro:bit is your best choice.

This tutorial ends here. If you find what Miaoren said is good, come click the “Write a comment” in the lower right corner and interact with Miaoren. Beautiful comments will receive a 5 yuan coupon from Miaoren, which can be used for purchases over 10 yuan, making it even more cost-effective!

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