Arduino Communications

Revision as of 17:17, 5 August 2008

Arduino Communications Page

Summary

In my search for ways to communicate with the Arduino board, I found lots of ways that required me to learn new languages or learn serial communication programming. In these cases I do want to eventually pick up these skills, but I found a quicker way for my needs. I have learned over time that you can always find a better way to solve a problem, but I realize that the amount of time to learn is sometimes greater than the project time-frame, and therefore just solve it in the best way you can with the tools you have. I believe that this solution encompasses that spirit. Here you will find a quick, dirty yet effective solution for communicating with the Arduino.

This solution met my goals, but it may not meet yours. It is limited in the effect that a transfer in a message may take as long as 5 sec. This fits fine for my needs where I am just looking to form a distributed network of smart sensors/controllers that allow the setting of certain variables and the reporting of alarms and/or useful tracking information from the individual controllers.

Note: I owe a BIG debt of gratitude to all the Arduino developers that provided me with the tools/code/knowledge to allow this solution

Requirements

The method requires the following hardware/knowledge:

• An Arduino Board or equivalent
• Linux computer that is able to communicate with the Arduino
• Your favorite development language
• Basic Linux operational skill
• Knowledge of samba or NIS if networking is desired

This example requires the following hardware/knowledge:

• An Arduino Board or equivalent (I used an actual Arduino Board with the USB connection)
• Linux computer that is able to communicate with the Arduino (I used an Ubuntu 8.x box)
• A Windows computer that is able to support AutoIT
• A network between the two computers
• Development languages - BASH scripting for Linux and AutoIT for windows
• Knowledge of samba for sharing folders over the network

Example of Method

Step 1 - Buy an Arduino Board - http://www.arduino.cc/en/Main/Buy Step 2 - Load the Arduino software on your linux box - http://www.arduino.cc/en/Main/Software

Links