Universidad Tecnológica de Chihuahua

Arduino, another option to automate

Name of the student: Carlos Eduardo Espinoza Arredondo
Teacher: M.C. Fernando Muñoz Márquez
Group: IMEC91N
Course: English
Total words: 1300
Index

Introduction…………………………………………………………………… 2
Arduino board, is it to small? .................................................. 3
Different options to control……………………………………………….. 4
Arduino as a professional tool……………………………………………. 5
Conclusion………………………………………………………………….... 6
References……………………………………………………………………. 7

1
To get on board we need to remember that so many people
consider the arduino board just an educational board, even like a
toy, especially for students. This because it´s easy to program,
cheap and accessible.
By definition an Arduino is an open -source electronics platform
based on easy-to-use hardware and software. Arduino boards are
able to read inputs - light on a sensor, a finger on a but ton - and
turn it into an output - activating a motor, turning on an LED,
publishing something online. You can tell your board what to do
by sending a set of instructions to the microcontroller on the
board. To do so you use the Arduino programming languag e
(based on W iring), and the Arduino Software (IDE), based on
Processing.
Over the years Arduino has been the brain of thousands of
projects, from everyday objects to complex scientific instruments.
A worldwide community of makers - students, hobbyists, ar tists,
programmers, and professionals - has gathered around this open -
source platform, their contributions have added up to an incredible
amount of accessible knowledge that can be of great help to
novices and experts alike.
The problem comes when a project is build, most of the projects
need a tool to be programed and then control the process .
In most of the cases, they need a simple solution, nothing to
complicated, just to move a band, a timer to action something, a
sensor who determine an action . In terms of programing there are
a lot of devices available, some with big memories and expensive,
some simplest and cheaper, which cause confusion on what to
use, which is the better one.
This essay will attempt to people consider the Arduino boards as
an option to program and even a point to build easy projects, leave
behind the idea that it´s just a learning tool and begin the regular
use of these.

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Arduino board, is it to small?
One of the main reasons why people think the arduino board is
just an educational tool is because it has their limitations; it is a
board already made and is difficult to modify them.
A normal arduino board has a microprocessor ATmega328, 14
inputs and ou tputs (wh ich 4 of them could be used a s PW M
outputs), 6 analog inputs, one crystal of 16 MHz, a USB connector,
a power jack and a reset button, all this components are enough
to develop an automated garden, control lights and brightness in
the house, an automated pet feeder and so many easy projects.
As well as Arduino can made chores in our life, it can be excellent
for some industrial projects such as an electronic scale, an
automated classifier by color, etc.
In the other hand, we have some more complex systems such as
code scanners, the full automation of a process, even v ending
machine is too complicated for a small arduino board. This kind of
process takes more inputs to read different sensors, outputs to
control more devices, more power to feed all components and
sensors, etc.
Even when the little arduino board has enough components to
control a simple process, it takes a little bit more to control bigger
systems, and it is not all about the components that it has,
sometimes the memory that the microprocessor in the Arduino has
not the enough capacity to keep all the programming needed to
control the system.
In brief to know if the arduino is too small first it is necessary to
think what kind of system it is going to control, simple projects
are better with arduino, and with that it is remarkable that the
arduino has a full library already made in the developing system
waiting to be used just plugging in the USB connector.

3
Different options to control
To control a system is necessary to be aware of what kind of
system is going to control and how many sensors and buttons will
be used also how many devices are going to be activated.
For instance the PLC (Programmable Logic Controller) is a really
useful tool to take control in any system, to be precisely in this
example the Siemens S7 -1200 will be compared, like many other
programming tools it contains inputs and outputs, some of the
inputs analogs to control any type of sensor, his memory is bigger
it has 4MB to keep all the programing that is based in a block
language. The PLC is the perfe ct tool for any system but some of
this PLC are very expensive even when they are already used.
In the other hand are the microcontrollers, again it is need to
specify that the PIC 18F2550 is used to this comparison, are
useful and cheaper but not so easy to control and not so powerful
such as the PLC. This has a module to plug an USB connector, 24
pins to inputs and outputs and a memory of 32kB. As previously
said this PIC alone is useless it is necessary to make a board to
place it and there it can be con nected to a computer and there be
programed with a C language.
Similarly an Arduino board is a PIC already placed and ready to
be used in any system, it also uses a language based on C but
this one is simpler and with practice it is a language that even
children can control.
To conclude it is necessary to remark that the PLC would be the
perfect tool to control any system and even automate if it was
cheaper, but to have low budget and an easy control and
automation tool the arduino is the best candidate, wi thout
mentioning that arduino has his own adaptable sensor already
made specifically for this board and just as cheap as expected for
this board.

4
Arduino as a professional tool.
As we have explained arduino it´s a platform of free hardware,
designed to ease the use of electronics in different and
multidisciplinary projects.
Exploring the arduino web site the first thing that you can red is:
“Arduino it´s an open source platform based in hardware and
software easy-to-use. It´s addressed to artists, des igners,
a m a t e u r s a n d e v e r y o n e w h o m a k e i n t e r a c t i v e p r o j e c t s . “W i t h t h a t
said Arduino it´s addressed to anyone who wants to make
electronic and interactive projects, for that arduino have
thousands of codes ready to be copied and pasted and then ready
to work.
In the other hand, there is an alternative very similar to arduino
that is Alteri, a development tool based in the PIC18F4550,
nowadays it´s used by amateurs, students, teachers and
professionals in different areas of technology and in different
academic institutions as tool to learn how to program a
microcontroller.
It´s necessary to remark that when a project is built in an arduino
board all the programming you made there it becomes a public
library, and if you try to register the code as yours yo will have to
pay a fair amount of money to keep the code secret and
confidential.
For this reasons is why people doesn´t consider Arduino boards
as a professional tool, but it could be used as base of a project,
this meaning that it´s the perfect tool t o make a prototype.

5
Many people use this tool to lose the fear to program, is a happy
and colorful system and can build awesome things.
Arduino is the ideal board to build a prototype, it´s cheaper than
a PLC and simplest than the PIC this can give you time to think
about other aspects of the project.
Nevertheless, to take it to professional projects could be a
problem in first place because all the programing you made in
there has to be public to everyone, the next problem is the lower
capability in return, it´s slow and it does not have the power to
feed big machines.

6
References
-Arduino, 2019, About Arduino,
https://www.arduino.cc/en/Main/AboutUs
-Diignal, 2019, General description of Alteri
http://dignal.com/alteri/pic18f4550 -alteri/
-Siemens, 2013, Data sheet of S7-1200
-Siemens, 2019, SIMATIC S7 -1200
https://w5.siemens.com/spain/web/es/industry/automatizacion/si
matic/controladores_modulares/controlador_basico_s71200/page
s/s7-1200.aspx
-Microchip, 2006, Data sheet of PIC18F2550