Arduino/Firmata

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Firmata

Firmata is a generic protocol for a computer to communicate with microcontrollers. The Sugar Labs Turtle Art activity included in OLPC OS builds supports Firmata, and can use an Arduino board as a general purpose analog and digital I/O interface.

The StandardFirmata may be uploaded to an Arduino board, using the Arduino IDE:

  • start Applications -> Programming -> Arduino,
  • connect Arduino board,
  • choose File -> Examples -> Firmata > StandardFirmata,
  • choose Upload to send the program to the Arduino board.

Alternatively, StandardFirmata may be uploaded without using the Arduino IDE, see How to upload StandardFirmata using ino. The download size is much smaller (18MB), but the steps required are more complex.