Arduino is an open-source physical computing platform based on a simple i/o board and a development environment that implements the Processing/Wiring language. Arduino can be used to develop stand-alone interactive objects or can be connected to software on your computer (e.g. FlashProcessingMaxMSP). The open-source IDE can be downloaded for free (currently for Mac OS XWindowsand Linux).
The Arduino Mega is a microcontroller board based on the ATmega2560. It has 54 digital input/output pins (of which 14 can be used as PWM outputs)16 analog inputs4 UARTs (hardware serial ports)a 16 MHz crystal oscillatora USB connectiona power jackan ICSP headerand a reset button. It contains everything needed to support the microcontroller; simply connect it to a computer with a USB cable or power it with a AC-to-DC adapter or battery to get started. The Mega is compatible with most shields designed for the Arduino Duemilanove or Diecimila.
The Mega 2560 R3 also adds SDA and SCL pins next to the AREF. In additionthere are two new pins placed near the RESET pin. One is the IOREF that allow the shields to adapt to the voltage provided from the board. The other is a not connected and is reserved for future purposes. The Mega 2560 R3 works with all existing shields but can adapt to new shields which use these additional pins.
Specification:
- The Arduino Mega is an open-source microcontroller board based on the Atmel SAM3X8E ARM Cortex-M3 CPU.
- It has 54 digital input/output pins, of which 15 can be used for PWM (pulse width modulation), and 16 analog inputs. There are also 4 UARTs (universal asynchronous receiver/transmitter), a 16 MHz crystal oscillator, a USB connection, a power jack, an ICSP header, and a reset button.
- The maximum operating voltage is 5V, with a recommended range of 7-12V. It can be powered through the USB port or an external power supply.
- The Arduino Mega has a flash memory of 256KB, SRAM of 8KB, and EEPROM of 4KB. It supports various communication protocols like SPI (serial peripheral interface), I2C (inter-integrated circuit), and CAN (controller area network), making it suitable for a wide range of applications.
- It is compatible with the Arduino software environment and can easily be programmed using the Arduino IDE. Overall, the Arduino Mega is a powerful and versatile microcontroller board suitable for complex projects and professional applications.