The chapters in this book are dedicated to laying down a strong technical foundation for the years to come in your Arduino-based device prototyping journey. To start off, we will see what the Arduino platform is and then through a series of ten, carefully graded chapters, in order of increasing level of complexity, we will become familiar with building device prototypes based on the Arduino platform.

The following diagram depicts the broad areas that the reader will learn in this book:

At the end of each chapter, there is a Try the following section, meant to inspire the reader's imagination and take them a step nearer to becoming more self-reliant. The reader is urged to try out the suggestions in this section to get further insights into the various aspects covered in the chapters.

At the very end of each chapter there is a Things to remember section. This section lists all the important points that were covered and is meant to serve as a quick recollection of the concepts learnt in a chapter.

The initial chapters will provide detailed steps for building the example prototypes. However, sometimes during the course of the chapters, the reader will be subtly encouraged to become more independent. As you proceed through the chapters you will notice that the book starts covering only the bare minimum details, while you start understanding and doing more on your own.

• If you are a beginner, go through the chapters one by one, in the order laid out in the book.
• If you have a basic knowledge of Arduino prototyping then you may start from Chapter 4, Day 2 - Interfacing with Sensors.
• If you are already aware of prototyping with Arduino, then you may start from Chapter 6, Day 4 - Building a Standalone Device,from Day 5 onwards.
• Chapters up to Day 6 are for general device prototyping, whereas starting from Day 7 onwards the chapters deal with wireless communications. You may choose as per your requirements.

If the learning curve is perceived to be steep, then you are advised to pause, relax, and revisit the chapters as many times as needed. However, it is recommended that at no stage of the book should you rush; imbibe steadily and let the concepts sink into you so that you can understand and feel how Arduino-based prototyping is done.

It is advisable to purchase an Arduino Uno starter kit to begin with. Usually a starter kit should cover most of the basic hardware components. However, there may be some advanced components (such as the sensor modules) that will have to be purchased separately. It is recommended you perform your own research for procuring the components at your convenience.

The components in the following table have been listed uniquely and incrementally. For example, a Piezo Buzzer has been used on Day 1 as well as Day 3, however, it has been listed only once for Day 1. This has been done intentionally to assist you during your procurement phase. However, if you want to focus on a particular chapter then you are advised to visit that chapter for a complete list of hardware parts required for the prototypes in that chapter:

After completing this book, you will have learnt the following types of projects, devices, and fundamentals.

The following are the types of projects:

• Self-contained micro-controller projects
• Interfacing with single peripheral devices (such as sensors)
• Building compound devices (multiple devices in a single setup)
• Prototyping standalone devices (powered from independent power sources)
• Working with actuators (such as DC motors)
• Interfacing with AC powered devices (a light bulb)
• Using transmitters, receivers and transceivers
• Short range wireless communications (using Bluetooth and radio frequency)
• Long range wireless communications (using GSM modules)

The following are sensors/device examples:

• External LEDs
• Photodiodes
• Photo resistors (LDRs)
• DHT11 temperature and humidity sensor
• Soil moisture sensor
• MQ2 smoke detector
• Piezo Buzzer
• SD card module
• 16x2 LCD
• HC-SR05 ultrasonic sensor
• DC motor
• Push button
• AC-DC relay
• Sound detector
• TSOP1738/TSOP1838 IR receiver
• SM0038 IR receiver
• IR transmitter LED
• NRF24L01 RF module
• HC-04 Bluetooth module
• GSM SIM800 module
• ESP8266 Wi-Fi module

The following is the list of fundamentals/concepts:

• Arduino C programs/sketches
• Measuring voltage via analog pins from resistors, diodes, and transistors
• Using serial window for viewing program output and debugging
• Ohm's law calculations
• Bread boarding
• Voltage based logical HIGH/LOW
• Using homogeneous voltage devices that is, 5V devices with Arduino Uno R3
• Using device datasheets
• Working with Arduino libraries
• Digital input/output
• Analog input/output
• Using interrupts
• Reverse current in motors
• Voltage division technique
• Using external power supply
• Using multiple power sources
• Concept of pull up resistors
• Concept of pull down resistors
• Concept of Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) for motor speed control
• Using multiple power sources in a single setup
• Common grounding
• Keeping DC and AC powered circuits separate
• Working with Infrared (IR) signals
• Prototyping Radio Frequency (RF) devices
• Working with a Bluetooth device
• Wi-Fi module
• Basic AT commands
• GSM module
• Internet of Things
• IoT edge device prototyping
• IoT Cloud

In this first chapter, we have understood who should benefit from using this book. We have also seen how the chapters in this book are structured in a well-planned manner, so that the reader can gain maximum knowledge in a minimum time frame.

By the end of this book, our aim is to have made you proficient in prototyping with the Arduino platform in just 10 days, and we urge you to take on the challenge! After completing the fundamental project types in this book, you will be in a state to build almost anything on your own. Some of the interesting areas that you will be ready to build after mastering the topics in this book will be infrared and radio frequency remote controlled gadgets, smart retail projects, smart environment projects, and Internet of Things projects.

From the next chapter, we shall begin our journey of learning prototyping on the Arduino platform where we will be introduced to the basics.