- Arduino Wireless Communication Protocols
- Arduino Communication Protocols App
- Arduino Communication Protocols
- Arduino Communication Protocols Jobs
Sending and receiving multiple bytes of information efficiently between microcontrollers, sensors or computers requires the design of a communication protocol. We have by example TCP and UDP protocols, which are the basis of internet data exchange.
A communication protocol consists of a well designed data pattern. We can't just send data bytes and hope someone understand them. Some protocols define fixed data length, others more complicated are designed for variable data length. For example, the TCP protocol is defined as:
When using serial communication, a few wiring points need to be kept in mind: Make sure all grounds are connected! Arduino TX (Transmit) pin needs to be connected to the other Arduino's RX (Receive) pin. This tutorial will first explain the inner workings of common IR communication protocols. Then we will go over two examples that will allow you to transmit and receive IR data using an Arduino. In the first example, we will read incoming IR data from a common remote control using the TSOP382 IR photo sensor. Networking, Protocols, and Devices - I2C, SPI, XBee, GPS, etc. Arduino Communication with I2C Bus: A step by step guide to Master I2C Protocol and Start using it in your projects. I²C Allows communication of data between I2C devices over two wires. Which makes it easier for anyone to exchange information without too much wiring. What You Will Learn in This Course: What is I²C and how it works. Arduino Communication with SPI Bus: A step by step guide to Master SPI Protocol and Start using it in your projects. SPI Allows communication of data between SPI devices over four wires. Which makes it easier for anyone to exchange information without too much wiring.
It becomes clear that if we want to transmit complex data, we have to conform with a protocol or create one. Creating one it's not complicated, the easiest protocol is just a fixed length data sequence that provides a known header.
Arduino Wireless Communication Protocols
Let's create a protocol to send color information to a microcontroller in RGB format, with the goal of controlling a RGB Led. First we need to understand the Red Green Blue color format, for each component we have a possible value between 0 – 255, meaning that each component has a resolution of 8 bits. So… the RGB format defines a 24 bit color.
Our protocol needs to implement a minimum of 3 bytes (1 byte equals 8 bits) to contain color data in RGB format. We also require a header to identify the protocol, and optional but extremely suggested is the use of a checksum byte as a validation method, this gives us a protocol with a fixed value of 5. Every package we send/receive will have a length of 5 bytes. Validation gives us assurance that the data we receive is not corrupted (sometimes by unknown causes we might have data corruption, for example: a bit value changes by electromagnetic effects in the transmission line, the color might change dramatically by this cause). The following table illustrates the protocol we're going to use:
Let's create a protocol to send color information to a microcontroller in RGB format, with the goal of controlling a RGB Led. First we need to understand the Red Green Blue color format, for each component we have a possible value between 0 – 255, meaning that each component has a resolution of 8 bits. So… the RGB format defines a 24 bit color.
Our protocol needs to implement a minimum of 3 bytes (1 byte equals 8 bits) to contain color data in RGB format. We also require a header to identify the protocol, and optional but extremely suggested is the use of a checksum byte as a validation method, this gives us a protocol with a fixed value of 5. Every package we send/receive will have a length of 5 bytes. Validation gives us assurance that the data we receive is not corrupted (sometimes by unknown causes we might have data corruption, for example: a bit value changes by electromagnetic effects in the transmission line, the color might change dramatically by this cause). The following table illustrates the protocol we're going to use:
We are going to employ two Arduinos for testing. One will have 3 potentiometers, one for each color component (Red, Green, Blue), the other one will have an RGB Led connected to it. They will be connected through their UART pins (Arduino Serial Library employs UART).
The following code will be downloaded to the first Arduino (the one with the potentiometers):
Reading a byte stream (a buffer) is tricky. We need to consider several factors. So we have to design a flowchart for this endeavour:
The following code will be downloaded to the second Arduino (the RGB Led Controller):
Test the code, and watch as you move the potentiometers how the RGB Led changes its color!
Arduino Communication Protocols App
By creating this protocol, we can now easily send and receive data that corresponds to the RGB Led Color. Let's say we need to control other things… well, we can modify our protocol to handle more bytes.
Arduino Communication Protocols
Some ideas to explore: Connecting these Arduinos wirelessly using two Xbees. Connecting one Arduino with a Raspberry Pi to transmit analog sensor data (Raspberry doesn't have ADC pins, modifying this protocol we could send all arduino's analog pins values in one package!). With some modifications you could employ this protocol to read several messages from Arduino Ide's serial console and perform actions, you could recycle some of the code to parse strings.
Arduino Communication Protocols Jobs
This example doesn't just apply for communication between Arduinos, it actually applies to communicate with everything! Say for example you want to control the same RGB Led wirelessly, you have several options here: bluetooth, zigbee, wifi. Actually… many of the current Smart Led Bulbs in the market employ a similar protocol (like the one we described here) to manipulate its color, they map the RGB Color Components in bytes and send them in a defined sequence (they send a little more data of course). These product's manufacturers depend heavily on a communication protocol.
