Introduction
Arduino Leonardo is one of the members of Arduino family. It is a microcontroller board based on the ATmega32u4, and it has inbuilt USB connection which eliminate the requirement of secondary processor, it is an open source microcontroller. Arduino Leonardo has some advanced feature which is not available in previous boards of Arduino family. Most exciting feature of Leonardo board is it directly connects to PC that means it can operate as an actual USB device. The Leonardo board can appear to a computer as an HID (human interface device) such as mouse or a keyboard. The operating voltage of Arduino Leonardo Board is 5volts. It includes 20 digital input and out pins. There are total 7 PWM output on Leonardo board.
The microcontroller of a board can be programmed with the help of C and C++ programming language using a standard AIP which is also known as Arduino Language. The Arduino projects provide an Integrated Development Environment (IDE). Aiming to provide a low-cost and easy way for beginners and professionals to create devices that interact with their environment using sensors and actuators Leonardo is a great choice.
Arduino leonardo specification
| Microcontroller | ATmega32u4 |
| Operating Voltage | 5V |
| Input Voltage (Recommended) | 7-12V |
| Input Voltage (limits) | 6-20V |
| Digital I/O Pins | 20 |
| PWM Channels | 7 |
| Analog Input Channels | 12 |
| DC Current per I/O Pin | 40 mA |
| DC Current for 3.3V Pin | 50 mA |
| Flash Memory | 32 KB (ATmega32u4) of which 4 KB used by boot loader |
| SRAM | 2.5 KB (ATmega32u4) |
| EEPROM | 1 KB (ATmega32u4) |
| Clock Speed | 16 MHz |
| Length | 68.6 mm |
| Width | 53.3 mm |
| Weight | 20 g |
Arduino leonardo pin configuration
Digital input and output pins
- There are in all 20 digital input output pins. Each out of these all 20 pins on Leonardo board can be used as input and output. These pins of Leonardo board are operates at 5 volts. Each pin of the board can provide or receive a maximum of 40mA and has internal pull-up resistor of 20-50 ohm’s.
Serial: 0 (Rx) and 1 (TX)
- These pins are used for receiving and transmitting the serial data to the ATmega32U4. Whereas Tx is transmitted and Rx receive the data.
TWI: 2 (SDA) and 3 (SCL)
Support TWI communication using the Wire library.
External Interrupts: 3 (interrupt 0), 2 (interrupt 1), 0 (interrupt 2), 1 (interrupt 3) and 7 (interrupt 4)- These pins can be configured to trigger an interrupt on a low value, an increasing or diminishing edge, or a change in value.
PWM: 3, 5, 6, 9, 10, 11, and 13
PWM refers to pulse with modulation. It provides 8-bit PWM output with the analog Write function.
SPIon the ICSP header
These pins support SPI communication using the SPI library. SPI pins are not connected to any of the digital input and output pins as they are on the UNO board.
LED: 13
In Leonardo board there is a built-in LED connected to digital pin 13. When the pin is HIGH value, the LED is on, when the pin is LOW, it’s off.
Analog Inputs: A0-A5, A6 — A11 (on digital pins 4, 6, 8, 9, 10, and 12)
- The Leonardo board has 12 analog pins. They are labeled as A0 through A11 and all these pins can be used as digital input output pins. Pin no A0-A5 appear in the same locations as on the UNO board; inputs A6-A11 are on digital input and output pins 4, 6,8,9,10, and 12 respectively.
AREF-Reference voltage for the analog inputs.
Reset- Bring this line LOW to reset the microcontroller.
Advantages of arduino leonardo
- It has inbuilt USB connection.
- It eliminates the need for secondary processor.
- It has better performance.
- No external USB interface chip.
- It is able to directly communicate with PC via just USB.
APPLICATIONS OF ARDUINO LEONARDO
- IR remote based Home Automation System..
- Bluetooth controlled Home Automation System.
- IoT enabled Home Automation System.
- RC car.
- Mobile lifter.
- Hurdle Avoiding Vehicle.
- Wall climbing vehicle.
- Autonomous vehicle.
- Robotic arm.