Introduction

Vernier Software & Technology has always supported hands-on, do-it-yourself projects for students and teachers. The availability of inexpensive, easy-to-program microcontrollers, like the Arduino, makes integrating engineering concepts into your science or STEM curriculum easy and affordable.

This guide was designed to help you with the connections and programming required when using Vernier sensors with Arduino. We’ve included many example sketches (programs) offered as starting points for your projects. They can save you a lot of time, because they already contain the code to read Vernier sensors. They were intentionally kept simple, so that you can easily see their functionality without getting overwhelmed with complex features. This guide can also help you learn how to use the Vernier Digital Control Unit (DCU) to control motors, LEDs, buzzers, and other simple electronics. Hopefully, after reading through this information, you will find an idea for some entertaining and educational projects.

Products

• 
  SparkFun Redboard
• 
  Vernier Arduino Interface Shield
• 
  Analog Protoboard Adapter
• 
  Digital Protoboard Adapter

Sketches

All of Vernier’s Arduino sketches are available to view, download, or fork on GitHub. There are sketches using many Vernier sensors and the Digital Control Unit (DCU), various kinds of motors, LEDs, and buzzers, and other devices.

You can use them as they are or as the starting point for a project. Many of the sketches require the VernierLib library.

• View sketches on GitHub

• Download all the sketches

About Arduino

The Arduino website is a great place to start to learn about this development platform. Go to the Arduino home page to discover:

• An extensive array of tutorials
• Programming tools you need to write sketches
• Additional examples for using Arduino
• Troubleshooting tips