[SomeoneKnows]

Originally Posted by John Gutmann

The arduino is nice. It is basically the BASIC Stamp of the AVR world.

I like that comment I'm going to steal it.

Originally Posted by John Gutmann

I looks like you can only program it using the "arduino language" which to me is not good. It is better to learn how to do it right the first time.

That is not my understanding. The "wiring" language is not the only way to program the Arduino. It does come with the bootloader which supports the wiring language concept. You can replace the bootloader with whatever you want and use it like any other AVR 168 microcontroller but you'll need to use one of the hardware programmers instead of programming through the serial or usb connections.

I think of the Arduino's wiring language as being much like the WPILib library for the Vex and FRC controllers. They isolate some of the complexities of microcontroller programming in an easier to program language. Much like WPILib, the Arduino's Wiring language is C programming with a library to make writing programs easier.

I think the Arduino is a great choice for high school students to expand their robotics capabilities. At $35 each they are easily affordable for home use compared to $150 for a Vex robot controller and $450 for the FRC controller. You still need the $100 Easy C programming kit or the $50 Microchip C Compiler (or both if you choose) to make the FIRST controllers work. With the Arduino the programming tools are free.

Originally Posted by John Gutmann

I also can't find a price for it.

There are several sources for the Arduino but Make Magazine sells them on their website at www.makezine.com or Sparkfun at www.Sparkfun.com.


Vince