By Sheikh Muhammad Ibraheem

Microcontroller

An embedded system’s microcontroller is a small integrated circuit that controls a single process. On a single chip, a typical microcontroller has a CPU, memory, and input/output (I/O) peripherals. Microcontrollers, also known as embedded controllers or microcontroller units (MCU), can be found in a variety of devices, including vending machines, robotics, office equipment, medical devices, and office machines. They are essentially straightforward mini-personal computers (PCs) without a complicated front-end operating system that are used to operate minor aspects of larger components (OS).

Arduino

Known for producing microcontrollers with excellent performance, speed, and affordability, Arduino is an Italian firm with one of the largest market shares. because Arduino is licenced under the LGPL. Today, Arduino boards and accompanying software can be produced by any manufacturer. Moreover, Arduino is an open-source hardware and software platform that enables its users—from novices just getting started to expert developers—to tinker with and modify the Arduino to create their own version that best suits their ideas and needs.

Numerous projects throughout the years, from straightforward household goods to complex scientific apparatus, have employed Arduino as their brain. An international community of makers, including professionals, students, amateurs, artists, and programmers, have been drawn to this open-source platform. Their efforts have resulted in an amazing amount of knowledge that is readily available and could be very beneficial to both novices and experts.

Portenta Series

In the year 2020, Arduino released their newest line of microcontrollers, an industrial and high-end programming tool called Arduino Portenta.  Portenta H7 is utilised in PLCs, robotics, artificial intelligence, and industrial automation. For building high-end applications, a board with a lot of computing power is needed, and the Arduino Portenta H7 is the most suitable board. Unique fact about this microcontroller is that it is a closed source hardware rather than open sourced like other Arduino microcontrollers.

The STM32H747 dual-core CPU, which powers the Portenta H7, has a Cortex® M7 running at 480 MHz and a Cortex® M4 running at 240 MHz. Both processors share all on-chip peripherals and are capable of running TensorFlow Lite, C and C++, Native Mbed apps, MicroPython / JavaScript via an interpreter, and Arduino sketches on top of the Arm® MbedTM OS. The 80-pin high-density connector found in Portenta family products gives the Portenta H7 an advantage over the Arduino MKR form factor. The microcontroller includes Bluetooth and Wi-Fi modules in addition to 1 MB of SDRAM and 2 MB of flash memory.

A graphics accelerator is additionally included, enabling you to connect a monitor and build a toy computer or any other special graphical user interface. Additionally, this Arduino board is better suited for robotics projects thanks to the camera option.

 Conclusion

High-performance boards like the Arduino Portenta H7 can be used to build cutting-edge industrial projects. It can run both high-level programmes and real-time processes simultaneously thanks to its twin core processors. One of the best microcontrollers in the Arduino family is the Portenta because of its characteristics.

Author Biography

Sheikh Muhammad Ibraheem is a student of electrical engineering, an author, and a researcher

from Pakistan. He is an active member of NSPE and IEEE world’s largest engineering

communities. His books are published across the globe and is currently studying in The

University of  Lahore.