Serial communication (UART) with Arduino

Serial communication is a common method of communication between an Arduino board and other devices, such as a computer or a smartphone. Serial communication uses a Universal Asynchronous Receiver/Transmitter (UART) protocol to transmit and receive data.

Here’s an overview of how to use serial communication with an Arduino board:

1. Initialize the serial communication: To use serial communication, you first need to initialize the serial port on the Arduino board using the Serial.begin() function. This function sets the baud rate and opens the serial port for communication.

void setup() {
  Serial.begin(9600); // Initialize the serial communication with a baud rate of 9600
}

2. Send data from the Arduino board: To send data from the Arduino board to another device, use the Serial.print() or Serial.println() function. These functions send text or numeric data over the serial port.

void loop() {
  int sensorValue = analogRead(A0);
  Serial.print("Sensor value: ");
  Serial.println(sensorValue);
  delay(1000); // Wait for 1 second
}

3. Receive data on the Arduino board: To receive data on the Arduino board, use the Serial.available() function to check if there is data available on the serial port, and use the Serial.read() function to read the data byte by byte.

void loop() {
  if (Serial.available() > 0) {
    char command = Serial.read();
    if (command == '1') {
      digitalWrite(LED_PIN, HIGH);
    } else if (command == '0') {
      digitalWrite(LED_PIN, LOW);
    }
  }
}

4. Debugging using the serial monitor: The serial monitor is a built-in tool in the Arduino IDE that allows you to send and receive data over the serial port. You can use the serial monitor to debug your Arduino code by printing out sensor values, variable values, or error messages.

Overall, serial communication is a powerful tool for communicating with an Arduino board and enabling interaction with external devices or systems.