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Get more Power in your projects with "Arduino Due"

Article · September 2018

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 Get more Power in your projects with “Arduino Due”
In this article, we will present one of the powerful Arduino modules, it is the Arduino Due. It is a
microcontroller board based on Atmel SAM3X8E, 32-Bit ARM microcontroller. It is developed by
Arduino.cc with the intention to provide an easy pathway for the beginners to get a hands-on
experience with the module without any prior technical knowledge. wecan just plug the device into
the computer through a USB cable and start developing programs with it right away.
Arduino Modules are a step ahead of a single microcontroller. If the project is mainly based on a
microcontroller, we need to buy external peripherals and connect them with the controller in order
to lay out automation into our project. Arduino Boards has made things easy more than ever before.
Although, more or less, they are known as microcontrollers, they make developing projects easy
because of built-in peripherals and an ability to perform a number of functions on a single chip.
Also, no external programmer is required for Arduino, as it comes with a built-in programmer.
wejust have to write and compile the required code into the Arduino Software and burn in
the module through a single click on the computer.

In this article, we will presente details hardware related to Arduino Due i.e. its main features, pin
description, compilers used and applications.

Introduction to Arduino Due

 Arduino Due is a microcontroller board that is mainly based on Atmel SAM3X8E (32-Bit ARM
microcontroller). It is a big module as compared to Arduino Nano or Arduino Uno and comes
with more number of pins and memory space as compared to them.
 It contains 54 digital that can work both ways: input or output. Out of these digital pins, 12 can
be used to generate PWM outputs.
 This module contains everything in bulk required for the automation project including 12 analog
inputs, and 4 UARTs serial module.
 I was floored when I came to know this module comes with clock frequency around 84 MHz.
Yes, you heard that right. The splendid oscillator will help in processing speed grow skyrocket.
 Two USB ports are available where one is used as a programming USB Port while other is
Native USB Port. Don’t you worry, I’ll make it clear the difference between them. Just follow
along.
 Most of the Arduino Boards run at 5 V but this module is an exception that operates at 3.3V. The
pins incorporated on the cannot withstand voltage higher than this. Doing so can drastically
affect the board performance and can make your pins null and void.
 JTAG is added on the board that is mainly used for testing the physical connection between the
onboard pins.
 The Arduino Due can be programmed using a common Arduino Software (IDE), that is
compatible with all Arduino boards and can work both ways: online and offline.

 This module incorporates 2 DAC (digital to analog), 2 TWI, a power jack (you can power up the
device by connecting it with a computer through USB cable or using this power jack), an SPI
header reset button, an erase button and reset button. Bunch of functions, making your task easy.
 As per the voltage constraint, Arduino shields that operate at 5V are not compatible with this Due
module. However, the shields that come with Arduino R3 layout work efficiently including
Arduino WiFi shield and Ethernet Shield as they operate at 3.3V.

Arduino Due Features

Following table shows the main features of Arduino Due.
Microcontroller Atmel SAM3X8E ARM Cortex-M3
CPU 32-Bit
Digital I/O Pins 54
PWM Output 12
Analog Input 12
Flash Memory (Program Memory) 512 KB
SRAM 96 KB (two banks: 64 KB and 32 KB)
Operating Voltage 3.3V
Input Voltage 7-12 V
Manufacturer Arduino.cc
Oscillator up to 84 MHz
Software Used Arduino Software (IDE)
Reset Button 1
Erase Button 1
DAC (Digital to Analog Converter) 2
UART (Serial Communication) 4
SPI Communication Yes
TWI (I2C Communication) 2
Arduino Shield Compatibility Yes (that operate at 3.3V)
Programming USB (1)
USB (2) Native USB (1)

Power Jack 1
JTAG Header 1
DC current for 3.3V 800mA
Total DC output current on all I/O lines 130mA
 I know it is quite overwhelming and difficult to digest at one glance, but don’t you worry I have
broken it down in the pin description with images.

Arduino Due Pin Description

The function associated with each pin will help you understand the purpose of each pin in the
relevant project they can be used for.

You have got clear about the functions associated with each pin. Now, I’ll highlight the functions of
each pin with images, making it easy for you to look at the information without much hassle.

 Arduino Due comes with four ports named PORTA, PORTB, PORTC, and PORTD. There
are 54 digitals I/O pins. The pins with PINK color on the pinout mention above are used as
digital I/O pins.
 There are 12 analog pins on the board. They are a part of PORTA and PORTB and appear on
the board as follow.

Analog Inputs: pins from A0 to A11 The Due has 12 analog inputs, each of which
can provide 12 bits of resolution (i.e. 4096 different values). By default, the
resolution of the readings is set at 10 bits, for compatibility with other Arduino
boards. It is possible to change the resolution of the ADC
withanalogReadResolution(). The Due’s analog inputs pins measure from ground to
a maximum value of 3.3V. Applying more than 3.3V on the D ue’s pins will damage
the SAM3X chip. The analogReference() function is ignored on the Due .
  There are two USB ports available on the board where one is programming USB port and
other is native USB port. Both ports can be used for programming purpose, however, the
native port also acts as a USB host for connected peripherals like keyboards and
smartphones.

There is one power jack on the board for powering up the device.

 There are four UART channels added on the board. They are used for the serial
communication with the external devices where TX is the Serial Transmit Pin while RX is
the Serial Receive Pin. They appear on the board as follow.

 Serial: 0 (RX) and 1 (TX)

 Serial 1: 19 (RX) and 18 (TX)
 Serial 2: 17 (RX) and 16 (TX)
 Serial 3: 15 (RX) and 14 (TX) Used to receive (RX) and transmit (TX) TTL serial data (with
3.3 V level). Pins 0 and 1 are connected to the corresponding pins of the ATmega16U2 USB-to-TTL
Serial chip.
 There are two TWI (Two Wire Interface) modules incorporated on the board, also known as
the I2C protocol, and are used to establish the communication between low-speed devices
like ADC and DAC converters and microcontrollers. It is a two wire communication and
comes with two lines: Serial Clock (SCL) and Serial Data (SDA). The former is a clock
signal that is used to synchronize the data transfer between the devices while the later is used
to hold the desired data.

TWI 2: SDA1 and SCL1. Support TWI communication using the Wire library.
SDA1 and SCL1 can be controlled using the Wire1 class provided by the Wire
library. While SDA and SCL have internal pullup resistors, SDA1 and SCL1 have
not. Adding two pullup resistor on SDA1 and SCL1 lines is required for using
Wire1.
 PWM Output: Out of 54 digital pins, 12 are used for PWM output. They appear on the board
as follow.
JTAG header is a remarkable addition in the board that most of the board lack in the Arduino
Community. It is a common hardware interface that sets a pathway to communicate directly with
external chips on a board. It was introduced by the Joint (European) Test Access Group with the
intention of testing the physical connections between pins on a chip. It comes with fours pins known
as TCK, TMS, TDI, and TDO. This header incorporates on the board as follows.

 RESET and Erase Button: There is one reset and one erase button is added on the device.
Former is used to reset the controller while later is used to erase the stored information on the
board. They appear on the board as follow.
 Power Source: There are four power sources mentioned as 5V, 3.3V, Vin and Ground. The
3.3V is the operating voltage of each pin while Vin is the input voltage with the
recommended voltage range of 7V to 12V. You can power the controller with Vin or 5V.
These voltage sources appear on the board as follow.

Programming and Communication

 Almost all Arduino Boards can be programmed by Arduino Software called IDE. It is easy to use
and a common person with no prior technical can learn the software without much difficulty. It is
readily available, just download the software and select the board you aim to work on. As I
mentioned earlier, no external burner is required to burn the code into the controller. Arduino
software works perfectly with common operating systems like Windows, Linux or MAC.
 This module comes with a bunch of communication protocols to communicate with external
devices. The UART is useful for setting up a serial communication. One serial module is okay,
right? Wrong. There are four of them, giving you the flexibility to establish serial communication
with more than one devices. Serial library in the software is mainly used for the serial
communication between board and external devices.
 The Serial Monitor is a remarkable addition in Arduino Software, mainly used for transmitting
textual data to or from the board.
 The TX and RX pins incorporate an LED on each pin that flashes as the data is transmitted.
 Two Wire Interface is also included in the device that comes with two lines SDA and SCL. There
are two TWI channels available on the board. Arduino Software Wire Libary is used to access
the TWI bus.
 Arduino Due comes with a serial peripheral interface (SPI) that plays a vital role in the
communication between the microcontroller and other peripheral devices such as shift registers
and sensors. There are two pins used for SPI communication i.e. MOSI (Master Output Slave
Input) and MISO (Master Input Slave Output). The former is used for receiving the data while
later helps in sending data by the microcontroller.

Migration from Arduino Mega to Arduino Due

There is a vital difference between both modules in terms of operating voltage, memory space,
number of pins and processing speed. Arduino Due can perform the functions with greater pace as
compared to Arduino Mega. More powerful built-in peripherals and more memory space put
Arduino Due ahead of Mega.

However, there are some limitations. Arduino Due is not compatible with the 3.3V devices, also,
SAM3Xchip provides a complex and intimidating interface that can scare the hell of the person who
is practicing this module very first time. It is advised to work with a smaller module like Arduino
Uno in the start, and as you get a solid grip on the module, you can move to the complex interface.

Arduino Web editor:

All Arduino and Genuino boards, including this one, work out-of-the-box on the Arduino Web Editor, no
need to install anything.
The Arduino Web Editor is hosted online, therefore it will always be up-to-date with the latest features and
support for all boards. Follow this simple guide to start coding on the browser and upload your sketches onto
your board.

ARDUINO Due Applications

Arduino Due is a little bit bulky, covers large space and is used in a wide range of
applications where fast processing speed is the end result. Following are the main applications of
the board.

Industrial Automation ;Home and Security Systems ;Virtual Reality Applications ;Android Applications ;

GSM Based Projects ; Embedded System; Industrial IoT; WSN with embedded processing; Quad-copter.

Speech Recognition and Synthesis with Arduino © GPL3+

References
https://www.theengineeringprojects.com/2018/09/introduction-to-arduino-due.html
https://create.arduino.cc/projecthub/products/arduino-due
https://store.arduino.cc/arduino-due
https://www.arduino.cc/en/Guide/ArduinoDue
https://www.engadget.com/2012/10/22/arduino-due/
https://hackaday.io/projects?tag=arduino%20due
https://create.arduino.cc/projecthub/msb4180/speech-recognition-and-synthesis-with-arduino-
2f0363?use_route=project
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