Experiment 1 Lab Manual

American International University- Bangladesh

Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering
EEE 4103: Microprocessor and Embedded Systems Laboratory

Title: Familiarization with a microcontroller, the study of blink test and implementation of a
traffic control system using microcontrollers.

Introduction:

The objective of this experiment is to get familiarized with Microcontrollers. Besides, the
specific objectives of this experiment are to-
✓ Make an LED blink using an Arduino and its delay function.
✓ Implement a traffic control system using Arduino and its delay function and LEDs.

Theory and Methodology:

Arduino is an open-source platform used for creating interactive electronics projects. Arduino
consists of both a programmable microcontroller and a piece of software, or IDE (Integrated
Development Environment) that runs on your computer, used to write and upload computer
code to the microcontroller board. Arduino Uno also doesn’t need a hardware circuit
(programmer/ burner) to load a new code into the board. We can easily load a code into the
board just using a USB cable and the Arduino IDE (which uses an easier version of C++ to
write code).

Overview of Arduino Board :

Fig. 1 Arduino Board

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 Experiment 1 Lab Manual
Apparatus:
1) Arduino IDE (any version)
2) Arduino Uno (R3) board or Arduino mega 2560 board
3) LED lights (RED, GREEN, and YELLOW)
4) Three 100 ohms resistors, and
5) Jumper wires

Using Arduino IDE to write code:

1. Open the Arduino Uno IDE 1.8.2 (version may have been updated automatically on your
computer) and a blank sketch will open. The following window will come up on your PC:

Fig. 2 IDE Environment (text editor)

2. Now, write the following program on the blank sketch for the LED blink test.

void setup() {
// Pin type declaration for the red LED
pinMode(5, OUTPUT);
}

void loop() {
// Turning on the voltage at output pin 5 (for red LED)

digitalWrite(5, HIGH);
delay(1000); // LED is turned on for 1 second
digitalWrite(5, LOW);
delay(1000); // LED is turned off for 1 second
}

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 Experiment 1 Lab Manual
Experimental Procedure:
The main task of our lab is to understand and implement a traffic light control system after
understanding to blink an LED. Make the circuits first using the following connection diagram
between all the elements. The first one (a) is for the LED blink test and the second one (b) is
for the traffic light control system experiments. Please note that the LED has two terminals,
such as an anode and a cathode. The anode leg is slightly larger than the cathode leg. The anode
leg must be connected to the output pin and the cathode leg must be connected to the ground.

Anode
Cathode

(a) (b)
Fig. 3 Circuit connections for (a) LED blink test and (b) Traffic light control system

Program for Traffic Light Control System:

void setup() {
// pin connections for the LED lights

pinMode(8, OUTPUT);
pinMode(10, OUTPUT);
pinMode(12, OUTPUT);
}

void loop() {
// Turning on the voltage at the output pin 8 (for green LED)
digitalWrite(8, HIGH);
delay(3000); // green LED is on for 3 seconds
// Turning off the voltage at output pin 8 (for green LED)
digitalWrite(8, LOW); // green LED is off

// Turning the yellow LED on and off for 4 times

for (int i = 0; i < 4; i = i+1)
{
digitalWrite(10, HIGH);
delay(500); // yellow LED is on for 0.5 seconds
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 Experiment 1 Lab Manual
digitalWrite(10, LOW);
delay(500); // yellow LED is off for 0.5 seconds
}

// Turning on the voltage at the output pin 12 (for red LED)

digitalWrite(12, HIGH);
delay(6000); // red LED is on for 6 seconds
// Turning off the voltage at the output pin 12 (for red LED)
digitalWrite(12, LOW); // red LED is off

} // void loop() function ends and repeats

3. After writing the program you must save your code file in a folder. For this purpose, please
go to the File Menu → Save As → give a File name in the file name box (for example,
Traffic_light_control) → Select Save.

N.B. After saving your code, a sketch file with the desired file name will be stored in a
folder with the same file name.

4. Now you need to verify/compile your code to find out and correct the errors. For this, please
go to the Sketch Menu → Verify/Compile or press Ctrl+R or click on this button just
below the menu bar. If the code is correct then the code compilation done message will be
displayed, otherwise, an error message will be displayed.

Fig. 4 Code compilation procedure.

5. After the compilation is done successfully, you need to upload your code onto the Arduino Uno
board. To upload the program, connect your Arduino Uno R3 board to your PC with a USB
cable. Before uploading the code, select the board type and port at your Arduino IDE. For this
purpose, please go to the Tools Menu → Board: “Arduino Uno” → Arduino Uno. Then again
go to the Tools Menu → Ports → COMx, here x means an integer number that corresponds to
the Arduino Uno board that is automatically detected by the IDE.

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 Experiment 1 Lab Manual

Fig. 5 Tools set up procedure.

6. After you have selected the board and port, you must upload the code. For this, please go
to the Sketch Menu → Upload or press Ctrl+U or click on this button just below the
menu bar. If the code is correct then the code upload-done message will be displayed,
otherwise, an error message will be displayed. Based on the error message (if any), please
go to the code, and correct them. Usually, students forget to set up the Tools or select an
inappropriate board or COMx port number to get such kinds of error messages.

Fig. 6 Code uploading procedure.

How the Code Works:

Please explain here.

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 Experiment 1 Lab Manual
Let us rewrite the code again for the same operation and same circuit by
defining pin numbers and the duration of delays:

// Pin numbers are defined by the corresponding LED colors

#define GREEN_PIN 8
#define YELLOW_PIN 10
#define RED_PIN 12

// The delay amounts are declared in ms; 1 s = 1000 ms

int red_on = 6000;
int green_on = 3000;
int yellow_blink = 500;

void setup() {
// pin connections for the LED lights
pinMode(GREEN_PIN, OUTPUT);
pinMode(YELLOW_PIN, OUTPUT);
pinMode(RED_PIN, OUTPUT);
}

void loop() {
//Turning on the voltage at output pin# 8 for the green LED
digitalWrite(GREEN_PIN, HIGH);
delay(green_on); // delays are in ms; 1 s = 1000 ms
//Turning off voltage at output pin# 8 for the green LED
digitalWrite(GREEN_PIN, LOW);

//Turning the yellow LED on and off for 4 times

for(int i = 0; i < 4; i = i+1)
{
digitalWrite(YELLOW_PIN, HIGH);
delay(yellow_blink);
digitalWrite(YELLOW_PIN, LOW);
delay(yellow_blink);
}

//Turning on the voltage at pin# 12 for the red LED

digitalWrite(RED_PIN, HIGH);
delay(red_on);
//Turning off the voltage at output pin# 8 for the red LED
digitalWrite(RED_PIN, LOW);

} // void loop() function ends and repeats

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 Experiment 1 Lab Manual
Questions for report writing:

1) Include all codes and scripts in the lab report with detailed explanations according to
the report writing template given in the portal.
2) Show the output/results in the form of images. Give their captions and descriptions.
3) Include the Proteus simulation of the LED blink program and traffic light control
system. Explain the simulation methodology. You may learn the simulation from the
following video link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yHB5it0s2oU

Reference(s):

1) https://www.arduino.cc/.
2) https://www.coursera.org/learn/arduino/lecture/ei4ni/1-10-first-glance-at-a-program.
3) Jeremy Blum; Exploring Arduino: Tools and Techniques for Engineering Wizardry.

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