What is ARPS?

ARPS (Arduino-compatible Robot Project Shield) is my original all-in-one circuit designed to introduce beginners to electronic components, helpt them started learning Arduino programming, and to make it easy for them to build robots and other, more advanced projects.

This original ARPS design is still a great choice, and I'm selling the remaining stock of my ARPS PCBs and kits at a discount since there is now a [newer ARPS-2 circuit with a few small improvements available]https://lectronz.com/products/arps2-arduino-robot-project-shield-v-2).

Created by a teacher

ARPS is a classroom-proven circuit designed specifically for beginner computer technology instruction in schools, robotics clubs, and makerspaces. Since it was created for education, ARPS is a great choice for anyone wanting to start learning Arduino programming, an then make simple robots and many other kinds of projects.

What's so special about ARPS?

All of the typical beginner microcontroller circuits – pushbuttons, LEDs, a beeper, analog devices, and a motor driver – are built into ARPS. Having all of these parts built into one circuit board enables new learners to focus on developing their programming skills without the interruption of simultaneously building, debugging, and re-building separate breadboard circuits as they progress. Its unique design and versatile hardware features make it simple for beginners to build ARPS into robots or basic automation projects later, enabling them to keep developing and applying higher level programming skills using just one single piece of hardware.

ARPS Hardware Features

ARPS is designed to be used with Arduino UNO R4 Minima and exactly fits the Arduino UNO form factor. It includes:

• 4 user pushbuttons (see note, below), plus a hardware reset button
• 4 user LEDs, plus a power LED
• piezo speaker
• MCP9700A analog temperature sensor
• precision resistor voltage divider circuit
• 38 kHz IR demodulator
• SN754410NE quad half-bridge motor driver and screw terminal strip
• 4x 3-pin analog/digital expansion headers or a 4-pin header socket (the socket permits an HC-SR04 ultrasonic SONAR distance sensor module to be mounted on-board)
• 2x break-away optical sensor modules (one with a single LED and two phototransistors that can become either a light, floor, wall, or line sensor, and the other with a single LED and phototransistor that can become a light, floor, or wall sensor)

Note: Two of ARPS's four pushbutton circuits are connected to Arduino pins D0 and D1 (Rx and Tx) and will not be usable when ARPS is controlled by Arduino UNO R3. All of the pushbuttons work when ARPS is controlled by Arduino UNO R4 series microcontrollers.

Build ARPS in stages

Sometimes you just can't wait to get started on a new project, and other times, often in educational settings, there just isn't enough space or enough resources like soldering irons and tools to let all of the students build their circuits at the same time.

The solution? ARPS is designed to be assembled in stages, using common, through-hole components. This allows each learner to assemble part of their ARPS circuit, and then start using it to learn programming skills before the circuit has been totally completed. Additional components can be added to ARPS at any time, providing learners with new features and capabilities to explore.

Low cost classroom flexibility

Education users can save costs by buying bare ARPS printed circuit boards and having their students partially assemble their circuits, leaving out components that are unnecessary for their course or application. This capability also makes it easier for instructors to support mixed grade or mixed ability classes, and to provide extension activities for more advanced students. The same ARPS circuit and lesson activities can be use for all students in a class, while different groups or more advanced learners within the class can install different sets of parts and create different kinds of projects.

We've even made the Gerber files for ARPS available from the PCBWay (link below) for schools and makerspaces looking for the lowest cost circuits!

Designed for learning

A complete set of five introductory learning activities, available in GitHub, are designed to lead learners through Arduino programming fundamentals. Each one includes a starter program, program analysis activities designed to serve as a guided exploration of new concepts, and programming activities chosen to provide a range of open-ended challenges for beginners to reinforce their learning while expanding their programming skills and abilities.

Additional line-following and Sumo robot starter program templates are also provided to provide beginners with a structured program framework to help them tackle their first complex programming project.

ARPS runs in Tinkercad, too!

The Tinkercad simulator is popular in education because it features powerful electronics hardware and software simulation capabilities that can be run on classroom computers, student Chromebooks, and even iPads. In addition to GitHub, each ARPS learning activity is available as a pre-built circuit in Tinkercad, along with its own pre-loaded program code!

Running ARPS programs in Tinkercad empowers beginners to get a head start on programming, and lets them develop programs for ARPS without needing to have their circuit with them. It also makes it easy for instructors to demonstrate circuit and component characteristics, programming concepts, debugging techniques, and hardware/software interaction.

Try any of the ARPS learning activities here:

• Introductory Activity 1 - Input and Output
• Introductory Activity 2 - Variables
• Introductory Activity 3 - Loops
• Introductory Activity 4 - Functions
• Introductory Activity 5 - Analogue Input
• ARPS2 Full Robot Starter Circuit
• Line-Following Robot Starter Circuit
• Sumo Robot Starter Circuit

Orders are usually shipped within 1-3 days by mail from Canada. Delivery times are generally 2-5 days within Canada, 5-12 days to the USA, and may be as long as 3-4 weeks internationally, depending on the country.

All taxes, tariffs, and other import fees for international orders are not included in the product price and are the sole responsibility of the recipient.