What are the best Arduino books for beginners? Arduino is a favorite for many makers, DIYers, and hobbyists who want to experiment with physical computing.
If you’re interested in learning how to use Arduino with your projects, you might be wondering which books to get and where to start.
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Check These Best Seller Books
There are so many different Arduino books out there on the market, it can be difficult to decide which ones are the best Arduino books to buy when you’re just getting started.
In this article, we’ll review some of the top Arduino books on the market today and highlight what makes them great choices for beginners just getting into electronics and experienced engineers. These are my favorite books.
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List of Best Arduino Books for Beginners and Advanced Users
1. Exploring Arduino
by Jeremy Blum
Best Suited For : Beginners to Advanced Users
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Exploring Arduino: Tools and Techniques for Engineering Wizardry by Jeremy Blum — In Exploring Arduino, Blum teaches you how to build interactive electronic objects by applying your knowledge of programming and electronics. This book introduces tools and techniques for engineering wizardry.
You’ll learn about art and design, electrical engineering, hardware hacking, fabrication, programming, sensors and actuators (including how to make them), principles of good interface design—everything from creating a sketch on a computer to actually creating an object in three dimensions using a 3D printer.
To put it plainly: If you want to turn on something that is not currently turned on—or make something turn off when it is currently turned on—this book will help you do that. It provides full color projects throughout, so you can follow along with each step.
Throughout the course of this book, you will learn how to use Arduino to do everything from detecting motion to creating wireless control system to communicating over the internet.
This book Exploring Arduino is for Arduino enthusiasts of all experience levels.
Topics Covered:
- Arduino ecosystem
- Full-color graphics
- Servo motors and stepper motors
- Wireless connectivity
- IoT
- Basics of electrical engineering and programming
- Access to downloadable materials
- Digital design principles
- Arduino-specific programming concepts
2. Arduino Cookbook
by Michael Margolis, Brian Jepson, Nicholas Robert Weldin
Best Suited For : Beginners to Advanced Users
Click Here for Customer Reviews on Amazon
Arduino Cookbook: Recipes to Begin, Expand, and Enhance Your Projects by Michael Margolis, Brian Jepson, Nicholas Robert Weldin — Michael Margolis has written libraries and core software on Arduino 1.0 distribution.
If you are brand new to Arduino or coding in general, it’s a good idea to start with a project-based approach. Michael Margolis, Brian Jepson and Nicholas Robert Weldin’s comprehensive guide to Arduino is an excellent choice.
It won’t teach you how to program—that’s another topic entirely—but it will walk you through 46 different projects that use everything from sensors and motors to LEDs and speakers. By building each project as you go along, you’ll not only get up-to-speed on basic electronics, but also learn best practices around code management and debugging.
Topics Covered:
- Arduino Software and Sketches
- Arduino Hardware
- Arduino-compatible Controllers
- 3D printers
- MicroPython
- CircuitPython
- Connect Arduino to Wired and Wireless Networks
3. Arduino For Dummies
by John Nussey
Best Suited For : Beginners
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Arduino For Dummies by John Nussey — Arduino is a tiny circuit board with immense potential. It is possible to light up a Morse code signal with a single light emitting diode (LED) or to control all the lights within a structure, based on the level of detail you put into the device. The possibilities are only limited to the imagination of you.
Arduino For Dummies gives you a hands-on, project-based introduction to Arduino concepts and components. You’ll learn how to set up your own Arduino board and use it to control LEDs, motors, sensors, and more. You’ll also learn about key programming concepts in Arduino C/C++. This friendly guide makes learning about electronics easy!
Topics Covered:
- Physical Computing
- Interaction Design
- Shield – Circuit Board
- GPS with Arduino
- Circuit Bending
- Arduino Uno
4. Arduino Workshop: A Hands-On Introduction with 65 Projects
by John Boxall
Best Suited For: Intermediate to Advanced Users
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Arduino Workshop: A Hands-On Introduction with 65 Projects by John Boxall — This book is a good place to start, as it doesn’t assume you have any programming experience. Instead, Boxall walks you through creating programs in Arduino using four different approaches: C/C++ programming, Arduino Sketches, Processing/Pure Data and Maxuino/Pure Data.
The book contains simple tutorials on all of these platforms and explains how to download your code to your board. You’ll learn about prototyping on a breadboard and basic electronic components like resistors.
Topics Covered:
- How to control your Arduino remotely
- Hardware configuration and testing
- RFID
- Usage of External EEPROM
- XBee Wireless Data Modules
- Arduino LilyPad
- Arduino Nano
5. Getting Started with Arduino
by Massimo Banzi, Michael Shiloh
Best Suited For : Beginners
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Getting Started with Arduino: The Open Source Electronics Prototyping Platform by Massimo Banzi, Michael Shiloh — If you want to learn how to use Arduino boards but don’t have a programming background, consider Getting Started with Arduino. This book covers just about everything you need to know to get started with Arduino. It includes information on computer-based prototyping and a brief history of physical computing.
The first half of the book walks you through setting up your hardware and installing software, covering troubleshooting along the way. The second half teaches basic electronics concepts, including voltage dividers, capacitors, resistors, and LEDs; it also introduces serial communication concepts and simple C language commands used in programs that interface with Arduino boards.
Topics Covered:
- Arduino Hardware
- Sensors and Actuators
- Complex sensors
- Difference between Arduino Leonardo and Arduino Uno
- Electronic Schematic Diagrams
- Debuging Techniques
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6. Arduino Programming in 24 Hours
by Richard Blum
Best Suited For : Beginners
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Arduino Programming in 24 Hours, Sams Teach Yourself by Richard Blum — It’s a solid title that offers a well-organized approach to learning about the Arduino platform. The information is written at an introductory level, which makes it suitable for anyone with no programming experience but has little to offer experienced programmers. That said, its focus on simplicity and organization make it a good choice for non-programmers trying to learn more about physical computing with Arduino.
It’s also made for complete beginners to programming as well, so there is no need to be intimidated by any new concepts that you may not have heard of before. After all, if you’re picking up an Arduino then it’s a good bet that electronics isn’t something new to you! The author, Richard Blum, does a great job explaining how to do everything without dumbing it down too much; more often than not I’ve run into beginner books that go way over my head because they were afraid of explaining something complex in detail.
Topics Covered:
- Exploring Arduino Shields
- Arduino IDE
- Creating Sketches
- Basics of C
- Understanding Loops
- Use of sensors
- Web Protocol
7. TinyML
by Pete Warden, Daniel Situnayake
Best Suited For : Intermediate and Advanced Users
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TinyML: Machine Learning with TensorFlow Lite on Arduino and Ultra-Low-Power Microcontrollers 1st Edition by Pete Warden, Daniel Situnayake — The latest version of Google’s TensorFlow machine learning software, TensorFlow Lite, is designed to run on low-power microcontrollers. Now, you can use these advanced tools to add deep learning capabilities to your next Arduino project.
This book will help you get started. Filled with clear step-by-step instructions and easy-to-follow explanations, it helps you learn core concepts in machine learning—such as neural networks and deep learning—and how they work with different sensor types. You’ll also see how to connect your own hardware projects to web services like Twitter, Microsoft Cognitive Services, Facebook Messenger and more.
Topics Covered:
- TinyML Projects
- Build speech recognizer
- Essentials of Machine Learning
- TensorFlow Lite
- Importing Dependencies
- Colaboratory
- Python and Jupyter Notebooks
8. Arduino: A Technical Reference
by J. M. Hughes
Best Suited For : Beginners and Advanced Users with Basic Knowledge of C or C++
Click Here for Customer Reviews on Amazon
Arduino: A Technical Reference: A Handbook for Technicians, Engineers, and Makers by J. M. Hughes — The first of its kind, a comprehensive technical reference guide to Arduino. This book includes over 200 pages of diagrams and illustrations to help you better understand all aspects of the popular open-source prototyping platform. It covers topics such as programming, electronics theory, interfacing with components and devices, alternative software platforms like Pure Data (Pd), troubleshooting techniques, and more. Whether you’re just starting out or have been using Arduino for years, it will be hard to find a better technical reference guide. Get it on Amazon!
Customer Review
If you have used any microcontroller platforms, from 8-bit PICs to 32-bit ARM Cortex chips, and want to learn about how they work under the hood, I highly recommend picking up a copy of J. M. Hughes’ excellent Arduino: A Technical Reference. This book is written as a reference guide, but it is also very easy to follow and an excellent way to gain a deeper understanding of embedded systems. The book has no prerequisites and doesn’t require knowledge of electronics or computer programming. It does require that you have some familiarity with modern electronics practices.
Topics Covered:
- History of Arduino
- AVR Microcontrollers
- Pinout Diagrams
- AVR-GCC toolchain
- Programmable signal generator
- Programmable launch sequencer
- Arduino IDE
- Shields such as flash memory, Bluetooth, Ethernet, and ZigBee
- Create custom shield from scratch
9. Arduino Project Handbook
by Mark Geddes
Best Suited For : Beginners and Advanced Users
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Arduino Project Handbook: 25 Practical Projects to Get You Started by Mark Geddes — Get started with Arduino microcontrollers by building projects. This hands-on book provides clear explanations and step-by-step tutorials to help you master various hardware and software skills.
You’ll learn about electronics components such as sensors, servos, amplifiers, and displays; how to use free and open source tools; and how to create prototypes with a breadboard or even a wire. The projects in each chapter build on what you’ve learned previously, so that by the end of the book you’ll be able to build your own electronics projects from scratch.
Topics Covered:
- The Arduino Uno
- Programming the Arduino
- Testing Arduino
10. Learning Python with Raspberry Pi
by Alex Bradbury, Ben Everard
Best Suited For : Intermediate to Advanced Students
Click Here for Customer Reviews on Amazon
Learning Python with Raspberry Pi by Alex Bradbury, Ben Everard — Learning Python with Raspberry Pi is a highly recommended book for learning how to use your Raspberry Pi to its full potential. The book is easy to follow, and gives you all of the information you need regarding coding, setting up your Pi, and using it as a powerful tool in technology.
Along with great reviews from those who have read it, people are praising Alex Bradbury’s writing style and teaching method for making complex technology easy to understand. People also praise his humorous writing style that makes even more complicated things easier to learn. Overall, if you are looking into picking up a book on programming or electronics while using your Raspberry Pi then Learning Python with Raspberry Pi is an excellent choice.
Topics Covered:
- Variables, functions, loops
- 3D graphics programming concepts
- Games programming
- Python scripting
- Raspberry Pi basics
11. 30 Arduino Projects for the Evil Genius
by Simon Monk
Best Suited For : Intermediate to Advanced Users
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30 Arduino Projects for the Evil Genius by Simon Monk — This book has a library of examples that can be used to make cool and useful devices. It covers basic electronics, sensors, motor control, wireless communications, and input/output interfacing. This is probably the best book on Arduino projects for beginners out there.
You will learn not only how to set up an Arduino board but also how to use it in various applications such as data logging, building your own CNC machine or a burglar alarm system. The great thing about Simon Monk’s books is that they’re written in a very practical manner.
Topics Covered:
- Schematic and Construction details
- Principles behind the projects
- Infrared remote
- Lilypad clock
- Evil Genius countdown timer
- Hypnotizer
- Servo-controlled laser
- LCD thermostat
- Computer-controlled fan
- Lie detector
- Magnetic door lock
- Automatic password typer
- Keyboard prank
Free Resources to Learn Arduino
There are a ton of ways to learn about electronics. From YouTube videos to in-person classes, it’s easy to find a way to get started. The best part? Most are free! If you want to take some time and explore these YouTube resources. You can also check the best Arduino books for beginners in this article.
Read: My Top Best Books to Learn How Computers Work
FAQs
What is Arduino?
An Arduino is a simple, affordable computer used to build digital devices and interactive objects that can sense and control physical devices. There are many types of Arduinos available, ranging from small boards with only a few components to full-blown development platforms like Raspberry Pi or BeagleBone Black. All these boards have one thing in common: They’re very easy to use.
Is Arduino a microcontroller?
The term microcontroller can mean different things in different contexts. In relation to Arduino, a microcontroller is any device that can control input and output on a chip within itself without needing an external computer. The microcontrollers used by Arduinos are designed by Atmel and are called ATmega328s.
What is the use of Ardruino Uno?
Arduino Uno is a microcontroller board based on the ATmega328. It has 14 digital input/output pins (of which 6 can be used as PWM outputs), 6 analog inputs, a 16 MHz crystal oscillator, a USB connection, a power jack, an ICSP header, and a reset button. The Uno differs from all preceding boards in that it does not use an FTDI USB-to-serial driver chip.
Why is Arduino so popular?
Most people new to microcontrollers wonder why everyone is talking about Arduino. When you first hear about it, you’re likely to ask Why not just use a Raspberry Pi? or Are there any other open source boards that are better than Arduino? Well, since its introduction in 2005, countless hobbyists have fallen in love with it. The reasons why are simple: ease of use and accessibility of parts.
What is Raspberry Pi?
Raspberry Pi is a single-board computer, or microcomputer. It’s basically a small and light computer that can be easily connected to other devices (such as sensors) and used to control them. The device is essentially a circuit board with an ARM processor and graphics processing unit on it that are surrounded by various input/output (I/O) ports and connectors.
Is Arduino a CPU or a RAM?
Arduinos are not computers. Arduinos are microcontrollers and differ from real, computerized devices in a few key ways. For example, Arduinos don’t have a CPU—they only have a microcontroller. A CPU is like your desktop computer or laptop; it contains a processor chip as well as RAM.
Which software is used for Arduino?
Arduino software is written in C/C++, which is a high-level programming language. C/C++ is based on lower-level languages such as assembly language and machine code. Most programmers use it because it’s a good compromise between complexity and power; not only does it have all of the features you need, but it’s also easy to learn.
What are the real world usage of Arduino?
The two most obvious and practical applications of an Arduino are remote-controlled robots and home automation. If you’re interested in these projects, check out Build Your Own Remote Controlled Robot and Build a Home Automation System from Scratch. Then there are countless electronic accessories that you can make with an Arduino, such as smartphone camera trigger or programmable LED light strips, so if you have any interest in electronics at all then there’s something here for you.
What is the future of Arduino?
One of the newest, most high-tech hobbies today is that of learning to program microcontrollers. The future of programming microcontrollers is wide open and will continue to develop alongside innovations in technology. There are endless possibilities and uses with microcontrollers, which will only grow more advanced as technology continues to develop.
Who can learn Arduino?
Since its release in 2005, Arduino has inspired and challenged thousands of people to learn about electronics, embedded programming, and physical computing. Anyone with a desire to create simple or complex electronics projects can use an Arduino. If you’re interested in creating an LED that blinks when a button is pressed or you want to build a robot that follows lines on a floor, then an Arduino is perfect for beginners and advanced users alike.
Do I need college degree to learn Arduino?
One of the questions that I get asked often is whether or not you need a college degree to learn Arduino. The answer to that question is no. But you should have a firm grasp on computer fundamentals, as an Arduino project will utilize them. As well as basic electronics knowledge and know how to solder circuits with confidence. However, you do not need any specific background in programming. Most of my students have been able to learn all of these things by reading books and watching some good YouTube videos.
Conclusion
As you can see, there are many different uses for an Arduino. This small but mighty device has nearly limitless possibilities, so you should feel empowered to explore these limits in a creative way.
If you want to learn how to build your own computer and create something awesome with it, go ahead and get started with some of the best Arduino books for beginners!
You can visit Wikipedia to learn more about Arduino.
Remember that if you get stuck at any point or need help moving forward with your project, don’t hesitate to reach out and ask someone who is more experienced than you. You may be surprised how excited they are to lend a hand or two!
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