What is Arduino Lilypad?   A Getting Started Guide
Published: 2021-09-14 06:09:59

Arduino is a simple microcontroller-based device, which is used in the embedded system to control, simulate electronic devices, It Provides support for both hardware and software operations, and is mostly used in Robotic Control, In industrial automation systems.

##Arduino Lili Pad:

Arduino Lilypad is developed by Spark Fun electronics, and it is Composed of an 8-bit AVR microcontroller, it is an advanced form of the board and it is mostly used in the industrial sector for operating different actuators. Different types of Arduino Lilypad boards are available in the market based on their functionality which are.

![Alt Text](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/qj21nqm37r9d4xc8ll2s.png)

* Arduino LilyPad Simple version
* Arduino LilyPad Simple Snap version
* Arduino LilyPad USB version
* Arduino LilyPad USB plus version
* Arduino LilyPad Main Board version
 
 
##Board overview:

The overall board structure is just like an Arduino UNO with some advanced features.

Based on the board [Arduino lilypad](https://www.theengineeringprojects.com/2018/09/introduction-to-arduino-lilypad.html)comes in two boards known as Ategma 168 V and Ategma 328 V just like Arduino Nano, these are the type of microcontrollers used on the board, The microcontroller act as a brain for the board to save and instruct command as per desired.

There is a total of 22 pinholes available on the board, in them, each one is used for a specific purpose, among them, 14 are input and output pins which are used for external device connection, 6 pins are reserved for PWM application.

![Alt Text](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/2wliedaw63uhsqmw66sq.png)

The board has an input power plug option, and its operating voltage is 5v, while the range of VIN is 2v to 5.5v. which is very less as compared to other Arduino boards. A voltage regulator is also available 9 on the board for adjusting the operating conditions. If a voltage supply of more than 5.5 v is given to the Arduino boards, your board may get damaged.

The Arduino Lily pad has two ports of USB, which are used for transferring data or a power source, For Programming, the company introduced official Software known as Arduino IDE. 

This model has some unique features than other Arduino boards, firstly it is breadboard friendly, that is why it is used in a compact embedded system and it can easily be directly integrated into sensors. Secondly, it comes in a round shape while other Arduino devices are available in a rectangular shape.

##Main components:


###Memory Devices:
The microcontroller memory is depending upon flash memory, SRAM, EEPROM, in which flash memory consist of 16 KB, while SRAM and EEPROM are 1KB and 512 KB. 
Other than that, a micro-SD card slot is also available on the board to store the programming and instruction installed manually.

##Pins Layout:

###Input/ output pins:

The input and out pins are used for implementing commands on different devices, these pins are attached to the external devices as per requirements. There is a total of 12 inputs output pins available on the board.

###PWM PINS;
PWM which is known as Pulse width modulation is used to amplify the signals there is a total of 6 PWM pins are available on the board, they are often used to control the actuators or motors.

PCINT PINS:
One of the advanced features of this circuit board in PCINT pins, PCNIT means pin change interrupts, these pins are not available in other Arduino boards, do not confuse them with External interrupt pins, as external interrupt pins are hardware pins use to interrupt signals in an emergency, while PCNIT are not separate, they can produce interrupts from any input out pins.

USART communication:
The board also supports [USART communication](https://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/USART-Universal-Synchronous-Asynchronous-Receiver-Transmitter), AS pin 13 and 14 are reserved for this purpose, Pin 13 is reserved as TX pin while pin 14 is reserved as RX pin, they are used to send and receive serial data in the circuit.

##Way to connect Arduino LilyPad:

For the power Source, a 5V power input socket is available on the board, The board is connected through this port, or power is given through the USB port. A single ground pin is also available on the circuit board, for connection, a 5v positive terminal is applied on the power pin socket with a negative terminal is attached through the ground pin. 

![Alt Text](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/9hm9zdw1cs13s449m9y9.png)

 For a power source, a lithium rechargeable battery can be used, which produces DC voltage, if you are using an AC voltage source then you need a converter for this purpose. A figure which represents the detailed connection of the board is attached below.



##Way to program Arduino LILY pad:
    
Arduino lily pad uses the same technique of programming that we used to program other Arduino devices. The software used for this purpose is IDE. Follow the following steps to program the board.

* Firstly, attach the Arduino device with the computer, the system will automatically detect the Model and install drivers, if do not panic, follow the steps as shown in the figure.

###Settings---Device Manager---Add devices---Arduino Lily Pad---install

The system will start installing the device drivers.

* Now open the Arduino IDE software named BLINK And flow the steps as 

###File -----Examples ------Basics-------Blink. 

![Alt Text](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/cbw61me1yyqihfxbdhav.png)

* Now select the Board type as it is mentioned on the board or in the map view accordingly, as the board comes in different types so select it carefully. you will get its option in Map view. If you do not have an idea about pin positions you can view them in Map pin position, for this you need to first disconnect the device and again connect it.

###Tools---Board---- Arduino Lilly (board Type)

Now you are ready to install the program, go to the menu and click install programming file, this will take few minutes to install, as the installation is finished click ok, the LED at PIN 11 starts blinking this means your program is installed and your device is ready to use. The Arduino Lilly can be used both online and offline. Programming can be changed accordingly as per the functionality we need to do it by the board. 

![Alt Text](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/x1p9ed3806qigveafbo4.png)