To program these chips, [Aaron] first had to wire up the microcontroller into a circuit. This was just a bit of perf board, a resistor, a few caps, and a USB A plug.

Here at Gizmodo, a number of do-it-yourself projects are featured that incorporate microcontrollers. If you’ve never worked with one before, don’t feel daunted, here’s an overview to help ...

It’s increasingly common for designers to pair stepper motors with motion-control SoCs. In fact, more design engineers than ever are setting up SoCs themselves for motion applications. These ...

MicroPython Hardware If you’re ready to give MicroPython a chance, it’s time to start looking into some hardware options. Plenty of boards out there are compatible with the programming ...

An Arduino is a popular open-source single-board microcontroller. Learn how to program one and let the possibilities take shape.

A microcontroller may have many low-power modes, depending on the application. There are numerous methods that the microcontroller can use to lower the static power, including low-leakage transistors ...

When students at Cornell University wanted to play Human Tetris (and ace a final project to boot), they taught a 20Mhz, 8-bit microcontroller how to follow their moves.

Microcontroller or Microprocessor: Making the Right Choice Microprocessors have a single processing core (CPU), typically powerful enough to handle complex applications involving lots of memory.

Perhaps most crucial from the designer's point of view are the trends toward lower power and greater integration. Power is on the minds of the microcontroller vendors today, and with good reason. Many ...