Simple Arduino Serial Communication

This Tutorial is progressive and will be updated from time to time. The goal is to start from a very basic form of Arduino Serial communication, and progressively add or improve components so that we can ultimately transmit data from one computer to another using an XBee.

Please note: I am not an expert, but am happy to share what I have learned. The Arduino forums are a great place to ask questions, feel free to link to this blog (if required).

Let us begin.

Stage 1: ECHO ECHO                                                                                    

Parts Required:

• Computer
• USB cable
• Arduino UNO (or equivalent)
• Arduino IDE

The following code will make the Arduino ECHO anything you send to it. Therefore, if you type a 3, the Arduino will send back a 3. If you type a letter F, the Arduino will send back a letter F. 

Enter the following code into your Arduino IDE and upload it to your Arduino.

Arduino Sketch

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/* Simple Serial ECHO script : Written by ScottC 03/07/2012 */ /* Use a variable called byteRead to temporarily store the data coming from the computer */ byte byteRead; void setup() { // Turn the Serial Protocol ON Serial.begin(9600); } void loop() { /* check if data has been sent from the computer: */ if (Serial.available()) { /* read the most recent byte */ byteRead = Serial.read(); /*ECHO the value that was read, back to the serial port. */ Serial.write(byteRead); } }

The above code was formatted using this site

Instructions

1. Once the Arduino sketch has been uploaded to the Arduino. Open the Serial monitor, which looks like a magnifying glass at the top right section of the Arduino IDE. Please note, that you need to keep the USB connected to the Arduino during this process, as the USB cable is your communication link between your computer and the Arduino.

2. Type anything into the top box of the Serial Monitor and press <Enter> on your keyboard. This will send a series of bytes to the Arduino. The Arduino will respond by sending back your typed message in the larger textbox.

3. Please note that we are using Serial.write(byteRead); on line 18 to get the Arduino to ECHO the message back to you on your computer. 

Things to Try 

1. Delete lines 16 to 18, and replace them with the following line :

               Serial.write(Serial.read());

This essentially eliminates the byteRead variable in the sketch above. But we will be using it later on, so once you have tested it out, put the code back together as originally displayed.

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2. Replace line 18 with a Serial.println instead of Serial.write

               Serial.println(byteRead);

Once uploaded, type 1 <enter> 2 <enter> 3 <enter>  into the Serial Monitor.

You should see:

49

50

51

Serial.print and Serial.println will send back the actual ASCII code, whereas Serial.write will send back the actual text. See ASCII codes for more information.

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3. Try typing in numbers like 1.5  or  2.003  or  -15.6 into the Serial Monitor using Serial.write and Serial.print or Serial.println commands as described before.

You will notice that the decimal point transmits as a number using Serial.print  or Serial.println, and will transmit as a decimal point when using Serial.write

STAGE 2: Delimiters                                                                                

How do you handle 2 or more numbers when sending or receiving?

Let us say that you have number pairs that you want the Arduino to interpret. How do you separate the numbers? The answer is Delimiters.

You may be familiar with CSV (comma separated value) files, where each field is separated by a comma (,). The comma is a useful way of separating or grouping information.

Lets say you have the following stream of numbers:

12345678910

How will your Arduino know if this is a single number, or a series of numbers?

Eg:

12,34,56,78,91,0

123,456,78,910

1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10

12345678910

The comma delimiters help to identify how the numbers should be interpreted.

 In the echo example in Stage 1 above, you would have noticed that when we used Serial.print(byteRead); that the values displayed one after another in a similar fashion to 12345678910.

You would have also noticed that Serial.println(byteRead); provided a line break between each value sent. And depending on the numbers sent, it could have looked like this:
12
34
56
78
91
0

The Serial.println() function essentially uses a line feed to separate the values being sent. This line break can be used as a delimiter, but we will look at that later on. For now we will concentrate on using a comma (,).

We will now get the Arduino to "listen" for the comma to help it identify a new number.

According to the ASCII code site, a comma is equal to byte code 44. So when the Arduino reads a byte code that is equal to 44, we will get it to print a line feed.

Enter the following sketch into your Arduino IDE and upload it to your Arduino.

Arduino Sketch

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/* Simple Serial ECHO script : Written by ScottC 04/07/2012 */ /* Stage 2 : Delimiters */ /* Use a variable called byteRead to temporarily store the data coming from the computer */ byte byteRead; void setup() { // Turn the Serial Protocol ON Serial.begin(9600); } void loop() { /* check if data has been sent from the computer: */ if (Serial.available()) { /* read the most recent byte */ byteRead = Serial.read(); /*Listen for a comma which equals byte code # 44 */ if(byteRead==44){ Serial.println(); }else{ /*ECHO the value that was read, back to the serial port. */ Serial.write(byteRead); } } }

The above code was formatted using this site

Instructions

1. Once the code has been uploaded to the Arduino, open the Serial Monitor once again and type the following sequence of numbers:

1 <enter>  2 <enter> 3 <enter>

You should see the Serial monitor display the following number:    123

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2. While still in the serial monitor, type the following:

, <enter> 1 <enter> , <enter> 2 <enter> , <enter> 3 <enter> ,

Please note the commas between each numerical entry. You should now see a pattern like this:

1

2

3

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3. While still in the serial monitor, type the following:

12,23,34,45, <enter>

Please note the commas between each numerical entry. You should now see a pattern like this:

12

23

34

45

You will notice that the commas have been replaced by line feeds, and each number should display on a new line.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

4. While still in the serial monitor, type the following:

1,,2,,3, <enter>

You should see the following pattern:

1

2

3

So hopefully that explains the concept of delimiters and how they can be used to separate a stream of numbers, no matter how long it takes to get to the Arduino. We used an IF-statement to listen for the comma, but we could have used any other delimiter provided we knew the byte code.

We did not identify how to send delimiters FROM the Arduino, but we will get to that I promise. It is not that hard, and uses a similar principle. I am sure you can work it out, if not, stay tuned.

STAGE 3: Arduino Maths: Simple addition                                                  

In this stage, we are going to get the Arduino to do simple maths. We will send it two integers (or whole numbers), and the Arduino will do the hard work and send us the answer in no time at all.

This might seem like a simple task, but when you send a number like 27 to the Arduino, it does not receive the number 27. It receives 2 and then 7 in byte form. In other words, the Arduino will see the byte codes 50 and then 55 as per the ASCII table on this page.

One way to convert this byte code back to a 2 and a 7 is to subtract 48 from each byte received, providing the byte is in the range 48 to 57 inclusive (which equates to the numbers 0-9).

We are not done yet. We then need to join these numbers to make 27.

Step1: Subtract 48 from the bytes received, only if the bytes are in the range 48 to 57.

                 Example:    50 - 48 = 2

                                    55- 48 = 7

Step2: Multiply the previous number by 10, before adding the most recent byte received.

                 Example:   (2 x 10) + 7 = 27

If we have a number like 1928, then we would create this number using the following calculation

                                   1 =                         1

                   (1 x 10) + 9 =    10 + 9   =   19

                (19 x 10) + 2  = 190 + 2   =  192

              (192 x 10) + 8  = 1920 + 8 = 1928

Step3: Use a "+" sign as a delimiter so that the Arduino can move onto the Second number

Step4:  Capture the second number as per Step2. An "=" sign will tell the Arduino that it has reached the end of the second number, and to proceed to step 5.

Step5:  Add the 2 numbers together and send back the answer.

The following code will carry out the 5 steps above.

Enter the following sketch into your Arduino IDE and upload it to your Arduino.

Arduino Sketch

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/* Simple Serial ECHO script : Written by ScottC 05/07/2012 */ /* Stage 3: Arduino Maths: Simple Addition */ /* Global variables needed for programming workflow byteRead: holds the value being read from the COM port num1: holds the entire first number num2: holds the entire second number answer: holds the sum of num1 and num2 mySwitch: enables the switch between num1 and num2 */ byte byteRead; long num1, num2,answer; boolean mySwitch=false; void setup() { /* Turn the Serial Protocol ON and initialise num1 and num2 variables.*/ Serial.begin(9600); num1=0; num2=0; } void loop() { /* check if data has been sent from the computer: */ while (Serial.available()) { /* read the most recent byte */ byteRead = Serial.read(); //listen for numbers between 0-9 if(byteRead>47 && byteRead<58){ //number found /* If mySwitch is true, then populate the num1 variable otherwise populate the num2 variable*/ if(!mySwitch){ num1=(num1*10)+(byteRead-48); }else{ num2=(num2*10)+(byteRead-48); } } /*Listen for an equal sign (byte code 61) to calculate the answer and send it back to the serial monitor screen*/ if(byteRead==61){ answer=num1+num2; Serial.print(num1); Serial.print("+"); Serial.print(num2); Serial.print("="); Serial.println(answer); /* Reset the variables for the next round */ num1=0; num2=0; mySwitch=false; /* Listen for the addition sign (byte code 43). This is used as a delimiter to help define num1 from num2 */ }else if (byteRead==43){ mySwitch=true; } } }

The above code was formatted using this site

Instructions

1. Once the code has been uploaded to the Arduino, open the Serial Monitor once again and type the following sequence:

         1+2=   <enter>

You should get the following message sent back to Serial Monitor

         1+2=3

Things to Try

1.   Enter this sequence:
              10   <enter>
               +   <enter>
              10  <enter>
               =   <enter>

       Result:     10+10=20

--------------------------------------------------------------------
2.   Enter this sequence:
             10  <enter>
             20  <enter>
             +5= <enter>


      Result:   1020+5=1025




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3.   Enter this sequence:
             10+20+30=   <enter>


      Result:    10+2030=2040

I have specifically written this script to add two whole numbers together. If you start to introduce more complicated calculations, the results become unpredictable.

--------------------------------------------------------------------
4.    Enter this sequence:
           1.2+1.0=    <enter>

      Result: 12+10=22

Once again, I have only designed this script to handle whole numbers. Therefore, decimal points are ignored.

--------------------------------------------------------------------
5.  Enter this sequence:
          -5 + 10=     <enter>


     Result:    5+10=15


This script ignores the negative sign, and treats the -5 as a positive 5.

I have done this on purpose. I wanted to show you how the Arduino reads numbers from the com port, and how easy it is to exclude vital functionality in your code. I have kept this script simple, however, if you wanted to, you could make the Arduino deal with each of the above situations and more.  Multiplication, division and subtraction is handled in the same way.

This is the last thing I want you to try before we go to the next stage:

6. Enter this sequence:
           2147483646+1=  <enter>           Result:  2147483646+1=2147483647
           2147483647+1=  <enter>           Result: 2147483647+1=-2147483648


Note that the maximum size of a "long" number is 2147483647. If you add one to this number, the result is equal to the minimum size of a "long" which is -2147483648.

STAGE 4:  Sending doubles to Arduino : The double doubler             

Now we get to some tricky business. Sending and receiving Doubles (to and from) the Arduino.

Up until now, I have tried to keep it simple using whole numbers, but there will come a time when you will want to send a fraction of a number through the Serial line.

To test our program, we will want to send a very small number to the Arduino, multiply the number by 2, and return it back.

Our final test is to try a number like :  0.000001

             and then a number like:   123.321

IMPORTANT NOTE:   When the Arduino sends a float or a double through the COM port using Serial.print() or Serial.println(), it will automatically send the number to 2 decimal places.
A number like 1.2345 will appear as 1.23,   and a number like 1.9996 will appear as 2.00
To demonstrate this, we will get the Arduino to send these floats/doubles to the Serial Monitor.

Enter the following sketch into your Arduino IDE and upload it to your Arduino.

Arduino Sketch

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/* Stage 4: Simple Transmission of a Double Written by ScottC on 7/7/2012 */ /* Declare the doubles that will be sent to the Serial Monitor */ double myDub1, myDub2; /* This part of the program only runs ONCE */ void setup(){ /* Turn ON Serial Communication */ Serial.begin(9600); /* Assign a value 1.2345 and 1.9996 to the Doubles being sent */ myDub1=1.2345; myDub2=1.9996; /*Send the values to the Serial Monitor */ Serial.print("myDub1 (1.2345) : "); Serial.println(myDub1); Serial.print("myDub2 (1.9996) : "); Serial.println(myDub2); } void loop(){ //Loop does nothing }

The above code was formatted using this site

When you open the Serial monitor (after you have uploaded the sketch above), you will notice the following output:


          myDub1 (1.2345) : 1.23
          myDub2 (1.9996) : 2.00

The blue text represents the string (or array of characters) being sent using lines 19 and 21.
The red text represents the actual double being sent using lines 20 and 22.

You will notice that myDub2 rounds to 2.00.  This may or may not be what you want.
If you wish to increase the number of decimal places, then you will need to change lines 20 and 22 to the following:

20         Serial.println(myDub1,4);
22         Serial.println(myDub2,4);

The number 4 highlighted in red, indicates the number of decimal places you wish to send.
Try it ! And try changing this number to something bigger or smaller.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ok - now that we understand this little Serial.print(double,decimals) trick, we will now get the Arduino to echo back a Double.

Before we jump in, perhaps we should try and map out our strategy. For this we will choose a simple decimal to make it easier. So in this example, we will choose 0.1

Once we get this working, we can then do our final test (as mentioned above).

If we send 0.1 to the Arduino, it will read the following byte code

48                    0

46                    .

49                    1

We can use the decimal point as a delimiter.
We will use the following 5 steps to echo the double back to the Serial Monitor:

Step1: Arduino collects all numbers before the decimal point using the same technique as in Stage3.

Step2: When the Arduino receives byte code 46, it will go into decimal mode.

Step3: The Arduino will collect numbers after the decimal point using a similar technique to step1.

Step4: Use maths to create the double, and then multiply it by 2

Step5: Display the doubled Double value in the Serial monitor.

Enter the following sketch into your Arduino IDE and upload it to your Arduino.

Arduino Sketch

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/* Simple Serial ECHO script : Written by ScottC 06/07/2012 */ /* Stage 4: Double doubler */ /* Global variables needed for programming workflow ------------------------------------------------------ byteRead: holds the value being read from the COM port num1: holds the number before the decimal point num2: holds the number after the decimal point complNum: holds the complete number (before multiplation) answer: holds the final value after multiplication counter: is used to convert num2 to the number after the decimal numOfDec: counts the numbers after the decimal point mySwitch: enables the switch between num1 and num2 */ byte byteRead; double num1, num2; double complNum,answer,counter; int numOfDec; boolean mySwitch=false; void setup() { /* Turn the Serial Protocol ON and initialise num1 and num2 variables.*/ Serial.begin(9600); num1=0; num2=0; complNum=0; counter=1; numOfDec=0; } void loop() { /* check if data has been sent from the computer: */ while (Serial.available()) { /* read the most recent byte */ byteRead = Serial.read(); //listen for numbers between 0-9 if(byteRead>47 && byteRead<58){ //number found /* If mySwitch is true, then populate the num1 variable otherwise populate the num2 variable*/ if(!mySwitch){ num1=(num1*10)+(byteRead-48); }else{ num2=(num2*10)+(byteRead-48); /* These counters are important */ counter=counter*10; numOfDec++; } } /*Listen for an equal sign (byte code 61) to calculate the answer and send it back to the serial monitor screen*/ if(byteRead==61){ /* Create the double from num1 and num2 */ complNum=num1+(num2/(counter)); /* Multiply the double by 2 */ answer=complNum*2; /* Send the result to the Serial Monitor */ Serial.print(complNum,numOfDec); Serial.print(" x 2 = "); Serial.println(answer,numOfDec); /* Reset the variables for the next round */ num1=0; num2=0; complNum=0; counter=1; mySwitch=false; numOfDec=0; /* Listen for the decimal point (byte code 46). This is used as a delimiter to help define num1 from num2 */ }else if (byteRead==46){ mySwitch=true; } } }

The above code was formatted using this site

Things to Try

1. Type the following into the serial monitor:

       1.2=  <enter>                             Result:   1.2 x 2 = 2.4

Make sure that you type the equal sign (=) before you press enter, otherwise the Arduino will not know that you are finished, and will not send anything back.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

2. Type the following into the serial monitor:

      100.001=  <enter>                      Result:   100.001 x 2 = 200.002

You will notice that the Arduino is formatting the decimal to the SAME number of decimals as that entered.

This is controlled by the variable: numOfDec.

---------------------------------------------------------------------

3. Now for our final test: Type the following into the serial monitor:

    0.000001= <enter>                       Result: 0.000001 x 2 = 0.000002

First test: PASSED

----------------------------------------------------------------------

4. Type the following into the Serial monitor for our last test:

     123.321=  <enter>                      Result: 123.321 x 2 = 246.642

Second test: PASSED

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

BEWARE: While everything looks perfect, let me tell you that it isn't. But hopefully this code will help you get on the right track. If you decide to type in a number like 123123.111222, you will not get the answer you expected. 

I have found that this program will work if the amount of numbers before and after the decimal point are less than about 9.  Eg. 1234.1234   will produce the right result.

However, 11111.2222 will NOT, because there are 9 numbers represented.

I think this has something to do with the memory allocated to a double, but I am not sure. 

I don't know if people work with these types of numbers, but I am sure there is a workaround, and I am sure someone out there can work it out. I don't personally need this kind of precision, but thought to mention it just in case you do.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
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STAGE 5:  Sending sensor data to the Serial Monitor             

We know the Arduino is very good at copy-Cat games, how about getting the Arduino to send us some data from one of our sensors. We will use the Serial Monitor to view the sensor data.

Disconnect the USB cable, and hook up one of your favourite analog sensors to your Arduino. For simplicity, I am going to hook up a potentiometer as per the Fritzing sketch below.

Parts Required

• Arduino UNO (or equivalent)
• Computer with USB cable
• Breadboard
• Potentiometer
• 3 Wires

Arduino Fritzing Sketch

     

Once you have attached your sensor to the board, plug your USB cable into the Arduino, and upload the following sketch.

Arduino Sketch

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/* Stage 5: Send Sensor Value to Serial Monitor Written by ScottC on 7/7/2012 */ int sensorVal = 0; void setup() { // Setup Serial communication with computer Serial.begin(9600); } void loop() { // Read the value from the sensor: sensorVal = analogRead(A0); // Send the value to the Serial Monitor Serial.print("Sensor Value="); Serial.println(sensorVal); // Interval between readings = 1 second delay(1000); }

The above code was formatted using this site

Instructions

1. Open the Serial monitor and watch the readings change depending on the input conditions. In my case, by turning the potentiometer from left to right, I get an output similar to the picture below.

As per the Arduino reference site, AnalogRead returns an integer between 0 and 1023. You can see this is true based on the picture above. But what if we do not want a value between 0 and 1023. Let us say we want a value between 0 and 100?

You would have to use the map function. We will do it by changing line 13 to this:

13  sensorVal = map(analogRead(A0),0,1023,0,100);

The map function is quite a cool function, and good fun to play around with. So here are some things to try.

Things to Try

1. Change line 13 to the following, upload to the Arduino 

    and then open the Serial Monitor to see the effect.

Trial 1:

13  sensorVal = map(analogRead(A0),0,1023,100,0);

Trial 2:

13  sensorVal = map(analogRead(A0),0,1023,0,1000);

Trial 3:

13  sensorVal = map(analogRead(A0),200,800,0,100);

In Trial 1: We see that the values have been inverted. Instead of ranging from 0 up to100, they now go from 100 down to 0.

In Trial 2: The analog readings are now mapped to a range of 0 up to 1000. 

In Trial 3: The analog readings that range from 200 to 800 are mapped to a range of 0 to 100. Therefore if the analog readings drop below 200, we will end up with a negative value for sensorVal. 

If the analog readings go above 800, we will end up with a value greater than 100.  For this particular example, my readings actually range from  -33 to 137.

Therefore an Analog reading of 0 = -33

                 Analog reading of 200 = 0

                 Analog reading of 800 = 100

               Analog reading of 1023 = 137

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

What if we don't want the output to go beyond our intended limits of 0 to 100?

Then you would have to use the constrain function. This essentially trims the reading range of the sensor, and sets a minimum and maximum value.

Replace line 13 with the following code:

13  sensorVal = constrain(map(analogRead(A0),200,800,0,100),0,100);

Therefore an Analog reading of 0 = 0

                 Analog reading of 100 = 0

                 Analog reading of 200 = 0

                 Analog reading of 800 = 100

                  Analog reading of 955 = 100

               Analog reading of 1023 = 100

Analog values between 200 and 800 will produce a result between 0 and 100.

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If you wish to continue with this tutorial (stage 6 and above), please follow this link:  Serial Communication Stage 6 and above 

 
 

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Description: Simple Arduino Serial Communication Rating: 3.5 Reviewer: Unknown ItemReviewed: Simple Arduino Serial Communication

Reading from a Text File and Sending to Arduino

The following tutorial will demonstrate how to Read values from a Text file (.txt, .csv) to blink 1 of 9 LEDs attached to an Arduino. It uses the combination of an Arduino and Processing program to process the file. The Processing program will read the text file in real time, only sending new information to the Arduino.

Components Required

• Arduino UNO
• Breadboard
• 9 LEDs
• 9 x 330 ohm resistors
• Wires to connect the circuit
• USB connection cable: to connect the computer to the Arduino
• A computer: to run the processing sketch, and to compile / upload the Arduino sketch
• Processing Program installed on computer
• Arduino Program installed on the computer
• A comma separated text file (*.txt).

Arduino Layout

The Text File

• Open Notepad or equivalent text file editor, and paste the following data into it.

1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1

• Save the file on your hard drive. In my case, I have chosen to save the file at this location.

D:/mySensorData.txt

• It should look like the following screenshot

Additional notes regarding the Text file:

• Just remember what you call it, and where you saved it, because we will be referring to this file later on in the Processing script.
• Keep all values on the same line.
• Separate each number with a comma.
• The number 1 will blink the first LED which is attached to Pin 2 on the Arduino.
• The number 9 will blink the last LED which is attached to Pin 10 on the Arduino.

Processing Code

You can download the Processing IDE from this site.

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style="color: blue;">import processing.serial.*; style="color: blue;">import java.io.*; style="color: rgb(43, 145, 175);">int mySwitch=0; style="color: rgb(43, 145, 175);">int counter=0; String [] subtext; Serial myPort; style="color: rgb(43, 145, 175);">void setup(){ style="color: green;">//Create a switch that will control the frequency of text file reads. style="color: green;">//When mySwitch=1, the program is setup to read the text file. style="color: green;">//This is turned off when mySwitch = 0 mySwitch=1; style="color: green;">//Open the serial port for communication with the Arduino style="color: green;">//Make sure the COM port is correct myPort = style="color: blue;">new Serial(this, style="color: rgb(163, 21, 21);">"COM6", 9600); myPort.bufferUntil(style="color: rgb(163, 21, 21);">'\n'); } style="color: rgb(43, 145, 175);">void draw() { style="color: blue;">if (mySwitch>0){ style="color: green;">/*The readData function can be found later in the code. style="color: green;"> This is the call to read a CSV file on the computer hard-drive. */ readData(style="color: rgb(163, 21, 21);">"D:/mySensorData.txt"); style="color: green;">/*The following switch prevents continuous reading of the text file, until style="color: green;"> we are ready to read the file again. */ mySwitch=0; } style="color: green;">/*Only send new data. This IF statement will allow new data to be sent to style="color: green;"> the arduino. */ style="color: blue;">if(counter<subtext.length){ style="color: green;">/* Write the next number to the Serial port and send it to the Arduino style="color: green;"> There will be a delay of half a second before the command is style="color: green;"> sent to turn the LED off : myPort.write('0'); */ myPort.write(subtext[counter]); delay(500); myPort.write(style="color: rgb(163, 21, 21);">'0'); delay(100); style="color: green;">//Increment the counter so that the next number is sent to the arduino. counter++; } style="color: blue;">else{ //If the text file has run out of numbers, then read the text file again in 5 seconds. delay(5000); mySwitch=1; } } style="color: green;">/* The following function will read from a CSV or TXT file */ style="color: rgb(43, 145, 175);">void readData(String myFileName){ File file=style="color: blue;">new File(myFileName); BufferedReader br=style="color: blue;">null; try{ br=style="color: blue;">new BufferedReader(style="color: blue;">new FileReader(file)); String text=style="color: blue;">null; style="color: green;">/* keep reading each line until you get to the end of the file */ style="color: blue;">while((text=br.readLine())!=style="color: blue;">null){ /* Spilt each line up into bits and pieces using a comma as a separator */ subtext = splitTokens(text,style="color: rgb(163, 21, 21);">","); } }style="color: blue;">catch(FileNotFoundException e){ e.printStackTrace(); }style="color: blue;">catch(IOException e){ e.printStackTrace(); }style="color: blue;">finally{ try { style="color: blue;">if (br != null){ br.close(); } } style="color: blue;">catch (IOException e) { e.printStackTrace(); } } }

I used this site to highlight and format my code.

Once you have copied the text above into the Processing IDE, you can now start working on the Arduino code as seen below.

Arduino Code

You can download the Arduino IDE from this site.

Copy and paste the following code into the Arduino IDE.

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style="color: green;">/* This program was created by ScottC on 8/5/2012 to receive serial style="color: green;">signals from a computer to turn on/off 1-9 LEDs */ style="color: rgb(43, 145, 175);">void setup() { style="color: green;">// initialize the digital pins as an output. pinMode(2, OUTPUT); pinMode(3, OUTPUT); pinMode(4, OUTPUT); pinMode(5, OUTPUT); pinMode(6, OUTPUT); pinMode(7, OUTPUT); pinMode(8, OUTPUT); pinMode(9, OUTPUT); pinMode(10, OUTPUT); style="color: green;">// Turn the Serial Protocol ON Serial.begin(9600); } style="color: rgb(43, 145, 175);">void loop() { style="color: rgb(43, 145, 175);">byte byteRead; style="color: green;">/* check if data has been sent from the computer: */ style="color: blue;">if (Serial.available()) { style="color: green;">/* read the most recent byte */ byteRead = Serial.read(); style="color: green;">//You have to subtract '0' from the read Byte to convert from text to a number. byteRead=byteRead-style="color: rgb(163, 21, 21);">'0'; style="color: green;">//Turn off all LEDs if the byte Read = 0 style="color: blue;">if(byteRead==0){ style="color: green;">//Turn off all LEDS digitalWrite(2, LOW); digitalWrite(3, LOW); digitalWrite(4, LOW); digitalWrite(5, LOW); digitalWrite(6, LOW); digitalWrite(7, LOW); digitalWrite(8, LOW); digitalWrite(9, LOW); digitalWrite(10, LOW); } style="color: green;">//Turn LED ON depending on the byte Read. style="color: blue;">if(byteRead>0){ digitalWrite((byteRead+1), HIGH); style="color: green;">// set the LED on } } }

Additional Information:

• The Arduino code will still work without the processing program. You can open the serial monitor window to send the commands to the Arduino manually. In fact, if you encounter any problems, I would suggest you do this. It will help to identify the root cause of the problem (ie Processing or Arduino Code, or physical connections).
• If you choose to use the Serial Monitor feature of the Arduino IDE, you cannot use the Processing program at the same time.

Once you have assembled the Arduino with all the wires, LEDs, resistors etc, you should now be ready to put it all together and get this baby cranking!

Connecting it all together

• Connect the USB cable from your computer to the Arduino, and upload the code.
• Keep the USB cable connected between the Arduino and the computer, as this will become the physical connection needed by the Processing Program
• Make sure that you have the text file in the correct location on your hard drive, and that it only contains numbers relevant to the code provided (separated by commas).
• Run the Processing program and watch the LEDs blink in the sequence described by the text file.
• You can add more numbers to the end of the line, however, the processing program will not be aware of them until you save the file. The text file does not have to be closed.

Other programs can be used to create text file, but you will need the processing program to read the file and send the values to the Arduino. The Arduino will receive each value and react appropriately.

SIMILAR PROJECT: Use a mouse to control the LEDs on your Arduino - see this post.

An alternative Processing Sketch

This Processing sketch uses the loadStrings()method instead of the FileReader method used in the first sketch. This sketch also provides better control over sending the values to the Arduino. When the sketch first loads, the application window will be red. By clicking your mouse inside the window, the background will turn green and the file will be imported and sent to the Arduino, with every value being sent at half second intervals. If you update the text file and save, only new values will be transmitted, however, if you want the entire file to transmit again, you can press the window once (to reset the counter), and then again to read the file and send the values again from the beginning of the file.
I personally like this updated version better than the first, plus I was inspired to update this blog posting due to the fact that some people were having problems with the FileReader method in the first sketch. But both sketches should work (they worked for me).

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style="color: rgb(0, 128, 0);">/* TextFile Sender: Written by Scott C on 5th April 2013 style="color: rgb(0, 128, 0);"> using Processing Version 2.0b8 */ import processing.serial.*; Serial comPort; style="color: rgb(43, 145, 175);">int counter=0; style="color: rgb(0, 128, 0);">// Helps to keep track of values sent. style="color: rgb(43, 145, 175);">int numItems=0; style="color: rgb(0, 128, 0);">//Keep track of the number of values in text file boolean sendStrings=style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">false; style="color: rgb(0, 128, 0);">//Turns sending on and off StringLoader sLoader; style="color: rgb(0, 128, 0);">//Used to send values to Arduino style="color: rgb(43, 145, 175);">void setup(){ comPort = style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">new Serial(style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">this, Serial.list()[0], 9600); background(255,0,0); style="color: rgb(0, 128, 0);">//Start with a Red background } style="color: rgb(43, 145, 175);">void draw(){ } style="color: rgb(43, 145, 175);">void mousePressed() { style="color: rgb(0, 128, 0);">//Toggle between sending values and not sending values sendStrings=!sendStrings; style="color: rgb(0, 128, 0);">//If sendStrings is True - then send values to Arduino style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">if(sendStrings){ background(0,255,0); style="color: rgb(0, 128, 0);">//Change the background to green style="color: rgb(0, 128, 0);">/*When the background is green, transmit style="color: rgb(0, 128, 0);"> text file values to the Arduino */ sLoader=style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">new StringLoader(); sLoader.start(); }style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">else{ background(255,0,0); style="color: rgb(0, 128, 0);">//Change background to red style="color: rgb(0, 128, 0);">//Reset the counter counter=0; } } style="color: rgb(0, 128, 0);">/*============================================================*/ style="color: rgb(0, 128, 0);">/* The StringLoader class imports data from a text file style="color: rgb(0, 128, 0);"> on a new Thread and sends each value once every half second */ style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">public style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">class style="color: rgb(43, 145, 175);">StringLoader extends Thread{ style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">public StringLoader(){ style="color: rgb(0, 128, 0);">//default constructor } style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">public style="color: rgb(43, 145, 175);">void run() { String textFileLines[]=loadStrings(style="color: rgb(163, 21, 21);">"d:/mySensorData.txt"); String lineItems[]=splitTokens(textFileLines[0], style="color: rgb(163, 21, 21);">","); numItems=lineItems.length; style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">for(style="color: rgb(43, 145, 175);">int i = counter; i<numItems; i++){ comPort.write(lineItems[i]); delay(500); comPort.write(style="color: rgb(163, 21, 21);">"0"); } counter=numItems; } }

Description: Reading from a Text File and Sending to Arduino Rating: 3.5 Reviewer: Unknown ItemReviewed: Reading from a Text File and Sending to Arduino

Reading a text or CSV file using the Processing language

In a previous post, I showed you how to export data to a text file. Now I will show you how to import it back into your Processing program. This will come in handy later on.

This is what my data looks like in the text file:

There are many ways to import text from a text file, and there are many ways to store the data within your code after you have imported it. Feel free to make mention of your method in the comments, however, this one definitely works, and is doing what I want it to do.

I have decided to store each line within an ArrayList.
The first column is stored in another ArrayList by splitting the data into bits using splitTokens.
Most of the file reading code was taken from this Java site, and seems to work quite fine with the Processing programming language. I have taken bits and pieces of code from various places, and added my own flavour.

Here is a snippet of the data after import.


You can see that I have separated the two ArrayLists using dots "....."



Processing Code:

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/*========================================================== Project: Read data from Text file into Processing Author: ScottC Created: 23rd Jun 2011 (Updated 26th Aug 2014) Description: Use processing to read a text file and populate an ArrayList.              The ArrayList is then printed to the debug window.               Processing version tested: 2.2.1 References: This was made possible using bits and pieces from these sites          http://www.kodejava.org/examples/28.html          http://processing.org/reference/ArrayList.html          http://processing.org/reference/splitTokens_.html           ===========================================================  */ import java.io.FileReader; import java.io.FileNotFoundException; ArrayList sensorData; ArrayList columnOne; void setup(){   sensorData=new ArrayList();   columnOne=new ArrayList();   readData("C:/SensorData/mySensorData.txt"); } void readData(String myFileName){      File file=new File(myFileName);   BufferedReader br=null;      try{     br=new BufferedReader(new FileReader(file));     String text=null;          while((text=br.readLine())!=null){       String [] subtext = splitTokens(text,",");       columnOne.add(int(subtext[0]));       sensorData.add(text);     }   }catch(FileNotFoundException e){     e.printStackTrace();   }catch(IOException e){     e.printStackTrace();   }finally{     try {       if (br != null){         br.close();       }     } catch (IOException e) {       e.printStackTrace();     }   }   for (int i=0; i<sensorData.size()-1; i++){     print(columnOne.get(i) + ".....");     println(sensorData.get(i));   } }

 Processing Code Explained


void setup(): this creates 2 new ArrayLists to hold the data, and then calls the readData function. The readData() function needs the name of the file that you want to analyse, eg. C:/mySensorData.txt


br=new BufferedReader(new FileReader(file));
This just sets up the file that you will be reading, which then allows you to use a "while-loop" to read one line at a time using br.readLine().


String [] subtext = splitTokens(text,",");
This splits each line into bits, using a "," as a separator, and puts it into the subtext array.


columnOne.add(int(subtext[0]));
This shows how you can extract the first number or column from each line.
If you wanted the second number or column, you would use subtext[1] instead.


sensorData.add(text);
This shows how you can extract the ENTIRE line.


  }catch(FileNotFoundException e){
    e.printStackTrace();
  }catch(IOException e){
    e.printStackTrace();
This is just error handling related to file reading.


br.close();
This closes the file.


for (int i=0; i<sensorData.size()-1; i++){
    print(columnOne.get(i) + ".....");
    println(sensorData.get(i));
  }
This just prints the data to your screen so that you can see if the whole process has been successful.




Update : If you want to read values from a text file and then send these values to the Arduino - read this blog entry.

Description: Reading a text or CSV file using the Processing language Rating: 3.5 Reviewer: Unknown ItemReviewed: Reading a text or CSV file using the Processing language