Introduction to Arduino - Arduino Sketches: Tools and Techniques for Programming Wizardry - page 9

little as 0.7 V, making them highly energy-efi cient. They can be used in single-
chip solutions or in glue logic and distributed intelligence in larger systems.
There are more than 30 ATtiny devices, and they come with between 0.5 k and
16 k of l ash memory, and range from 6-pin packages to 32-pin packages. You
can i nd more information on the ATtiny series on Atmel's website at: http://
www.atmel.com/products/microcontrollers/avr/tinyavr.aspx .
While the ATtiny series are powerful devices given their size, no Arduino
uses this device as its microcontroller.
Other Series
Atmel also has different AVR series: The XMEGA series deliver real-time per-
formance, with added encryption using AES and DES modules, and includes
an interesting technology, the XMEGA Custom Logic, reducing the need for
external electronics.
Atmel also produces a 32-bit version of its AVR microcontroller: the UC3.
Supporting i xed-point DSP, a DMA controller, Atmel's famous Peripheral Event
System and advanced power management, the UC3 is a formidable microcon-
troller. You can i nd more information on Atmel's AVR website at: http://www
.atmel.com/products/microcontrollers/avr/default.aspx .
The Diff erent Arduinos
The original Arduino was designed for one specii c task, and it i t that task
perfectly. With the success of the original Arduino board, the company decided
to create more designs, some of them for very specii c tasks. Also, because the
original Arduino design was open source, several companies and individuals
have developed their own Arduino-compatible boards, or have followed in
the open source tradition, and have proposed their modii cations to Arduino.
Arduino has begun a certii cation program to ensure compatibility with boards
that use different processors, with the Intel Galileo being the i rst to receive such
a certii cation. Anyone is free to make their own Arduino-based derivative, but
the name and logo of Arduino are trademarked. As such, you'll i nd a number
of boards with names ending in “uino”, implying compatibility.
WARNING Beware of counterfeits! Some companies propose Arduino boards
that are cheaper than the original Arduino series, but these boards tend to have less
reliable hardware. Arduino boards are cheap but still use good quality electronic
components, whereas counterfeit boards may well use components that will not last
as long. Paying a few extra dollars for a board helps Arduino fi nance more research to
create new Arduino boards and software, and ensures a better user experience. You
can read more about how to spot counterfeit boards at: http://arduino.cc/en/
Products/Counterfeit .