If you consider Arduino, your thoughts instantly footage an Arduino Uno with its teal coloration, cumbersome USB port, and lengthy microcontroller chip sitting on a socket, and you are not alone. The Uno is such a preferred board that it is most people’ first choose after they want of a microcontroller platform for his or her tasks, particularly in the event that they’re simply getting began with Arduino. To be truthful, it does an exquisite job of controlling sensors, studying and logging information, and dealing with easy operations reliably.
However the Arduino is extra than simply the Uno. The corporate provides a variety of boards in your tasks, all with completely different add-on options and coming in several sizes. There’s the 53×101 mm Mega 2560 with 54 digital I/O pins, the 53×68 mm Zero with 32-bit low-power ARM processor, and the 25×61 mm MKR1000 WIFI with built-in Wi-Fi performance. In the event you’re on the hunt for a good smaller Arduino board, then you definitely’re simply in the proper place to seek out out what it’s.
The Nano household: Arduino’s smallest boards
The title of the smallest Arduino board does not go to only a single board — it really belongs to a whole household: the Nano household. This set of boards comes within the smallest kind issue Arduino produces, measuring 18 mm in width and 45 mm in size. Some boards within the household, such because the traditional Nano and the Nano RP2040 Join, do weigh barely extra at 6 to 7 grams, however they are not far off from the opposite boards’ typical weight of 5 grams.
Regardless of having small footprints, the Nano boards are filled with options. This is a rundown of all ten Nano boards and what makes them stand out:
- Nano: The primary member of the Nano household. It is essentially the most primary of the group however is a superb beginning board for newbie and prototype tasks.
- Nano Each: Much like the Nano however with an upgraded processor, greater VIN energy provide help, and extra reminiscence.
- Nano 33 BLE: Options Bluetooth Low Vitality connectivity and an inertial measurement unit (IMU) for movement detection.
- Nano 33 BLE Rev2: A revision of the Nano 33 BLE that makes use of a BMI270 and BMM150 because the IMUs as a substitute of the LSM9DS1.
- Nano 33 BLE Sense: Comes with built-in environmental sensors for measuring temperature and humidity, barometric stress, proximity and gesture, and sounds.
- Nano 33 BLE Sense Rev2: A revised model of the Nano 33 BLE Sense with a few of the sensors changed.
- Nano 33 IoT: Geared up with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity for IoT functions.
- Nano ESP32: Runs on an ESP32 microcontroller and better reminiscence.
- Nano RP2040 Join: Makes use of a Raspberry Pi RP2040 microcontroller and contains Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, an IMU, and a temperature sensor.
- Nano Matter: Constructed with a 78 MHz Silicon Labs microprocessor that gives Matter-ready IoT connectivity.
Why purchase a Nano?
The Arduino Nano boards are price it in case your mission requires a small, light-weight microcontroller platform. Because of their compact kind issue, they’re splendid for functions, reminiscent of wearable health trackers, moveable surroundings displays, cell robots, and drones. Usually, any mission that wants to slot in a tiny chassis or must be as gentle as attainable can depend on the Nano.
Arduino Nanos additionally turn out to be useful for prototyping and experimental tasks that primarily use a breadboard. In contrast to the usual boards like Uno and Mega that include feminine pin headers, the Nanos have male headers as a substitute, permitting you to simply insert them right into a breadboard together with the remainder of your circuit. Meaning no extra trouble of carrying the board round individually. One more reason to contemplate shopping for a Nano is its value; it is inexpensive than every other official Arduino board in the marketplace. The Nano Each, which is a general-purpose board and nice for inexperienced persons, is essentially the most inexpensive Arduino board at solely $13.70. In the event you want Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity, the Nano ESP32 and Nano 33 IoT are additionally cheaper by not less than $2 than the Wi-Fi and Bluetooth-enabled Uno R4 WiFi.
Nevertheless, you need not exit of your technique to put money into a Nano if measurement is not a most important concern in your mission. You may get away with utilizing no matter Arduino board you will have readily available. If you have already got an Uno from an Arduino starter package you acquire earlier than, you are already good to go. Most newbie (and even superior) tasks use an Uno, and there actually is not a large distinction between the Arduino Uno and Nano, besides for his or her sizes and the variety of their analog pins.