Unleashing Your Inner Geek: Using Python to Control Arduino

Unleashing Your Inner Geek: Using Python to Control Arduino

Let’s face it: every programmer has fantasized about building his or her own robot army at some point. While world domination might still be out of reach-for now-controlling an Arduino with Python is a solid first step toward the creation of your empire of blinking LEDs and overengineered coffee machines. Buckle up-this is going to be a wild ride.

Why Mix Python and Arduino?

Arduino is great. It’s like the Swiss Army knife of hardware tinkering. But let’s be real: coding in the Arduino IDE feels like eating plain oatmeal — it gets the job done, but where’s the spice? Enter Python, the programming equivalent of Sriracha. It’s versatile, elegant, and just spicy enough to make your code interesting.

You can achieve the following by combining Python and Arduino:

You will be able to use the powerful libraries that Python has. Avoid staring at C++ until your eyes glaze over. Automate the heck out of things.

What Do You Need?

Before you begin, here’s what you’ll be best buds with:

1. Arduino (any model will do as long as it has a USB port — yes, even that Uno you’ve kept in your attic).