Accelerate your learning with ARPS!
Go from learning programming to building robots, fast.
ARPS (Arduino®-compatible Robot Project Shield) is a versatile add-on shield for Arduino® UNO that is specifically designed to help new learners quickly develop and build their Arduino programming skills – and make simple robots! Now updated to ARPS-2!
ARPS incorporates commonly-used starter hardware components such as pushbuttons, LEDs, a piezo beeper, and a temperature sensor on-board. Learn beginner Arduino programming quickly using these built-in parts and our introductory learning activities.
When you’re ready to build simple line-following, object-sensing, remote-controlled, or Sumo robots, the additional robot-focused components and circuits on ARPS make it easy! Just add your favourite Arduino UNO and some DC gear motors and your robot will be rolling in no time.
ARPS is designed for beginners
By pre-wiring all of the commonly used starter I/O devices on the ARPS circuit board, beginners can focus on learning fundamental programming skills quickly – without the delays of building, debugging, and re-building breadboard circuits as they advance to new skills.
ARPS includes four user pushbuttons, four user LEDs, a piezo beeper, and a temperature sensor that beginners can use to learn the basics of Arduino programming. The built-in motor driver chip, voltage divider resistors, and snap-off optical line sensor and floor sensor modules enable ARPS to be transformed into a variety of simple robots, without needing to buy additional electronic parts. Plug in an ultrasonic distance sensor module or add the on-board IR demodulator to make even more capable robots.
A complete set of step-by-step introductory programming activities introduce all of the foundational programming concepts and skills needed for beginners to start creating their own microcontroller programs.
An ARPS-2 circuit built in the robot starter configuration and installed on top of an Arduino UNO Rev 3 microcontroller board. ARPS-2’s break-away optical floor sensor modules are still attached (far right), and an optional SONAR distance sensor module is plugged into its I/O expansion header.
An original ARPS circuit built into a simple classroom robot. The robot chassis is cut from MDF, an inexpensive and easy to machine material, and propelled by two DC gear motors. A chair glide, mounted underneath the battery holder, allows the robot to roll smoothly on most floors. The two remotely-mounted floor sensors can prevent the robot from driving off a table, or falling down a staircase, and can also be used for sensing the edge of a Sumo ring when making Sumo robots. The top-mounted SONAR distance sensor module allows the robot to detect obstacles and other robots.
Great for schools and maker spaces
ARPS is designed using through-hole parts, making it easy to teach students about electronic parts and soldering as they assemble their own circuits.
Assemble ARPS in a quick-build, minimal components Educational Starter configuration and customize it later. All five introductory learning activities can be completed using just parts in the ARPS Educational Starter configuration. Learners can master fundamental programming concepts before deciding on their robot’s final design and components, and build costs can be reduced by omitting unnecessary components.
Go beyond robots. While its on-board components make building robots simple, ARPS can just as easily support other type of projects, too! Use the motor driver to control up to four high current loads, monitor the environment using its light and temperature sensors, or drive servos or NeoPixels from the external header pins. Take your Arduino’s capabilities to the next level with ARPS!
An ARPS-2 circuit assembled in the Educational Starter configuration using a minimal number of components is all that beginner learners need to start working through its introductory learning activities. The circuit can be fully customized with additional components later.
Simulate ARPS in Tinkercad. Both the ARPS Educational Starter configuration and the complete ARPS circuit are shared in Tinkercad, making it easy for students to analyze its circuits, or for teachers to explain and demonstrate important hardware and software concepts.
Free ARPS learning activities! All of the introductory learning activities on this website include programming analysis activities to expand on each concept and programming activities for learners to apply their skills in new ways – and they’re freely re-mixable so instructors can modify them for their use.
Programmed just like Arduino
Use your existing Arduino programs and software. ARPS and ARPS-2 are simple add-on shields that expand the hardware capabilities of Arduino UNO while allowing you to continue learning or teaching using the software tools and resources you already know and use.
Our introductory learning activities introduce new learners to all of the programming concepts they will need to make their own programs and simple robots, including: driving motors using PWM (pulse-width modulation), sensing the floor or a line using infrared LEDs and phototransistors, sensing objects using an ultrasonic SONAR distance sensing module, and monitoring their robot’s battery voltage using the built-in voltage divider circuit on ARPS.
The first introductory program for ARPS lights the four on-board LEDs in a pattern when one of the four pushbuttons is pressed. Program analysis activities and programming activities are included in the source code for each of the introductory learning activities.
ARPS Learning Activities
Introductory learning activities:
Learning more about variables and constants
Repeating actions using loops
Creating and using functions
Analog input and serial output
ARPS in Tinkercad
Learn programming and start writing your robot software using the introductory learning activities and starter circuits in Tinkercad.
They’re available for both ARPS and ARPS-2 on our electronics webpage.
ARPS-2 Schematic
Download the ARPS-2 schematic (.pdf).
ARPS Schematic
Download the ARPS schematic (.pdf).
ARPS and ARPS-2 Hardware Features
bottom-mounted headers designed to work with Arduino® UNO (Arduino UNO R4 Minima is recommended, but ARPS also works with Arduino UNO Rev 3 — see FAQ, below — and Arduino UNO R4 WiFi
4 user pushbuttons connected to Arduino I/O pins, plus a reset pushbutton
4 user LEDs connected to Arduino I/O pins, plus a power LED
piezo beeper for sound output
SN754410NE quad half-bridge motor driver capable of controlling two DC motors in forward and reverse, or one bipolar stepper motor, or four unidirectional DC motors from an external battery, and all connected to a 6-contact screw terminal block
precision (1%) voltage divider resistors for battery voltage sensing
MCP9700A analog temperature sensor
38 kHz IR demodulator for remote control decoding
4x 3-pin analog/digital I/O expansion area for adding an optional ultrasonic SONAR distance sensor module, NeoPixels LED, bumper switches, and more.
2x 3-pin digital I/O expansion headers for servos or other 5V digital devices (ARPS2-only)
2x break-away reflective optical sensor modules for making line, floor, or wall sensors, plus one break-away 4-pin extension module (ARPS-2 only) to remote-mount the SONAR module
Additional ARPS Resources
Introductory C Programming Reference Google document.
Arduino language reference on Arduino.cc.
Arduino UNO R4 Minima details and order page.
ARPS FAQ
Is ARPS an Arduino, or does it include an Arduino?
No, ARPS is not an Arduino, nor does not contain a microcontroller of any kind. ARPS is an add-on circuit shield that plugs in on top of an Arduino UNO Rev 3 or Arduino UNO R4 (supplied separately) and adds electronic components and circuits to Arduino that make it easier for beginners to learn programming, and to build simple robots.
Which Arduino circuits does ARPS work with?
ARPS is designed to work best with Arduino UNO R4 Minima, one of the newest classic form factor Arduino circuit boards. ARPS also works well with Arduino UNO R4 WiFi, but covers its LED matrix display. ARPS will also work with the older Arduino UNO Rev 3, but two of its pushbuttons will be inoperable (SW2 and SW3 share the USB Tx and Rx lines and can’t be used as I/O when connected to a computer).
What’s the difference between ARPS and ARPS-2?
ARPS-2 is a refinement of an already great design. When ARPS was used with Arduino UNO Rev 3, there was a possibility that poorly-soldered or trimmed screw terminal header leads could short to the USB connector on the Arduino. ARPS-2 relocates the screw terminal header to eliminate the possibility of short circuits, adds two 3-pin digital I/O or servo headers instead of controllable floor-sensor LEDs, re-shapes the break-away optical floor sensor circuit modules to make them smaller, and adds a 4-pin I/O extender module designed to make it easy to remotely mount the SONAR distance sensor.
Arduino® is a registered trademark of Arduino AG.