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Node MCU ESP8266 VS Arduino Uno

The document compares the Node MCU ESP8266 microcontroller to the Arduino Uno. It outlines the architecture, features, advantages and applications of each board. Key differences include the ESP8266 having built-in WiFi connectivity while the Arduino Uno is more beginner friendly. Both boards are suitable for different types of projects.

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Kuzhal Arasi
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12 views9 pages

Node MCU ESP8266 VS Arduino Uno

The document compares the Node MCU ESP8266 microcontroller to the Arduino Uno. It outlines the architecture, features, advantages and applications of each board. Key differences include the ESP8266 having built-in WiFi connectivity while the Arduino Uno is more beginner friendly. Both boards are suitable for different types of projects.

Uploaded by

Kuzhal Arasi
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
Download as docx, pdf, or txt
Download as docx, pdf, or txt
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Node MCU ESP8266 VS Arduino Uno

Architecture of MCU ESP8266:


 Microcontroller: ESP8266 is the microcontroller unit (MCU) embedded
on the NodeMCU board. It is based on the Tensilica Xtensa LX106
architecture.
 Wireless Connectivity: One of the standout features of ESP8266 is its
built-in Wi-Fi module, which enables easy connectivity to the internet
and allows for IoT applications.
 Processing Power: It operates at clock speeds up to 80 MHz and has 32-
bit RISC CPU.
 Memory: Typically comes with 4MB of flash memory for program
storage and 128KB of RAM.

Architecture of Arduino Uno:


 Microcontroller: Arduino Uno is based on the ATmega328P
microcontroller.
 Clock Speed: Operates at a clock speed of 16 MHz.
 Memory: It has 32KB of flash memory for program storage and 2KB of
SRAM.

Power Supply
 You can supply a regulated 5V DC voltage to power up the ESP8266.
Internal voltage regulatory circuits will convert this 5V to 3.3V DC
because NodeMCU ESP8266 works on 3.3V logic.

 For Arduino UNO Input voltage (VIN) is used to provide an external


power supply from 5V to 9V DC. 3.3V and 5V pins are the output of
the onboard voltage regulator.
General Purpose Input Output (GPIO) Pin

 NodeMCU ESP8266 has 17 GPIO pins which can be set as digital


Input or Output. It can also be used for various functions such as
I2C, SPI, UART, PWM programmatically.
 Each digital-enabled GPIO can be configured to internal pull-up or
pull-down or set to high impedance.
 In Arduino Uno has 14 digital input/output pins, out of which six
can be used as PWM outputs, six analog input pins.
 In Arduino code, you can use pinMode(pin, direction) function to
set the direction of the pin as input or output, digitalRead(pin,
value) to get the value on the digital pin, and digitalWrite(pin,
value) to write the digital value on the pin.

Analog Pin
 NodeMCU ESP8266 has one analog pin (A0). Arduino UNO has six
Analog pins (A0 – A5).
 They are used to provide analog input in the range of 0-5V.
 Both boards have an ADC of 10-bit resolution, which means you will
get values between 0 to 1023.
 In Arduino code, you can use the analogRead() function to read
analog pin values and analogWrite() functions to write on analog
pins.

Serial Peripheral Interface (SPI) Pin


 There are two SPI Interfaces on NodeMCU ESP8266 (SPI and HSPI).
Both support Master and Slave Operations.
 Master mode clock can be configured to 80 MHz while slave mode
clock is up to 20 MHz. Only the master can generate a clock cycle.
 HSPI_CLK – GPIO14, HSPI_MISO – GPIO12, HSPI_MOSI – GPIO13,
HSPI_CS – GPIO15 GPIO pins are used for SPI communication.
 SCLK–GPIO6, MISO–GPIO7, MOSI – GPIO8, CS – GPIO11 pins are not
available onboard for the user.
 Arduino Uno has one SPI communication interface. Pin number 10
(SS), 11 (MOSI), 12 (MISO), and 13 (SCK).
 In NodeMCU ESP8266, GPIO4 and GPIO5 can be used as SDA and
SCL for the I2C interface.
 The clock frequency is 100 kHz at a maximum. It has no alternative
functions.
 Arduino UNO has one I2C communication interface. Pin A4 (SDA)
and A5 (SCL) are used for the I2C interface.

Universal Asynchronous Receiver Transmitter (UART) Pin


 NodeMCU ESP8266 has two hardware UARTs (UART0 and UART1)
with baud rates up to 115200 and can communicate at up to 4.5
Mbps.
 UART0 TX – GPIO1, UART0 RX – GPIO3
 UART1 TX – GPIO15, UART1 RX – GPIO13
 UART2 TX – GPIO2, UART2 RX – GPIO8 (Not Available).
 Arduino Uno has one UART for serial communication, and you can
use 0 (RX) and 1(TX) pin with a specified baud rate.

SDIO Pins
 The NodeMCU ESP8266 features a Secure Digital Input/Output
Interface (SDIO), which is used to interface SD cards directly.
 4-bit 25 MHz SDIO v1.1 and 4-bit 50 MHz SDIO v2.0 are also
supported.
 SDIO pin is not available on Arduino UNO.

CONTROL Pins
 EN pin – The NodeMCU ESP8266 chip is enabled when the EN pin is
pulled HIGH. When pulled LOW, the chip works at minimum power.
 WAKE pin – A wake pin is used to wake the chip from a deep
sleep.EN and WAKE pin is not available on Arduino UNO.
 RST pin – RST pin is used to reset the ESP8266 chip and Arduino
UNO MCU.

ICSP HEADER
 Arduino Uno has an ICSP female header. In-circuit serial
programming (ICSP) is the ability of Arduino UNO to be
programmed without disconnecting from the circuitry.
 Arduino UNO has developed its own in-circuit serial programming
headers.
 There are six ICSP pins (MISO, MOSI, SCK, VCC, Ground, Reset)
available on the Arduino Uno board that can be hooked to a
programmer device via a programming cable.

Applications of NodeMCU:
 IoT Projects: NodeMCU is extensively used in IoT projects due to its
Wi-Fi connectivity, making it suitable for home automation, sensor
networks, etc.
 Web Servers: It can be used to create web servers or serve web
pages directly from the board.
 Sensor Data Acquisition: It can interface with various sensors and
transmit the data over Wi-Fi.
 Home Automation: Controlling lights, appliances, and other devices
remotely over Wi-Fi.
 Weather Stations: Building weather stations that upload data to
online services.

Applications of Arduino Uno:


 Prototyping: Arduino Uno is widely used for prototyping various
electronic projects due to its ease of use and large community
support.
 Education: It's extensively used in educational settings to teach
electronics and programming due to its simplicity.
 Automation: It can be used in automation projects such as
controlling motors, lights, and other actuators.
 Data Logging: Arduino Uno can log data from sensors and store it
on SD cards or transmit it to other devices.
 Robotics: It's used in robotics projects for controlling robot
movements and sensors

Advantages of NodeMCU
 The NodeMCU ESP8266 is Low power and Low-cost device suitable
for embedded applications.
 It comes with an integrated WiFi module, which makes it suitable
for Internet of Things (IoT) applications.
 NodeMCU ESP8266 also supports FreeRTOS, which allows the
programmer to design parallel tasks for the board.
 Better memory and processing than Arduino UNO.
 ESP8266 board is compatible with breadboard and also suitable to
place on Printed Circuit Board (PCB).

Advantages of Arduino Uno


 Arduino UNO is an inexpensive and most popular board for
beginners.
 Open-source hardware and software also provide great community
support.
 Arduino UNO has more analog pins compared to ESP8266.

Features of Node MCU :


 Cost-Effective: NodeMCU ESP8266 is relatively inexpensive
compared to other development boards with similar capabilities.
 Integrated Wi-Fi: Built-in Wi-Fi connectivity simplifies IoT projects
by eliminating the need for additional modules.
 Lua Programming: Initially supported Lua scripting language for
programming, but it's also compatible with Arduino IDE, making it
versatile.
 Community Support: There's a large community of developers
working with ESP8266, offering extensive documentation, tutorials,
and libraries.

Features of Arduino uno


 Analog and Digital I/O: Arduino Uno has a combination of digital
and analog input/output pins, making it versatile for a wide range
of projects.
 Expandability: It supports shields, which are expansion boards that
can be easily plugged in to add functionalities such as Ethernet
connectivity, motor control, etc.
 Large Community: Arduino Uno benefits from a large and active
community, providing extensive resources and libraries.
 Beginner-Friendly: Arduino Uno is known for its simplicity, making it
an excellent choice for beginners in electronics and programming.

Comparison of both
 If you compare performance, cost, power, and functionality, then
ESP8266 is far better than Arduino UNO.
 NodeMCU ESP8266 supports WiFi for web servers, and it can be set
in STA or AP mode.
 You can update the firmware of ESP8266 over the air (OTA).
 Due to FreeRTOS, you can achieve the parallel tasks in ESP8266.
 The only disadvantage of ESP8266 is that it has only one built-in
analog pin, so you can not interface more than one analog interface
with a built-in ESP8266.

Conclusion
 Both NodeMCU ESP8266 and Arduino Uno have their strengths and
are suitable for different types of projects.
 NodeMCU is more geared towards IoT applications with its built-in
Wi-Fi, while Arduino Uno is a versatile board suitable for a wide
range of projects, especially for beginners.
 Arduino Uno is renowned for its beginner-friendly nature, making it
an excellent choice for those new to electronics and programming.
 NodeMCU ESP8266, while still accessible, may have a steeper
learning curve, especially for those unfamiliar with networking
concepts.

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