Guide Contents | Introduction | How To: Windows, Mac OS X, Linux; Arduino Nano, Arduino Mini, Arduino BT, LilyPad Arduino, Arduino Pro, Arduino Pro Mini; Xbee shield | Troubleshooting | Environment
Guide to the LilyPad Arduino
To get started with the LilyPad Arduino, follow the directions for the Arduino NG on your operating system (Windows, Mac OS X, Linux. Connecting the LilyPad Arduino is a bit more complicated than a regular Arduino board (see below for instructions and photos).
The LilyPad Arduino is more fragile and easy to break than a regular Arduino board. Don't connect more than 5.5 volts to the + tab or reverse the power and ground pins of your power supply, or you will very likely kill the ATmega168V on the LilyPad Arduino. You can't remove the ATmega168V, so if you kill it, you need a new LilyPad.
Note: More information about getting started with the LilyPad Arduino can be found here: http://www.cs.colorado.edu/~buechley/LilyPad
Connecting the LilyPad Arduino
To program the LilyPad Arduino, you need to connect it to your computer. To do this, you'll need to connect:
- Power. Power should be connected to the + tab on the LilyPad Arduino. This can be a regulated +5V power source (e.g. from the +5V pin of the Mini USB Adapter or the + tab of a LilyPad power supply) or, another 2.7-5.5V power source (e.g. a 3.7V rechargeable Lithium Ion battery or 2 AA batteries in series).
- Ground. The ground tab on the LilyPad Arduino must be connected to ground of the power source.
- TX/RX. These tabs are used both for uploading new sketches to the board and communicating with a computer or other device.
You have a few options for connecting the board to your computer: the SparkFun LilyPad USB Link, the Mini USB Adapter, a regular Arduino board, or your own power supply and USB/Serial adapter.
Using the SparkFun LilyPad USB Link
The SparkFun LilyPad USB Link plugs into the male header pins on the newest version of the LilyPad. If you have an earlier LilyPad version, solder a right angle male header to the -, tx, rx, 5v labeled holes at the top of your LilyPad to make the connection. The LilyPad USB Link is available here and right angle male headers are available here.
Modifying the Mini USB Adapter to Connect to the LilyPad Arduino
Solder a right angle male header to the Arduino mini USB adapter and then use female-female jumper cables to connect +,-,tx, and rx on the two boards. Right angle male headers are available here and female-female jumper cables are available here. On the version 3 Arduino mini USB adapter you want to connect tx to tx and rx to rx. We're using a red jumper for +, black for -, green for TX and yellow for RX.
Here is a close up view of the miniusb side of the connection:
And a close up of the LilyPad side of the connection:
Connecting the LilyPad Arduino and a regular Arduino
You can also use an Arduino NG to connect the LilyPad Arduino to your computer, using a regular Arduino as a power supply and USB/Serial connection. Just remove the ATmega8 or ATmega168 from the regular Arduino and then use jumper wires and alligator clips to attach the TX, RX, +, and - tabs on the LilyPad to the corresponding pins on the NG. Here's a photo.
Sewing the LilyPad Arduino
The hole on each tab of the LilyPad is large enough for a sewing needle to pass through. You can make both electrical and physical connections with stitching in conductive thread. Sew through the holes several times to insure good contact. Here's a picture showing a sewn LilyPad:
See the LilyPad Arduino tutorial on Leah's website for more information about building a working wearable. See SparkFun for more stitchable modules that you can use with your LilyPad Arduino.
The text of the Arduino getting started guide is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 License. Code samples in the guide are released into the public domain.