The Firmata library

The Firmata library is an advanced level library to communicate with the Arduino microcontroller from the Arduino IDE on a computer. Simply, Firmata is a genetic protocol that enables any computer to take full control over a microcontroller (for example, Arduino). By using this library, we can decide what pins will be inputs and what pins will be the outputs. Basically we can control the Arduino pins to read the pins or set the pins to read any sensor such as buttons, potentiometers, light sensors, or PIR (Passive Infrared Sensor) sensors and we can control parts such as LEDs, relays, speakers, or Servo motors. In Firmata we do not need to write any code. We will see how we can import a simple Firmata code and run it to take control of the pins and onboard LEDs of the Arduino.

After opening the Arduino IDE, you need to go to File | Examples | Firmata. From there we can use the example code to take control over the Arduino and the sensors: