Arduino Portenta H7 Development Board

Jargon buster

Plain-language definitions for the technical terms used above.

ADC

An analogue-to-digital converter reads a changing voltage and turns it into a number the microcontroller can use. It matters when connecting analogue sensors such as light, sound, or variable-resistor sensors.

BLE

BLE stands for Bluetooth Low Energy, a Bluetooth mode designed for lower power use and modern phone compatibility. It matters because BLE support can make the module easier to use with Apple devices and battery-powered projects, though it may behave differently from classic serial Bluetooth.

Bluetooth 5.1

Bluetooth 5.1 is a version of Bluetooth that improves on earlier versions with features such as better device positioning support and efficient wireless communication. It matters for projects that connect to phones, sensors, or other nearby devices without cables.

DSI

DSI stands for Display Serial Interface, a high-speed connection commonly used to send video data from a computer board to a display. It matters because DSI signals are not simple GPIO wires, so the cable, connector, and signal routing need to match the display interface.

encoder

A device attached to a motor or shaft that reports movement, such as rotation steps or position. In a pump system, an encoder can help measure or control how much the motor has turned, which affects how repeatable the watering amount can be.

I2C

I2C is a two-wire communication bus used by many sensors and small modules. It matters because several I2C devices can share the same two wires, but each device needs a compatible address and your controller must support I2C.

JPEG

A compressed image file format commonly used for photos. It matters because the camera sends already-compressed snapshots, which are easier to store on an SD card or transmit over a slow serial link than raw image data.

microcontroller

A microcontroller is a small computer on a chip that runs your program and controls connected inputs and outputs. For this product, it is the part that reads buttons and sensors, drives the display and speaker, and communicates over Bluetooth.

MicroPython

A version of the Python programming language made to run on microcontrollers. It matters because it lets beginners write readable code to control LEDs, sensors, motors and displays without needing to start with lower-level languages.

MIPI

MIPI is a high-speed display and camera interface often used inside phones, tablets, and embedded devices. It matters because raw MIPI displays usually need special driver hardware or software support, unlike plug-and-play HDMI screens.

RTC

A Real-Time Clock keeps track of time even when the main processor is asleep or powered down, usually with a small backup battery. It matters for data logging and tracking projects that need accurate timestamps.

SPI

A fast serial communication bus often used for displays, memory cards, and sensors. It matters because SPI devices need specific pins for clock and data, plus a separate chip-select line for each device.

SRAM

Fast temporary memory used by a processor while a program is running. More SRAM helps with projects that handle larger data buffers, networking, displays, or more complex code.

UART

UART is a simple serial connection that sends data over separate transmit and receive wires, often labelled TX and RX. It matters because this module is designed to replace a wired UART cable with a wireless link while keeping the same serial data format.