USB Host Shield for Arduino

Jargon buster

Plain-language definitions for the technical terms used above.

Headers

Rows of connector contacts on a fixed pitch (commonly 2.54 mm) used to link a board to a breadboard, jumper wires, or another board. They come as male pin headers and female socket headers; when a module ships with pre-soldered headers it can be used straight away, whereas bare pads require soldering the pins yourself.

HID

Human Interface Device is a USB device class used for keyboards, mice, gamepads and similar controls. If a board supports HID over USB, it can act like an input device to a computer without needing a custom driver.

microcontroller

A microcontroller is a small computer on a single chip that runs a stored program and controls connected inputs and outputs such as buttons, sensors, displays and communication interfaces. In a device built around one, it is the part that executes the code and coordinates the device's behaviour.

Shield

An add-on board that plugs into a main controller board to give it extra features such as sensing, motor control or communication. Knowing a product supports shields helps you judge whether it can connect neatly into an existing maker-board setup.

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.

USB 2.0

USB 2.0 is a widely used wired standard for carrying both data and power between a device and a computer or other compatible host, with data rates up to 480 Mbps. It indicates the kind of port a device uses and that it should work with most modern and many older computers.

USB host

A USB host is the side of a USB connection that controls attached devices, like a computer talking to a keyboard or flash drive. This matters because most microcontroller boards are normally USB devices, so adding USB host support lets them use common USB peripherals.