Connect to Serial Device Using Arduino Explorer App

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The Arduino Explorer app lets you configure the serial communication interface and read and write data to serial devices connected to Arduino hardware.

Set Up Serial Device

Open the Arduino Explorer app and connect to your Arduino board. In the app, click Serial. In the Set Up Serial Device dialog box, specify which serial port to use and set communication properties.

Set Up Serial Device dialog box showing serial port selection, transmit and receive pin assignments, baud rate, data bits, parity, stop bits, and timeout settings

After you set the values, click OK. The Pin Explorer highlights the row specific to the serial pin.

Pin Explorer showing serial pins D0 and D1 grouped in a single row with the Pin Configuration panel displaying Read and Write tabs for serial communication

After configuring a serial device, the assigned pins appear in the Pin Explorer with the corresponding serial port label. The Pin Configuration pane provides options to interact with the serial device. You can read incoming data, specify the number of bytes to read, choose the output data type using the Precision setting, and optionally apply custom decode logic to interpret the received data. Use the Write tab to send data to the connected serial device.

Decode Read Data

The Arduino Explorer app lets you decode raw data from the communication protocol interfaces of the board and view the decoded data. In the Pin Explorer pane, select the row corresponding to a communication interface (I2C, SPI or Serial). Then, in the Pin Configuration pane, click Add Decode Logic.

Add Decode Logic dialog box with a field for specifying a MATLAB function name and a Browse button

To specify decode logic, you must supply a MATLAB function with this syntax:

function decodedData = functionName(inputData)

Here, inputData is the data read from the Arduino pin, which the app passes to the function.

To specify this function in the Add Decode Logic window:

  • If the function is on the MATLAB path, enter the function name in the Decode Logic field.

  • Otherwise, browse to the location of the function and select it.

Click OK. The Decode Logic field in the Pin Configuration panel updates to show the name of the file.

Pin Configuration panel showing the Decode Logic field populated with the function name decodeColor

Once you provide the decode logic:

  • The Read Value column in the Pin Explorer window displays the decoded data instead of raw values from the interface.

  • The Log pane of the app now displays a new column, Decoded Data, containing the decoded values.

After you configure the serial pins, you can use the app to visualize and record data. For more information, see Visualize and Record Data from Arduino Pins Using Arduino Explorer App.

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