# Skill Badge Requirements: Microcontrollers ## Overview ![](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/012/224/medium800/microcontrollers_IMG_20130628_133904.jpg?1384307029) In the early 1970’s, two engineers from TI produced the World’s first micro-controller, the TMS 1000. Although Intel had produced an earlier 4-bit CPU, the Intel 4004, it required external circuitry to operate and is therefore considered the first complete CPU on chip. The TMS was a true micro-controller in that it integrated all of the components necessary to function onto one chip and provided an economical embedded solution for electronic devices. Fundamentally there is little difference between the micro-controllers of today and the ones from the 1970’s. Their objective it to provide a low-power stand-alone computer for embedded applications. Each micro-controller contains a CPU, memory and input/output peripherals and range in speed from a few KHz to a few hundred MHz. This badge will explore the fundamentals of micro-controller design and use and how you might use one in your next awesome project! _Instructions for completion:_ Record the section, item number and requirement before each response on your notepaper. This will assist your instructor when evaluating the completion of the requirements. **Example:** 2.1 Measure and calculate the surface area (Aeff) of the solar cell supplied by your instructor. - I calculated the surface area (Aeff) of my solar cell to be 2 square inches, with the dimensions of 2in x 1in. - [Next Page](https://learn.adafruit.com/skill-badge-requirements-microcontrollers/section-1-microcontroller-concepts.md) ## Featured Products ### Micro-controllers - Skill badge, iron-on patch [Micro-controllers - Skill badge, iron-on patch](https://www.adafruit.com/product/484) You are learning micro-controllers! From Arduino, Netduino, Propeller, PIC, ARM and beyond! 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No Longer Stocked [Buy Now](https://www.adafruit.com/product/689) [Related Guides to the Product](https://learn.adafruit.com/products/689/guides) ### Adafruit METRO 328 Fully Assembled - Arduino IDE compatible [Adafruit METRO 328 Fully Assembled - Arduino IDE compatible](https://www.adafruit.com/product/50) We sure love the ATmega328 here at Adafruit, and we use them _a lot_ for our own projects. The processor has plenty of GPIO, Analog inputs, hardware UART SPI and I2C, timers and PWM galore - just enough for most simple projects. When we need to go small, we use a Out of Stock [Buy Now](https://www.adafruit.com/product/50) [Related Guides to the Product](https://learn.adafruit.com/products/50/guides) ### Arduino - Skill badge, iron-on patch [Arduino - Skill badge, iron-on patch](https://www.adafruit.com/product/1300) Arduino! You learned how to program and use the Arduino Microcontroller board. Adafruit offers a fun and exciting "badges" of achievement for electronics, science and engineering. We believe everyone should be able to be rewarded for learning a useful skill, a badge is just one of... No Longer Stocked [Buy Now](https://www.adafruit.com/product/1300) [Related Guides to the Product](https://learn.adafruit.com/products/1300/guides) ## Related Guides - [WiFi Weather Station](https://learn.adafruit.com/wifi-weather-station-arduino-cc3000.md) - [Trinket Audio Player](https://learn.adafruit.com/trinket-audio-player.md) - [Wireless Game Show Poppers for the Classroom!](https://learn.adafruit.com/wireless-game-show-poppers.md) - [Adafruit 4-Channel ADC Breakouts](https://learn.adafruit.com/adafruit-4-channel-adc-breakouts.md) - [Ladyada's Learn Arduino - Lesson #2](https://learn.adafruit.com/ladyadas-learn-arduino-lesson-number-2.md) - [Arduino Lesson 2. 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