How to Install Standard Firmata on Arduino

🧠 How to Install Standard Firmata on Arduino #

Pishi.ai’s Arduino extension communicates with your Arduino board using StandardFirmata — a special firmware that lets Scratch blocks control your board directly.
Follow these simple steps to install it.

🔧 What You’ll Need #

• An Arduino board (Uno, Nano, Mega, Leonardo, etc.)
• A USB cable to connect it to your computer
• The Arduino IDE, download it from:
  https://arduino.cc/en/software
• A working internet connection

🚀 Step 1: Open the Arduino IDE #

1. Plug your Arduino board into your computer using the USB cable.
2. Open the Arduino IDE.
3. Wait a few seconds until you see your board name under Tools → Port.

🧩 Step 2: Open the StandardFirmata Example #

1. In the Arduino IDE menu, go to:
   File → Examples → Firmata → StandardFirmata

2. A new window will open with the StandardFirmata code.

📝 Tip – Can’t find “Firmata” in the Examples menu?
Don’t worry — newer versions of the Arduino IDE (especially Arduino IDE 2.x) no longer include Firmata by default.
You just need to install it manually once:

🧩 How to install Firmata manually #

1. In the Arduino IDE, open
   Sketch → Include Library → Manage Libraries…
2. In the search bar, type Firmata.
3. Find “Firmata by Firmata Developers” and click Install.
4. After it’s installed, open it from:
   File → Examples → Firmata → StandardFirmata


✅ Now you’ll be able to upload the StandardFirmata sketch to your Arduino!

⚙️ Step 3: Select the Correct Board and Port #

1. Go to Tools → Board and choose your Arduino model (e.g., “Arduino Uno”).
2. Go to Tools → Port and select the COM port that matches your Arduino.

⏫ Step 4: Upload the Firmware #

1. Click the Upload button (the → arrow icon at the top left).
2. Wait until you see “Done uploading” at the bottom.

✅ You’ve successfully uploaded StandardFirmata!

🧠 Step 5: Connect to Pishi.ai #

1. In the browser open:
   pishi.ai/play
2. Go to the Extensions section in Scratch and click the Arduino extension.
3. From the list of detected devices, select your Arduino board and click Pair or Connect.
4. You can connect your Arduino using either USB or Bluetooth (BLE).
   • To switch between connection types, disconnect from Arduino first, then click the connection icon next to the Arduino label in the block palette and choose your preferred mode.

🎉 That’s it! Your Arduino is now successfully connected and ready to use with Scratch blocks in Pishi.ai — start coding, blinking LEDs, reading sensors, and building smart projects right away!

⚠️ Troubleshooting #

🧰 Optional: Custom Firmata Versions #

If your Arduino board has built-in Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), use StandardFirmataBLE instead of StandardFirmata to enable wireless connections in Pishi.ai.

This version allows you to connect to your Arduino without a USB cable, perfect for mobile, wearable, or robot projects.

Some of Supported boards:

• 🟦 Arduino Nano 33 BLE / BLE Sense
• 🌐 Arduino Nano 33 IoT
• 💡 Arduino MKR WiFi 1010
• 🔵 Arduino Uno WiFi Rev2

🔧 How to install StandardFirmataBLE #

1. In the Arduino IDE, open
   File → Examples → Firmata → StandardFirmataBLE
2. Select your board and upload it just like the regular StandardFirmata.
3. In Pishi.ai, choose Bluetooth (BLE) as the connection type when pairing.

🧡 You’re Ready to Create! #

Now you can:

• Read sensors and control LEDs from Scratch
• Use blocks like:
  read analog pin [14 (a0)]
write digital pin [13] [1]
• Build your own robots and smart projects easily!