3.1. Microcontroller

The Zumo 32U4 main board features an integrated, USB-enabled ATmega32U4 AVR microcontroller from Atmel, clocked by a precision 16 MHz crystal oscillator. This is the same microcontroller and clock frequency used in our family of A-Star 32U4 programmable controllers, as well as the Arduino Leonardo and Arduino Micro.

The main board includes a USB Micro-B connector that can be used to connect to a computer’s USB port via a USB A to Micro-B cable (not included). The USB connection can be used to transmit and receive data from the computer and program the board over USB. The USB connection also provides power for the microcontroller and most of the other hardware on the Zumo (but not motor power); see Section 3.8 for more details.

The Zumo’s ATmega32U4 comes preloaded with the same Arduino-compatible USB bootloader as the A-Star 32U4, which allows it to be easily programmed using the Arduino IDE. For more information about programming the Zumo 32U4, see Section 5.