1. Arduino is an open-source hardware and software platform used for building electronics projects. It contains a microcontroller and can be programmed using C code.
2. Arduino boards have digital and analog input/output pins that can sense the environment by receiving signals from sensors and control devices like motors. Common boards include the Uno, Due, and LilyPad.
3. The basic structure of an Arduino program includes a setup() function for initialization and a loop() function containing the main code. Functions like digitalWrite(), analogRead(), and Serial.print() are used to control pins, read sensors, and display output.