AVRs

AVRs are terms used in electronics with several meanings. The two most common are automatic voltage regulators, which stabilize electrical voltage, and the AVR family of microcontrollers developed by Atmel (now Microchip).

An automatic voltage regulator (AVR) is a system that maintains a constant output voltage despite variations in input voltage or load. It monitors the output and adjusts a regulator element, such as a pass transistor or transformer taps, to keep the voltage within a specified range. AVRs are used in power distribution, generators, uninterruptible power supplies, and sensitive equipment to prevent damage from voltage fluctuations. They can be standalone devices or integrated into power supplies and industrial controls.

The AVR microcontroller family comprises 8-, 16-, and 32-bit processors built around a reduced instruction set computing (RISC) architecture with separate program and data memories (Harvard architecture). They integrate peripherals such as timers, ADCs, communications interfaces, and I/O lines. Since their introduction in the late 1990s, AVR microcontrollers have been widely used in embedded systems and hobbyist projects. Notable lines include ATmega and ATtiny. The Arduino platform popularized AVR-based boards, particularly the ATmega328P. In 2016 Atmel was acquired by Microchip Technology, and the AVR brand continues under Microchip.

Because AVR is used for different technologies, the intended meaning is usually clear from context, with electrical engineers more often referring to voltage regulation and developers or hobbyists to microcontroller families.