As the preeminent tool for makers, Arduino is a versatile platform that covers almost every type of creative making. With its simple-to-use coding language and fun programming concepts, Arduino enables users to create modern electronics with ease. From beginner level projects like flashing LED lights to more advanced builds such as interactive robots, there are an endless number of possibilities when it comes to building projects with Arduino. Whether you are new or an experienced builder in search of fresh ideas, these posts will provide interesting Arduino tutorials and unique ideas that may spark your creativity and motivate you take on any type of maker project!
Ben Light displayed Kinetic Sculpture 5 at the ITP Winter Show last month. When the user waves his/her hand over a photoresistor, a push solenoid is triggered, causing a rod to decouple and swing to the other side. Whatever losses are sustained due to conservation of energy are then recovered by a strong magnet that gives the rod that extra pull it needs to couple to an identical solenoid on the opposite end.
The Art Shanty Projects on Medicine Lake in Plymouth, MN “is a four-week exhibition that is part sculpture park, part artist residency, and part social experiment, inspired by traditional ice fishing houses that dot the state’s lakes in winter.” Jordan Husney helped out with the Dance Shanty, “an innocuous white structure on a frozen lake, […]
Jamie Zawinski built a command line interface for controlling the curtains in his apartment: My apartment has a 16′ wide floor-to-ceiling window, and a correspondingly-huge curtain. I wanted to put the curtain under software control so I could do things like, for example, have it automatically open in the morning to help me get out […]
The Arduino Wireless Proto Shield is the easiest way to add Xbee modules to your Arduino. This simple shield is designed to work with Xbee modules (or other modules with the same footprint) to give your Arduino wireless capabilities. The handy prototyping area lets you add circuits and sensors so you can relay data without […]
If you’re interested in how Arduino assembles their boards, be sure to check out Phil & Limor’s shots of their recent tour of Arduino’s Torino, Italy, operation. I love seeing all of the heavy equipment like the pick & place machines the organization uses.
It’s hard not to get excited when you see assistive technology like the sign language interpreting Show and Tell Glove from Tel Aviv area makers Oleg Imanilov, Zvika Markfield, and Tomer Daniel. The glove uses a LillyPad Arduino to sample flex sensors, an accelerometer, and gyro into an ADK board that then talks to an Android app that translates sign language and gestures into written text. To improve performance, a neural network is fed gestures manually to compensate for varying hand sizes directly on the handset. They’re still working out the bugs, but the current results are more than encouraging.
Are you interested in starting out with Arduino but don’t know which kit to get? Check out the Microcontroller Quick Launch Pack from the Maker Shed! It’s the perfect “in between” kit for Arduino.
