Create your own Arduino-based designs, gain in-depth knowledge of the architecture of Arduino, and learn the user-friendly Arduino language all in the context of practical projects that you can build yourself at home. Get hands-on experience using a variety of projects and recipes for everything from home automation to test equipment.
Arduino has taken off as an incredibly popular building block among ubicomp (ubiquitous computing) enthusiasts, robotics hobbyists, and DIY home automation developers. Authors
Jonathan Oxer and
Hugh Blemings provide detailed instructions for building a wide range of both practical and fun Arduino-related projects, covering areas such as hobbies, automotive, communications, home automation, and instrumentation.
- Take Arduino beyond "blink" to a wide variety of projects from simple to challenging
- Hands-on recipes for everything from home automation to interfacing with your car engine management system
- Explanations of techniques and references to handy resources for ubiquitous computing projects
Supplementary material includes a circuit schematic reference, introductions to a range of electronic engineering principles and general hints & tips. These combine with the projects themselves to make
Practical Arduino: Cool Projects for Open Source Hardware an invaluable reference for Arduino users of all levels. You'll learn a wide variety of techniques that can be applied to your own projects.
What youll learn
- Communication with serial devices including RFID readers, temperature sensors, and GPS modules
- Connecting Arduino to Ethernet and WiFi networks
- Adding synthesized speech to Arduino
- Linking Arduino to web services
- Decoding data streams from commercial wireless devices
- How to make DIY prototyping shields for only a couple of dollars
Who this book is for
This book is for hobbyists and developers interested in physical computing using a low-cost, easy-to-learn platform.
Table of Contents
-
Introduction -
Appliance Remote Control -
Time-Lapse Camera Controller -
Virtual USB Keyboard -
PS/2 Keyboard or Mouse Input -
Security/Automation Sensors -
Online Thermometer -
Touch Control Panel -
Speech Synthesizer -
Water Flow Gauge -
Oscilloscope/Logic Analyzer -
Water Tank Depth Sensor -
Weather Station Receiver -
RFID Access Control System -
Vehicle Telemetry Platform
-
Resources
Customer Reviews & Comments
The authors have well and truly delivered what they've outlined as their goal in the Introduction section, namely "We want you to take these projects as inspiration and examples of how to apply a variety of handy techniques and then adapt them to suit your own requirements, coming up with new ideas that put ours to shame". Frankly I'm impressed with what Jonathan and Hugh have achieved. They've packed in an incredible amount of information in over 400 pages using 14 broad coverage real-world projects demonstrating how to put the Arduino to practical use. Importantly, they've included some succinct and relevant background information on basic electronic theory and implementation that will save readers days of frustration in getting their circuits working. Nothing kills off the excitement of working on projects than not being able to find why something won't work as intended. With Arduino projects, there is the added difficulty that 'bugs' could be in the software and/or hardware. Excellent title - Practical. Says it all.
I like the Contents at a Glance page in addition to the detailed Contents. Use the former to get you quickly to a project of interest or the detailed Contents to quickly search out techniques relevant to your latest brainstorm.
The included source code easy to read and well explained. Great to see it is also available on line - an essential requirement for this type of book.
Circuit diagrams (schematics) clear are easy to read. I support the authors' approach in encouraging readers to develop skills in reading these.
A useful index - I find it very annoying when books that are likely to be used as a reference omit one.
Do yourself a favour and read the Resources chapter first. Rather than a list of Internet references, this 27 page chapter contains practical tips on interfacing the Arduino with the outside world. An excellent walk-through on how to create an Arduino Library is also included to encourage you to share your solutions in accordance with the Open Source philosophy of the book and the Arduino platform.
The only disappointment was the quality of reproduction of many of the photographs; I assume the muddy contrast is the result of a compromise in the printing process. That said, the book price really is very good value for the range of material covered.
I have over a decade of experience in electronics design and manufacture with an international electronics company (Philips) and many years of experience in Engineering and IT Project Management. While I've enjoyed working with PCs as a hobby for nearly 30 years, I've only dabbled in programming. The Arduino has enabled me to rediscover the fun of electronics and develop my programming skills - I've been having fun with Arduinos for just one year. This book will give me inspiration for years to come.
Neil Matthews
B. Tech. Electronic Engineering, MBA
