The Arduino is a small, inexpensive computer that can be programmed to control endless creations limited only by your imagination. As you’ll soon see, the Arduino can be used to make a whole host of projects, like a ghost detector, joystick-controlled laser, electronic die, laser trip wire alarm, motion sensor alarm, keypad entry system, and many others. All of these projects are easy to build and have one thing in common—they use the power of the Arduino. In the early 1980s, I picked up a great Penguin paperback titled something like Gadgets and Gizmos, hidden away in a local bookstore. The projects were simple ones like making a working lighthouse using flashlight bulbs and building a revolving display table using an old clock. The ideas in that book sparked my imagination, and I’ve been creating ever since.
This eBook is a compilation of some of my most popular Arduino projects. For more Arduino projects, take a look at our Arduino project’s repository. I encourage you to watch some of the video demonstrations. Some of my projects are easier to understand if you can see the circuit in action. This eBook has the purpose to inspire you create something amazing with electronics and programing. After you create something cool, I hope you share it with others. That’s the whole goal of this awesome community. To all my readers, thank you for your interest in my work. I really appreciate it! Have fun with your projects, Rui Santos P.S. Make sure you visit my website to see the latest projects
More and more makerspaces around the world are looking to add coding and electronics to their maker education programs. One of the best ways to do this is by integrating an Arduino board into makerspace projects and lessons. We’ve found that a lot of maker educators haven’t taken the plunge into coding or Arduino because they think programming is scary. Because of this, we wanted to make sure this tutorial was written for the absolute beginner with no experience whatsoever. This tutorial is a high level view of all the parts and pieces of the Arduino ecosystem. In future posts, we will take you step by step in creating your first simple Arduino project.