Arduino projects for everyone. The most interesting Arduino projects

All about Arduino and electronics!

Arduino- a trademark of hardware and software for building simple automation and robotics systems, aimed at non-professional users. Software part consists of a free software shell (IDE) for writing programs, compiling them and programming hardware. Hardware The part is a set of assembled printed circuit boards, sold by both the official manufacturer and third-party manufacturers. The system's completely open architecture allows you to freely copy or expand the Arduino product line.

The name of the platform comes from the name of the glasshouse of the same name in Ivrea, often visited by the founders of the project, and this name, in turn, was given in honor of the King of Italy Arduin of Ivrea.

Arduino can be used both to create autonomous automation objects and connect to software on a computer via standard wired and wireless interfaces

This material will provide an example of how to use several 18b20 temperature sensors + add the required number and perform remote monitoring using the esp8266 nodemcu board and the blynk application. This material will be useful if you need to take several temperature readings remotely for monitoring.

Want to play video games from your childhood? Tanks, Contra, Chip and Dale, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles... All these games are waiting for you! From this guide you will learn how to quickly and easily assemble and configure a retro console based on a Raspberry Pi microcomputer and assembling RetroPie emulators.

An interactive snowflake of the appropriate shape created by Arduino Nano. Using 17 independent PWM channels and touch sensor for switching and effects.

The snowflake consists of 30 LEDs grouped into 17 independent segments, which can be controlled separately by an Arduino Nano microcontroller. Each block is controlled by a separate PWM pin, and adjusts the brightness of each LED block and effects separately.

This article will be a complete instruction for assembling a robot car based on a 2wd robot kit based on an esp8266 Wi-Fi board and a shield motor for it.

Also at the end there will be firmware for this board and setting up an application to control our robot via a smartphone using a Wi-Fi network.

At the beginning of the article, the theory will be presented; closer to the middle, practice will be considered; we will also talk as briefly as possible about the tool, about the chemistry that is necessary in soldering, about additional tools. In order to get really high-quality soldering, you should study all these issues well, find out the details somewhere, but we will try to explain everything as clearly as possible “on the fingers,” so that after reading you are guaranteed to be able to complete the assigned tasks.

Watches based on ESP8266 Nodemcu and max7219 pixel matrices have recently become very popular on the Internet. All because this watch is very easy to assemble, has wide functionality and capabilities with updating the time, receiving various data from the Internet and displaying all this data on a ticker.

The popular spammer jammer based on the ESP8266 board (nodemcu \WEMOS) has received a second firmware version with bug fixes, interface improvements and the addition of broader functionality. I collected all this and decided to write a post. I also added a detailed worklog with simplified firmware via FLASHER (firmware in 3 clicks)

WIFI clock with weather station on ESP8266 and matrix indicator on MAX7219

A very interesting and simple clock project with a web interface based on the ESP8266 nodemcu board and MAX7219 display. Probably the best option for a watch and a paired weather station that receives data from the Internet!

Additional fields

test 1:

This project is made on a WIFI ESP8266 board and is designed for control and monitoring via the BLYNK application on your smartphone. You can also add an IP camera to the project (or use an old smartphone with a camera as a server) for real-time monitoring via IP Webcam Pro via a widget in the BLYNK application. A NEMA17 stepper motor is used to supply feed with steps of 1.8 degrees - 200 steps full turn. The engine rotates the auger in the plumbing adapter, into which the feed falls from the hopper.

Let's start with the possibilities that will open up for you if you provide wireless data exchange between two Arduino boards:

Remote readings from temperature, pressure sensors, alarm systems based on pyroelectric motion sensors, etc.
Wirelessly control and monitor robots from 50 to 2,000 feet away.
Wireless control and monitoring of premises in neighboring houses.
Etc. etc. In general, almost everything that requires wireless control and monitoring systems...

Today we will talk about traffic light on on DigiSpark and WS2812 addressable LEDs . This is the second version traffic light. I talked about the first one here. The first version turned out to be quite convenient and consisted of fewer parts. Why did I decide to make a second version? The fact is that the box is for the batteries that I used in the first version traffic light on Arduino, has become very expensive. Some sellers sell it for $5 on . More expensive than all other electronics. So I decided to change the box to a cheaper one. And once I had to redo the body. I decided to change the size of the traffic light itself and make it larger than the first version. Also in the leg traffic light added a metal rod to increase rigidity.

Alarm clock on Arduino. The body is made from LEGO construction kits. LEGO Arduino

My 5-year-old child came from kindergarten and said that he was asked to make a project for smart devices in the house. The body can be made from any available construction kit. Can be made from LEGO designer. After some thought, my son and I decided to do alarm clock on Digispark And 7 segment indicator on TM1637 With real time clock DS3231.

New Arduino projects and Projects made on a CNC machine

Summer is over. And time to develop Arduino projects become bigger. And today I plan to talk about my new projects which I do on Arduino and yours homemade CNC machine. Projects are still in the development stage and do not have a final finished form. But still, I decided to talk about them so that I could hear an outside opinion.

Traffic light on Digispark and addressable LEDs WS2812 - Arduino traffic light

In the previous article: " » I already talked about the development traffic light and that I was unable to make it fully functional and operational. After a couple of weeks I finalized it and now I'm ready to present it homemade traffic light using Arduino and WS2812 addressable LEDs.

I cut all the blanks for the body on my own homemade CNC machine.

Unsuccessful Arduino lamp and traffic light projects

Any development leads to unsuccessful and intermediate models. Which do not satisfy all needs and expectations.

Arduino is very popular among all design enthusiasts. Those who have never heard of it should also be introduced to it.

What is Arduino?

How can you briefly describe Arduino? The best words would be: Arduino is a tool that can be used to create various electronic devices. In essence, this is a true general-purpose hardware computing platform. It can be used both for constructing simple circuits and for implementing quite complex projects.

The designer is based on its hardware, which is an input-output board. To program the board, languages that are based on C/C++ are used. They are called, respectively, Processing/Wiring. From group C they inherited extreme simplicity, thanks to which they can be mastered very quickly by any person, and applying knowledge in practice is not a rather significant problem. So that you understand the ease of work, it is often said that Arduino is for beginner wizard-designers. Even children can understand Arduino boards.

What can you collect on it?

The applications of Arduino are quite diverse; it can be used both for the simplest examples, which will be recommended at the end of the article, and for quite complex mechanisms, including manipulators, robots or production machines. Some craftsmen manage to use such systems to make tablets, phones, home surveillance and security systems, smart home systems, or simply computers. Arduino projects for beginners, which even those with no experience can get started with, are at the end of the article. They can even be used to create primitive virtual reality systems. All thanks to the fairly versatile hardware and capabilities that Arduino programming provides.

Where can I buy the components?

Components made in Italy are considered original. But the price of such kits is not low. Therefore, a number of companies or even individuals make artisanal methods of Arduino-compatible devices and components, which are jokingly called production clones. When purchasing such clones, one cannot say with certainty that they will work, but the desire to save money takes its toll.

Components can be purchased either as part of kits or separately. There are even pre-prepared kits for assembling cars, helicopters with different types of controls, or ships. A set like the one pictured above, made in China, costs $49.

More about the equipment

The Arduino board is a simple AVR microcontroller, which has been flashed with a bootloader and has the minimum required USB-UART port. There are other important components, but within the scope of the article it would be better to focus only on these two components.

First, about the microcontroller, a mechanism built on a single circuit in which the developed program is located. The program can be influenced by pressing buttons, receiving signals from the components of the creation (resistors, transistors, sensors, etc.), etc. Moreover, the sensors can be very different in their purpose: lighting, acceleration, temperature, distance, pressure, obstacles etc. Simple parts can be used as display devices, from LEDs and tweeters to complex devices, such as graphic displays. The quality considered are motors, valves, relays, servos, electromagnets and many others, which would take a very, very long time to list. The MK works directly with some of these lists, using connecting wires. Some mechanisms require adapters. But once you start designing, it will be difficult for you to tear yourself away. Now let's talk about Arduino programming.

Learn more about the board programming process

A program that is already ready to run on a microcontroller is called firmware. There can be either one project or Arduino projects, so it would be advisable to store each firmware in a separate folder to speed up the process of finding the necessary files. It is flashed onto the MK crystal using specialized devices: programmers. And here Arduino has one advantage - it does not need a programmer. Everything is done so that programming Arduino for beginners is not difficult. The written code can be loaded into the MK via a USB cable. This advantage is achieved not by some pre-built programmer, but by special firmware - a bootloader. The bootloader is a special program that starts immediately after connection and listens to whether there are any commands, whether to flash the crystal, whether there are Arduino projects or not. There are several very attractive advantages to using a bootloader:

Using only one communication channel, which does not require additional time costs. So, Arduino projects do not require you to connect many different wires and there will be confusion when using them. One USB cable is enough for successful operation.
Protection from crooked hands. It’s quite easy to bring the microcontroller to a brick state using direct firmware; you don’t need to work hard. When working with a bootloader, you will not be able to access potentially dangerous settings (with the help of a development program, of course, otherwise everything can be broken). Therefore, Arduino for beginners is intended not only from the point of view that it is understandable and convenient, it will also allow you to avoid unwanted financial expenses associated with the inexperience of the person working with them.

Projects to get started

When you have acquired a kit, a soldering iron, rosin and solder, you should not immediately sculpt very complex structures. Of course, you can make them, but the chance of success in Arduino for beginners is quite low with complex projects. To train and improve your skills, you can try to implement a few simpler ideas that will help you understand the interaction and operation of Arduino. As the first steps in working with Arduino for beginners, we can advise you to consider:

Create one that will work thanks to Arduino.
Connecting a separate button to Arduino. In this case, you can make it so that the button can adjust the glow of the LED from point No. 1.
Potentiometer connection.
Servo drive control.
Connecting and working with a three-color LED.
Connecting the piezoelectric element.
Connecting a photoresistor.
Connecting a motion sensor and signals about its operation.
Connecting a humidity or temperature sensor.

Projects for the future

It is unlikely that you are interested in Arduino in order to connect individual LEDs. Most likely, you are attracted by the opportunity to create your own car, or flying turntable. These projects are difficult to implement and will require a lot of time and perseverance, but once completed, you will get what you want: valuable Arduino design experience for beginners.

Arduino is a popular development platform for electronics engineers and their electronics projects in a simple way. It consists of both a physical programmable development board (based on AVR microcontrollers) and a piece of software or IDE that runs on your computer and is used to write and upload code to the microcontroller board. This article discusses popular, unusual and simple Arduino projects.

First, let's look at the most popular Arduino-projects:

MIDI controller is the simplest of the popular Arduino projects. MIDI controllers are a great way to control different sounds on your computer using physical hardware. This is pretty old technology, and you can buy all sorts of cool MIDI controllers at just about any music store. But if you don't want to buy a MIDI controller, you can make your own with Arduino. Once you've created it, you'll be able to control all your hits, beeps, and transitions via USB.
Ambilight sensor on the LCD display (see photo above). Adding a little backlighting to your LCD is a great way to make your movie viewing experience a little more immersive. The end result is a movie viewing system with mesmerizing effects.
Device management high voltage using Arduino. At the end of the project, you will be able to control your home appliances such as LED, fan, light bulb and so on. You can adjust the time when these appliances turn on and off. This project uses one of the most popular modules, i.e. 2 Channel Relay Module, which is widely used to control high voltage devices using low voltage signals. So in this project you will learn how to use 2 channel relay module with Arduino and its circuit.
. The design of the project is quite simple. The main purpose of the equipment is to measure the ambient temperature value and then print it on an LCD using Arduino and thermistor. A thermistor is a type of variable resistor that changes its resistance according to the ambient temperature. So yes, you can make it work like LDR (Light Dependent Resistor) with one difference. While the LDR changes its resistance according to the light intensity, the thermistor's resistance depends on the ambient temperature.

The most unusual projects

Now let's move on to unusual projects using the Arduino microprocessor:

Easy Robot Toy PipeBot. If you're looking for an easier project, perhaps one that you can work with your kids, then consider making a PipeBot toy. You will only need materials that are always at hand. Once you've built it, you'll receive a roll-up polytube that you can control using your smartphone.
3D scanner. Hobbyist developer Richard created this project to scan 3D models of his children. This is actually quite a revolutionary design as it does not force people to stand still for long periods of time while being scanned. Instead, this 3D scanner instantly takes multiple photos from different angles and collects the images as a 3D scan. The Richard scanner is built with 40 Pis pins, 40 Pi pin-capable cameras and 40 8GB SD cards. So, as you can imagine, this project will pay for itself in no time.
Accessibility for people with disabilities. Using an Arduino-like device called a Tongueduino, which was developed by MIT researcher Gershon Doublon, information is sent to a pad with electrodes arranged in a grid. This pad fits into the user's mouth. When connected to an electronic sensor, the pad converts signals from the sensor into small pulses of electrical current through a grid that the tongue reads, similar to a human tongue pattern. It is known that language has an extremely dense sensory resolution, as well as a high degree of neuroplasticity, the ability to adapt to each individual. Research has shown that electrotactile language displays can be used as vision prostheses for the blind. Users quickly learn to read and navigate natural environments. Using Tongueduino, signals map spatial and intensity maps to the number of pulses within a frame. A Tongueduino user can identify pixels and lines drawn on a 3x3 grid by a colleague on the computer. The ultimate goal is to move beyond simple vision replacement to greater sensory augmentation. Connection with a magnetometer can provide the user with an internal sense of direction.

The easiest projects for beginners

Here are examples of several simple homemade products using Arduino that even a person inexperienced in designing electronic devices can do:

. RFID stands for Radio Frequency Identification. Every RFID card has a unique identifier embedded in it and an RFID reader is used to read the RFID card no. The EM-18 RFID reader operates at 125 kHz, comes with a built-in antenna and can be powered by a 5V power supply. It provides serial output along with Weigand output. The range is about 8-12 cm. Serial communication parameters are 9600 bps, 8 data bits, 1 stop bit. This wireless RF identification is used in many systems.
The famous Arduino project is . A tilt sensor switch is an electronic device that senses the orientation of an object and produces its output, high or low, accordingly. It contains a mercury ball that moves. Thus, the tilt sensor can turn the circuit on or off, depending on the orientation. In this project we interface a Mercury/Tilt sensor with an Arduino UNO. We control the LED and buzzer according to the output of the tilt sensor. Whenever we tilt the sensor, the alarm will turn on.
An elementary project is being done on Arduino - . With simple knowledge of Arduino and Voltage Divider Circuit, we can turn Arduino into a digital voltmeter and measure the input voltage using Arduino and 16x2 LCD. The Arduino has several analog input pins that connect to an analog-to-digital converter (ADC) inside the Arduino. Arduino ADC is a ten-bit converter. This means that the output value will be in the range from 0 to 1023. We will get this value using the function analogRead. If you know the reference voltage, you can easily calculate the current voltage at the analog input. We can use a voltage divider circuit to calculate the input voltage.

Arduino is a universal platform for DIY microcontrollers. There are many shields (expansion cards) and sensors for it. This diversity allows you to create a number of interesting projects aimed at improving your life and increasing its comfort. The board's areas of application are limitless: automation, security systems, systems for data collection and analysis, etc.

From this article you will learn what interesting things you can do with Arduino. Which projects will be spectacular and which will be useful.

What can you do with Arduino

Robot vacuum cleaner

Cleaning an apartment is a routine task and unattractive, especially since it takes time. You can save it if you delegate part of the housework to a robot. This robot was assembled by an electronics engineer from Sochi - Dmitry Ivanov. Structurally, it turned out to be of quite high quality and is not inferior in efficiency.

To assemble it you will need:

1. Arduino Pro-mini, or any other similar and suitable in size...

2. USB-TTL adapter if you are using Pro mini. If you chose Arduino Nano, then it is not needed. It is already installed on the board.

3. L298N driver is needed to control and reverse DC motors.

4. Small motors with gearbox and wheels.

5. 6 IR sensors.

6. Engine for turbine (larger).

7. The turbine itself, or rather the impeller from a vacuum cleaner.

8. Motor for brushes (small).

9. 2 collision sensors.

10. 4 x 18650 batteries.

11. 2 DC-DC converters (boost and step-down).

13. Controller for operation (charging and discharging) of batteries.

The control system looks like this:

And here is the power system:

Such cleaners are evolving, factory-made models have complex intelligent algorithms, but you can try to make your own design that will not be inferior in quality to expensive analogues.

Capable of producing a luminous flux of any color, they usually use LEDs in the housing of which there are three crystals glowing in different colors. To control them, special RGB controllers are sold; their essence is to regulate the current supplied to each of the colors of the LED strip, therefore, the intensity of the glow of each of the three colors is regulated (separately).

You can make your own RGB controller using Arduino, even moreover, this project implements control via Bluetooth.

The photo shows an example of using one RGB LED. To control the tape, you will need an additional 12V power supply, then they will control the gates of field-effect transistors included in the circuit. The gate charging current is limited by 10 kOhm resistors; they are installed between the Arduino pin and the gate, in series with it.

Control panel based on Arduino and smartphone

Using a microcontroller, you can make a universal remote control controlled from a mobile phone.

For this you will need:

Arduino of any model;

IR receiver TSOP1138;

IR LED;

Bluetooth module HC-06.

The project can read codes from factory remotes and save their values. After which you can control this homemade product via Bluetooth.

The webcam is installed on a rotating mechanism. It is connected to a computer with installed software. It is based on the computer vision library - OpenCV (Open Source Computer Vision Library), after the program detects a face, the coordinates of its movement are transmitted via a USB cable.

Arduino commands the rotating mechanism drive and positions the camera lens. A pair of servos are used to move the camera.

The video shows how this device works.

Keep an eye on your animals!

The idea is to find out where your animal roams, which can be of interest for scientific research or just for fun. To do this you need to use a GPS tracker. But to store location data on some kind of storage device.

In this case, the dimensions of the device play a decisive role here, since the animal should not feel discomfort from it. To record data, you can use it to work with Micro-SD memory cards.

Below is a diagram of the original version of the device.

The original version of the project used a TinyDuino board and shields for it. If you cannot find one, it is quite possible to use small Arduino copies: mini, micro, nano.

A low-capacity Li-ion element was used for power supply. The small battery lasts about 6 hours. The author ended up fitting everything into a cut-off Tic-Tac jar. It is worth noting that the GPS antenna must point upward to obtain reliable sensor readings.

Code lock burglar

To crack combination locks using Arduino, you will need a servo and stepper motor. This project was developed by hacker Samy Kamkar. This is quite a complex project. The operation of this device is shown in the video, where the author explains all the details.

Of course, such a device is unlikely to be suitable for practical use, but it is an excellent demonstration device.

Arduino in music

This is more likely not a project, but a small demonstration of how this platform has been used by musicians.

Drum machine on Arduino. It is notable for the fact that this is not an ordinary search of recorded samples, but, in principle, sound generation using “hardware” devices.

Parts ratings:

NPN-type transistor, for example 2n3904 - 1 pc.

Resistor 1 kOhm (R2, R4, R5) - 3 pcs.

330 Ohm (R6) - 1 pc.

10 kOhm (R1) - 1 pc.

100 kOhm (R3) - 1 pc.

Electrolytic capacitor 3.3 uF - 1 pc.

For the project to work, you will need to connect the library for fast Fourier series expansion.

This is a fairly simple and interesting “you can show off to your friends” project.

3 robot projects

Robotics is one of the most interesting areas for geeks and just those who like to do something unusual with their own hands, I decided to make a selection of several interesting projects.

BEAM robot on Arduino

To assemble a four-legged walking robot you will need:

To move the legs you need servomotors, for example, Tower Hobbies TS-53;

A piece of copper wire of medium thickness (so that it can withstand the weight of the structure and not bend, but not too thick, because it does not make sense);

Microcontroller - AVR ATMega 8 or Arduino board of any model;

For the chassis, the design states that a Sintra Frame was used. It's a kind of plastic that bends into any shape when heated.

As a result you will get:

It is noteworthy that this robot does not drive, but walks, can step over and climb heights of up to 1 cm.

For some reason, this project reminded me of the robot from the cartoon Wall-e. Its special feature is its use for charging batteries. It moves like a car, on 4 wheels.

Its constituent parts:

Plastic bottle of suitable size;

Mom-dad jumpers;

Solar panel with an output voltage of 6V;

As a donor of wheels, engines and other parts - a radio-controlled car;

Two continuous rotation servos;

Two conventional servos (180 degrees);

Holder for AA batteries and for “crown”;

Collision sensor;

LEDs, photoresistors, 10 kOhm fixed resistors - 4 pieces in total;

Diode 1n4001.

Here is the basis - an Arduino board with a proto-shield.

This is what the spare parts from - wheels look like.

The structure is almost assembled, the sensors are installed.

The essence of the robot's work is that it goes to the light. He needs abundance for navigation.

This is more of a CNC machine than a robot, but the project is very entertaining. It is a 2-axis drawing machine. Here is a list of the main components of which it consists:

(DVD)CD drives - 2 pcs;

2 drivers for A498 stepper motors;

servo drive MG90S;

Arduino Uno;

Power supply 12V;

Ballpoint pen, and other design elements.

The optical disc drive uses blocks with a stepper motor and a guide rod that position the optical head. The motor, shaft and carriage are removed from these blocks.

You will not be able to control a stepper motor without additional equipment, so special driver boards are used; it is better if a motor radiator is installed on them at the time of starting or changing the direction of rotation.

The complete assembly and operation process is shown in this video.

Conclusion

This article covers just a small sampling of all that you can do on this popular platform. In fact, it all depends on your imagination and the task you set for yourself.