The Arduino Inventor's Guide Read Free

permanent, check out the appendix to see how to solder your project. The tools for soldering and electronics prototyping are relatively inexpensive, and you can buy them from SparkFun (
https://www.sparkfun.com/
) or any hardware store near you.
REQUIRED COMPUTER
    Finally, you’ll program the Arduino using a computer and a specific set of software tools. Just about any average computer can handle the Arduino software. If you have a PC running Windows, you’ll need to be running Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8/8.1, 10, or newer. For Mac users, currently the latest version of Arduino is compatible with OS X 10.7 Lion or newer. If you’re running a fairly standard version of Linux, odds are there is a version of Arduino available.
    As of this writing, iOS and Android devices are supported only through beta-release software packages still under testing and development. You’re welcome to try these, but they may not work, and if they do, they may not be reliable.
    For Windows, Mac, or Linux users, we’ll walk you through the process of setting up your computer in the first project.
WHAT’S IN THIS BOOK?
    This book includes 10 hands-on projects, as well as a primer on electronics and an appendix that covers soldering and other handy tips. The projects start with a simple blinking LED and gradually incorporate different electrical components, programming concepts, and layers of construction sophistication as the projects progress. Each project has separate sections on wiring, programming, and construction so that you can focus on individual aspects. We wrap up each project with a “Going Further” section that gives you ideas for hacking and modifying the project. Remember, we want you to use these projects as launching points for your own inventions, not as end goals.
    • Electronics Primer Before jumping into the projects, we present the foundations of electricity and electronics and introduce key concepts used throughout the book.
    • Project 1 : Getting Started with Arduino Covers installing software and gives you a foundation in building and programming circuits by walking you through a project that lights up an LED.
    • Project 2 : A Stoplight for Your House Explores using a breadboard and controlling multiple components at once to build a three-LED stoplight.
    • Project 3 : The Nine-Pixel Animation Machine Extends the stoplight to nine LEDs in a 3 × 3 matrix and teaches you about custom functions in Arduino.
    • Project 4 : Reaction Timer Walks you through using a button and an LED to make a game that tests your reaction times.
    • Project 5 : A Color-Mixing Night-Light Explores using a voltage divider and a light sensor to detect a room’s light level and automatically turn a multicolored LED on or off depending on how dark it is.
    • Project 6 : Balance Beam Introduces the servo motor and how to control it with an external device to make a balance beam desk game.
    • Project 7 : Tiny Desktop Greenhouse Teaches you how to make a greenhouse that senses temperature and automatically turns a fan on and opens an air vent when it’s too hot. This project introduces concepts like controlling a motor with a transistor.
    • Project 8 : Drawbot, the Robotic Artist Explores simple tabletop robotics using an H-bridge motor controller. You’ll build a simple robot that you can program to draw a picture for you.
    • Project 9 : Drag Race Timer Shows you how to build a racetrack for toy cars that records their speeds. You’ll use the servo motor, light sensor, and LCD to build a race timer. This project is a Christmas morning dream!
    • Project 10 : Tiny Electric Piano Teaches you how to make music with your Arduino, using a soft potentiometer as a small keyboard. This project explores the piezo buzzer and how to use the tone() function. Time to get your piano man on!
    • Appendix : More Electronics Know-How Includes handy tips for using a multimeter, soldering, and reading the color bands on resistors.
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