Cool uses for Arduino

There are very many cool Arduino projects and project sites in Internet (make Google search to see). Here are some interesting links to check out:
Arduino Projects at indestructables

Arduino user projects

Arduino Project Ideas

Top 40 Arduino Projects of the Web

Arduino Rising: 10 Amazing Projects People Are Doing With The Tiny Microcontroller

Electronics For The Everyman: 25 Kick Ass Arduino-Powered Projects

10 Simple-But-Fun Projects to Make With Arduino

DuinoForProjects

Codeduino projects

Internet of Thing with Arduino

11 Arduino projects that require major hacking skills—or a bit of insanity

I will be posting more links to more interesting projects as comments to this post, like I did in my Cool uses for the Raspberry Pi posting. Some of the most interesting that spend some more time at can get their entire own postings this blog in Arduino section.

2,997 Comments

  1. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Nino Ivanov’s Arduino Punch Card Reader Executes Common Lisp in the Cloud
    The culmination of a months-long experiment, this blend of modern and vintage technology is perhaps not the easiest way to share programs.
    https://www.hackster.io/news/nino-ivanov-s-arduino-punch-card-reader-executes-common-lisp-in-the-cloud-d118b524cf8e

    Reply
  2. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Guatemala’s first satellite, Quetzal-1, operated successfully for 211 days in-orbit a few years ago. Now, the team is making its Arduino-compatible CubeSat design open to everyone! https://github.com/Quetzal-1-CubeSat-Team

    Reply
  3. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Make dead houseplants a thing of the past! This Arduino IoT Cloud-connected system waters your pots at specific intervals or if the soil is dry: https://projecthub.arduino.cc/ksoderby/smart-plant-watering-with-arduino-iot-cloud-0dff1f

    Reply
  4. Tomi Engdahl says:

    58 | The MIDuino EWI
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJIAJ1hFpyM

    After way too long of a delay, it is finally time to show you how to take the code from my last two Arduino MIDI videos and fuse them together into the MIDuino EWI!

    You can check out my Hackaday project page for this at:
    https://hackaday.io/project/190166-miduino-ewi

    00:00 Intro Bit
    00:24 Wiring the Arduino
    01:09 Naan
    01:28 GitHub
    02:13 A Little Copying and Pasting
    02:43 The Code Part 1
    07:37 Math
    10:22 The Code Part 2
    12:05 Uploading to the Arduino and Demo
    13:05 Outro Bit

    Reply
  5. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Connecting a Relay Module to a Microcontroller
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FWvEEtrTGRQ

    Today we are driving high current high voltage applications using only a microcontroller and relay. To accomplish this, we are going to take a closer look at a few different types of relay modules you might find across the Internet. We will first go over the components and connections available on each module, then we will go over the schematic to get a better understanding of how each module works, and finally we will demonstrate how to connect these modules into our circuits. Throughout this video I will touch on important considerations to mindful of to ensure you don’t damage your microcontroller or worse the item connected to the relay.

    00:00 Intro
    00:39 Hardware Overview
    02:56 Relay One Schematic
    06:22 Relay Two Schematic
    07:53 Relay Three Schematic
    08:20 Demo with External Power Supply
    09:52 Demo without External Power Supply
    11:19 Recap

    Reply
  6. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Control AC Devices with Arduino SAFELY – Relays & Solid State Switches
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H8FrL37Z7xE

    Controlling a 230V AC Bulb Using Arduino Uno and Relay
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=puNIT8veyWU

    Reply
  7. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Control your air conditioner remotely
    Add WiFi capability to any AC unit by emulating an infrared remote control, and build an interface that you can use from your smartphone.
    https://projecthub.arduino.cc/alranel/control-your-air-conditioner-remotely-2ce667?fbclid=IwAR3dYUIfMrhdu4YsQr5JxTnBNXsY78PcVTCvloH3C27tpLRBjGBJ02F8U_k

    Reply
  8. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Among the most commonly used functions of Smart Speakers is certainly the radio feature.

    But as makers, being able to create our own digital radio version gives us great satisfaction.

    That’s why we’re highlighting this project by Pasquale, which allows you to build a radio using a dedicated Arduino shield.

    The FM radio shield also features RDS functionality and includes a 2.8 W class D amplifier.

    It’s ideal if you want to create a simple radio alarm clock or if you want to add FM functionality to your projects.

    In this video (and on his channel), Pasquale demonstrates how to build this project.

    https://www.open-electronics.org/lets-build-a-radio-with-arduino/

    #SmartSpeakers #RadioFeature #DIYRadio #ArduinoShield #FMRadio #RDSFunctionality #ClassDAmplifier #RadioAlarmClock #FMFunctionality #ArduinoProject

    Reply
  9. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Arduino MASTERCLASS | Full Programming Workshop in 90 Minutes!
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BLrHTHUjPuw

    tinkercad.com had Arduino simulator

    Reply
  10. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Learning how the 74CH595 shift register works using an Arduino. Pretty neat little device. When I moved about three years ago, I came across a box with a bunch of these. Time to make something cool. Ideas?

    https://docs.arduino.cc/tutorials/communication/guide-to-shift-out

    Reply
  11. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Exploring the Arduino Nano ESP32 | MicroPython & IoT Cloud
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R51tf66es9w

    Another new Arduino board! This time it’s the Arduino Nano ESP32, and we’ll test it out today. Includes MicroPython and Arduino IoT Cloud experiments.

    00:00 – Introduction
    01:56 – Arduino Nano ESP32
    09:32 – Arduino IDE Setup & WiFi Scan Test
    12:13 – Nano ESP32 as a Human Interface Device
    19:07 – Using MicroPython
    23:30 – Installing MicroPython
    27:40 – Using the Arduino Labs Python Editor
    32:28 – Reloading the C++ Bootloader
    34:28 – Arduino IoT Cloud
    37:09 – IoT Cloud Project Hookup
    38:05 – Connect Nano ESP32 to IoT Cloud
    41:06 – Build a Thing
    44:29 – IoT Cloud Project Code
    49:01 – Build a Dashboard
    53:49 – Running Remote & OTA Updates
    54:52 – Conclusion

    Reply
  12. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Investigating The Fourth Passive Component
    https://hackaday.com/2023/09/27/investigating-the-fourth-passive-component/

    When first learning about and building electronic circuits, the first things all of us come across are passive components such as resistors, capacitors, and inductors. These have easily-understandable properties and are used in nearly all circuits in some way or another. Eventually we’ll move on to learning about active components like transistors, but there’s a fourth passive circuit component that’s almost never encountered. Known as the memristor, this mysterious device is not quite as intuitive as the other three, so [Andrew] created an Arduino shield to investigate their properties.

    Memristors relate electric charge and magnetic flux linkage, which means that their resistance changes based on the current that passes through them.

    Inductor, Capacitor, Resistor and … Memristor
    https://trochilidae.blogspot.com/2020/05/inductor-capacitor-resistor-and.html

    You can easily buy resistors, capacitors and inductors, they are the building blocks of electronic circuits everywhere. Now you can buy the fourth, a less well-known fundamental device: the memristor. This is a device whose resistance changes depending on the current that has flowed through it.

    Reply
  13. Tomi Engdahl says:

    EMI Hardening the Arduino Nano for Automotive Applications
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PKhBNk9ZuHc

    In this video I briefly discuss some steps you can take to make your Arduino Nano more robust in an electrically noisy environment.

    This video will also be referenced in an upcoming tutorial video on the new 4-coil version of my DIY engine control module.

    Thanks for watching!

    Reply
  14. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Using Charles Lohr’s 400-line RISC-V emulator, this Arduino UNO boots Linux — in a little under 16 hours.

    Giang Vinh Loc Creates “the World’s Worst Linux PC” Using an Arduino UNO R3 and Its ATmega328P
    https://www.hackster.io/news/giang-vinh-loc-creates-the-world-s-worst-linux-pc-using-an-arduino-uno-r3-and-its-atmega328p-e5ed03e3f594?fbclid=IwAR30rTZRhAmhGkL01mWjP159cTX4dEWjOABWqqJRpKqsycFlRR4SGDJyVac

    Using Charles Lohr’s 400-line RISC-V emulator, this Arduino UNO boots Linux — in a little under 16 hours.

    Vietnamese embedded developer Giang Vinh Loc has taken Linux to new lows, by successfully booting to a console session on an Arduino UNO R3′s Microchip ATmega328P eight-bit microcontroller — by having it pretend to be a 32-bit RISC-V processor.

    “This is a port of mini-rv32ima (a minimum RISC-V emulator, capable of booting Linux) on ATmega328P (the core of Arduino UNO, a eight-bit AVR microcontroller),” Loc explains of the project. “So basically, this code is for booting Linux on [the] Arduino UNO. Yes you are reading it correctly, Arduino UNO can (theoretically, but not practically) boot Linux.”

    Reply
  15. Tomi Engdahl says:

    You can achieve decent solar output through most of the day with smart placement, but a sun tracker like this Arduino Cloud-connected setup will dramatically increase things.

    A simple single-axis sun tracker to maximize solar output
    https://blog.arduino.cc/2023/10/05/a-simple-single-axis-sun-tracker-to-maximize-solar-output/?fbclid=IwAR0p5Wwx8AVBUiCyT4OhE043ZHHy2MFw06KstAA-gnHEPbSZmrLXblSYFeY

    An Arduino Nano RP2040 Connect board controls the linear actuator motors through a Drok DC motor controller. The Arduino looks at a pair of LDRs (light dependent resistors) and calculates the differential between them to determine if the panels should tilt further. Murphy connected the Nano to the Arduino Cloud to log the readings, which lets him check to see the movement throughout the day.

    Reply
  16. Tomi Engdahl says:

    https://www.facebook.com/groups/168863453878/permalink/10160805534388879/

    const int hallPin = 2; // Määritä hall-anturin liitännän pinni

    volatile unsigned long pulseCount = 0;
    unsigned long lastTime = 0;
    unsigned long currentTime = 0;
    float rpm = 0;

    void setup() {
    pinMode(hallPin, INPUT);
    attachInterrupt(digitalPinToInterrupt(hallPin), hallSensor, RISING);
    Serial.begin(9600);
    }

    void loop() {
    currentTime = millis();

    if (currentTime – lastTime >= 1000) {
    // Laske kierrosnopeus (rpm) sekunnin välein
    rpm = (pulseCount / 2.0) * 60.0; // Oletetaan kaksi pulssia per kierros
    Serial.print(“Kierrosnopeus: “);
    Serial.print(rpm);
    Serial.println(” RPM”);
    pulseCount = 0;
    lastTime = currentTime;
    }
    }

    void hallSensor() {
    pulseCount++;
    }

    Reply
  17. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Simple Circuit Keeps Process Control Loops In Tune
    https://hackaday.com/2023/10/19/simple-circuit-keeps-process-control-loops-in-tune/

    Spare a moment’s pity for the process engineer, whose job it is to keep industrial automation running no matter what. These poor souls seem to be forever on call, fielding panicked requests to come to the factory floor whenever the line goes down. Day or night, weekends, vacations, whatever — when it breaks, the process engineer jumps.

    The pressures of such a gig can be enormous, and seem to have weighed on [Tom Goff] enough that he spent a weekend building a junk bin analog signal generator to replace a loop calibrator that he misplaced. Two process control signaling schemes were to be supported — the 0 to 10 VDC analog signal, and the venerable 4-20 mA current loop.

    Analog Signal Generator for Industrial Controls
    https://hackaday.io/project/193211-analog-signal-generator-for-industrial-controls

    Sensors and Instruments in Industrial Controls often use 4-20mA or 0-10V analog signals I needed a replacement signal generator in a hurry!

    Details

    The most commonly used analog signal in Industrial Controls is the 4-20mA analog signal. This “protocol” is commonly used in industrial automation and process control systems. It represents a continuous electrical current signal where 4mA typically corresponds to the lowest possible measurement or signal value , and 20mA represents the highest value. For example 4mA might represent 0 bar pressure and 20mA would represent 16 bar.

    The 4-20mA current loop is used so commonly because of the advantages it offers, such as noise immunity and long-distance transmission capabilities, making it ideal for industrial environments where electronic noise is common. Factories often have tons of inverter driven motors and fluorescent lights.

    The 4-20mA signal from the sensors, instruments and transmitters is sent to receiving devices (usually hard wired) such as programmable logic controllers (PLCs) or Trip Amplifiers and the signal is used to control the Industrial Process. For example, if the pressure is below 8 bar the sensor would have a 8mA current loop. The PLC program would then turn on a pump when the pressure in below this threshold and turn the pump off again at another threshold.

    A 0-10V analog signal works the same way as a 4-20mA signal and many sensors and instruments are equipped with both protocols however some instruments only have the 0-10V protocol as it is a cheaper and easier signal to generate. For this reason you really need both a 0-10V and 4-20mA generator in your tool box if you want to reverse engineer, fault find or test industrial control systems.

    Reply
  18. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Arduino Audio Analyzer (Tutorial for Beginners, SSD1306 OLED, u8g2, Arduino UNO)
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dCofwhHcW7Y

    Reply
  19. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Arduino has announced a new expansion board, designed to make it easier to take advantage of the capabilities of its Portenta X8, Portenta H7, or Portenta C33 SOMs — by breaking their features out into easily-accessible pin headers, including one compatible with Raspberry Pi HATs.

    Arduino Builds a Bridge to the Raspberry Pi Ecosystem with Its New Portenta Hat Carrier Board
    https://www.hackster.io/news/arduino-builds-a-bridge-to-the-raspberry-pi-ecosystem-with-its-new-portenta-hat-carrier-board-c992bd7928cd?fbclid=IwAR143rYPIuhOnTeuMK0F6RMv7b5_qFnDX9oyXy5v2CC4pLAZvHMcUpgHrhM

    Accepting any Portenta board, but primarily designed for the Portenta X8, this carrier adds Raspberry Pi HAT support.

    Arduino has announced a new expansion board, designed to make it easier to take advantage of the capabilities of its Portenta X8, Portenta H7, or Portenta C33 system-on-modules — by breaking their features out into easily-accessible pin headers, including one compatible with Raspberry Pi Hardware Attached on Top (HAT) accessories.

    The Portenta Hat Carrier is now available to order from the Arduino store, priced at $45; you’ll also need a Portenta board to drive it, starting at $64 for the Portenta C33.

    https://store-usa.arduino.cc/products/portenta-hat-carrier

    Reply
  20. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Rudra Lad reverse engineered a 10-year-old optical mouse by interfacing its ADNS-2610 sensor with an Arduino.

    Tinkering with an Old Optical Mouse using Arduino
    Reverse Engineering an old optical mouse using Arduino, and Bonus – Capturing Image.
    https://www.hackster.io/RVLAD/tinkering-with-an-old-optical-mouse-using-arduino-85e396?fbclid=IwAR2YLNDk-0tgHxqmk5dG7ClWJS-wpfHU70SvRaITlw-19ijFM_lmYYyz1_0

    Reply
  21. Tomi Engdahl says:

    [Tested successfully] Linux on Arduino UNO / atmega328p port of mini-rv32ima. Let’s run Linux on the world’s worst Linux PC (and beat Dmitry Grinberg)

    https://github.com/raspiduino/arv32-opt

    Reply
  22. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Accessible Gamepad Accepts Voice Commands
    To help people with fine motor control issues enjoy today’s video games, Bob Hammel developed this voice-enabled video game controller.
    https://www.hackster.io/news/accessible-gamepad-accepts-voice-commands-540cdcafeb95

    Reply
  23. Tomi Engdahl says:

    How to make Arduino LED Tester
    Useful tool for testing, and determining characteristics of LEDs, as well as a calculator for calculating the series resistor depending on the connected voltage.
    Detailed instructions, schematic, and code at:
    https://bit.ly/49RX9RS
    @PCBWay

    Reply
  24. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Roland TB-303 & TR-808 sequencer clone
    https://midilab.co/aciduino/

    Put your DIY super powers to the test building your own Roland’s TB-303 and TB-808 step sequencer! An Arduino based clone project specially hacked with corrosive features for live performances! Save your money building this classic sequencer clone faster than a blink of an eye.

    https://github.com/midilab/aciduino

    Affordable and DIY, Roland TB-303 and TR-808 step sequencer clone and midi controller. Packed with additional features, specifically designed for musicians and DJs to use on live performances or streamline their studio creative process.

    Reply
  25. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Developer Trent “ripred” Wyatt has released an Arduino library which gives ATmega-family microcontrollers the ability to measure the voltage coming in on their Vcc pin — without requiring any additional hardware whatsoever.

    Trent “ripred” Wyatt Offers ATmega-Based Arduino Users a Hardware-Free Voltage-Monitoring Library
    https://www.hackster.io/news/trent-ripred-wyatt-offers-atmega-based-arduino-users-a-hardware-free-voltage-monitoring-library-6cdbf05327f1?fbclid=IwAR3vqkS6SXB74oXM–Msj-lEhh48EB_P7rSzv5FIev4oBSoorFNYwKbcmo4

    Implementing a Microchip Application Note, this clever library makes use of the ADC and internal voltage reference to measure power input.

    Reply
  26. Tomi Engdahl says:

    In this article, Davide Nardella experiments with the marriage of Arduino Pro and FPGAs to create mixed systems that are both flexible and very fast. What he proposes is a series of modular architectures in which you can choose the combination that best suits your application and your budget: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/arduino-pro-fpga-perfect-marriage-extreme-tasks-lets-how-nardella-mqfxf/

    Reply
  27. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Damian Bonicatto designed an Arduino Nano-based ultrasonic system to send and receiver data as a way to explore the concepts and firmware used in software-defined radio but without the complexity of RF and FPGAs.

    Part 1: https://www.edn.com/exploring-software-defined-radio-without-the-annoying-rf-part-1/
    Part 2: https://www.edn.com/exploring-software-defined-radio-without-the-annoying-rf-part-2/

    Reply
  28. Tomi says:

    https://hackaday.com/2024/01/17/arduino-virtually/
    While simulating an Arduino isn’t a new idea, a recent project by [LRusso] provides an open source JavaScript simulator that runs in your browser. You can try it out live or host it yourself if you prefer.

    The simulator looks much like the standard IDE, so there isn’t much to learn. You can select from several targets, including a UNO R3, a MEGA 1280, a MEGA 2560, or a NANO V3. At the bottom of the screen, you’ll see the correct number of digital pins, analog pins, and the serial monitor. The code is relatively new, and we noticed that the digital and output pins seem to work only for outputs. There is no way to modify any of the values from the user interface. You can, however, enter things into the serial monitor.

    https://github.com/lrusso/ArduinoSimulator

    Reply
  29. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Away from a loved one this Valentine’s Day?
    Xyla Foxlin and Becky Stern developed a DIY hug-sensing IoT Parihug toy that lets you stay connected over the Arduino Cloud: https://beckystern.com/2023/11/27/hug-sensing-iot-parihug-toy-w-xyla-foxlin/

    Reply
  30. Tomi Engdahl says:

    An Arduino library to interface the Avia Semiconductor HX711 24-Bit Analog-to-Digital Converter (ADC) for Weight Scales.
    https://github.com/bogde/HX711

    Reply
  31. Tomi Engdahl says:

    We are thrilled to unveil more details about Arduino Alvik – the smart robot powered by the Arduino Nano ESP32 with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth!

    Embark on a journey into the dynamic realms of MicroPython, IoT, and robotics. Have any projects in mind to kickstart the adventure with Alvik?

    Explore boundless possibilities and unleash your creativity! https://store.arduino.cc/pages/alvik

    Reply
  32. Tomi Engdahl says:

    DIY extremly Sensitive and cheap Arduino Seismometer
    Continuation of the previous project, now presenting the electronic part, which together with the Geophone sensor will represent a complete sensitive home seismometer.
    Detailed instructions, schematic, and code at:
    https://bit.ly/4bXQSFi

    Reply

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