It may be small in size, but the Arduino is having a huge impact on the maker movement. This powerful, easy-to-use microcontroller makes it possible for creative people everywhere to turn their ideas for interactive projects into reality—from simple LED displays to responsive robots and Twitter-enabled appliances. All that's needed is a computer, a DIY imagination, and—for the uninitiated—a guide on how to get started.
No Starch Press has that last one covered. The San Francisco-based independent publisher has just announced the release of Arduino Workshop (No Starch Press, May 2013, 392 pp., $29.95, ISBN 9781593274481), a soup-to-nuts tutorial that will have even rank beginners building their own devices in no time. Written by Australian electronics enthusiast John Boxall, this comprehensive, hands-on book will have readers designing and building interactive electronics within the first few chapters. As the book progresses, the projects build on the basics, and by the end of the book readers will be making complex projects like a motorized remote-control tank.
The book also digs into basic electronics and the Arduino's sensors, motors, displays, and other popular add-ons.
Readers will learn about these components by using them to build projects like:
- A digital thermometer that displays temperature changes on an LCD
- A GPS logger that records travel data for display on Google Maps
- A handy tester that checks the voltage of batteries
- A keypad-controlled lock that requires a secret code to open
- An electronic version of the classic six-sided die
By the time readers bang out all 65 of Boxall's projects, they'll be ready to build their own—and, in doing so, join millions of other makers around the world who are harnessing the power of a tiny board that makes big things happen.