This pen plotter gets nervous when observed

Reading Time: 2 minutesThe whole purpose of machine automation is to eliminate human needs and errors. A CNC machine doesn’t get tired, doesn’t need breaks, and performs a task exactly the same way every time. But what if that weren’t true? What if machines experienced human emotions and let it affect their work like we do? That’s the […]

Substituting a flex sensor for an inexpensive light-dependent resistor

Reading Time: 2 minutesIn order to build wearables that react to movement, most people tend to reach for accelerometers, gyroscopes, and flex sensors. But due to their higher cost, one of teacher Gord Payne’s students wanted to create a low-cost alternative that could be easily sourced and integrated into projects. A typical glove with finger movement tracking normally incorporates flexible strips, […]

This glove translates sign language using an array of sensors

Reading Time: 2 minutesFor people not familiar with American Sign Language (ASL), being able to recognize what certain hand motions and positions mean is a nearly impossible task. To make this process easier, Hackster.io user ayooluwa98 came up with the idea to integrate various motion, resistive, and touch sensors into a single glove that could convert these signals into understandable text and […]

This search and rescue robot creates 3D maps of disaster areas

Reading Time: 2 minutesIf you look at footage from the search and rescue efforts following any disaster, you’ll see that first responders have a very difficult time navigating through rubble to find people in need of emergency care. They also have to take extra precautions, as gas line ruptures and other hazards present dangers they don’t normally face. […]

This reverse geocache gift box only opens at specific GPS coordinates

Reading Time: 2 minutesGeocaching is a hobby that combines the fun of a scavenger hunt with modern GPS technology. One party will hide a small cache somewhere, then post the general location and the exact GPS coordinates for other parties to find. The goal is to use GPS navigation to find the hidden cache. Often, people will sign […]

This Arduino Nano-based synthesizer can produce a wide range of intriguing sounds

Reading Time: 2 minutesSynthesizers have existed in their current form for several decades now. In essence, they generate simple waveforms that are then either added or subtracted together and modified through the use of filters, envelopes, and modulators to control pitch, volume, and several other characteristics. Due to their simplicity, many types of components can be combined to […]

Make your own micro FPV drone racing gate

Reading Time: 2 minutesDrone racing is an increasingly popular hobby, especially as high-performance drones get more and more affordable. Racing drones can reach 200mph and a huge part of the skill set necessary for competition is the pilot’s ability to navigate through gates at high speed. Those gates mark check points on the course, a bit like the […]

Have you heard? Nicla Voice is out at CES 2023!

Reading Time: 2 minutesAs announced at CES 2023 in Las Vegas, our tiny form factor family keeps growing: the 22.86 x 22.86 mm Nicla range now includes Nicla Voice, allowing for easy implementation of always-on speech recognition on the edge. How? Let’s break it down. 1. The impressive sensor package. Nicla Voice comes with a full set of […]

Arduino brings birthday cake to life

Reading Time: 2 minutesA good birthday cake is all about the decoration. Usually that comes in the form of fancy frosting, fondant flourishes, and crazy candles. But what if you got electronics involved? That’s the question Natasha Dzurny answered when she used an Arduino to bring a birthday cake to life with epic LED lighting. WS2812B individually addressable […]

This project facilitates augmented reality Minecraft gaming

Reading Time: 2 minutesAugmented reality (AR) is distinct from virtual reality (VR) in that it brings the real world into virtual gameplay. The most famous example of AR is Pokémon Go, which lets players find the pocket monsters throughout their own physical region. Minecraft is the best-selling video game of all time, but lacks any official AR gameplay. So Ryan Chan […]

Nifty cam-following plotter can draw many shapes

Reading Time: 2 minutesBefore CNC (computer numerical control) came along, automated machines utilized mechanisms like cams and tapers to act as guides. Those are physical components with precise contours meant to guide the tool, like an artist tracing lines with a pantograph. Such mechanisms are uncommon today, as CNC is far more versatile and much easier to implement. […]

This train of trash bins moves to the curb with the press of a button

Reading Time: 2 minutesOnce a week, millions of people set out their trash cans next to the curb for collection the following day, which many consider to be extremely annoying or laborious. So rather than manually dragging out the garbage and recycling bins, the YouTuber known as Max Maker decided to build a system that could automate the […]

Roving Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots make the perfect Secret Santa gift

Reading Time: 2 minutesAs part of what has become an annual holiday tradition, several YouTube makers coordinated their efforts this year for a Secret Santa exchange. Returning participant James Bruton drew Emily the Engineer and found inspiration for his gift from an automatic boxing glove that she built. Taking that idea and running with it, he created a […]

This flip-dot display acts like an Etch A Sketch

Reading Time: 2 minutesEvery year, several of the biggest names in the maker world on YouTube get together for an international Secret Santa exchange. Each participate gets to decide on a gift for the assigned recipient and the only rule is that they must make the gift themselves. Sam Battle, of the LOOK MUM NO COMPUTER YouTube channel, […]

This clever clock displays the time in magnetic fields

Reading Time: 2 minutesYou’ve probably seen videos of people moving magnets near iron dust, which results in the dust aligning itself to the patterns created by the magnetic fields. Magnetic viewing film works the same way, but with the dust in an oil suspension sitting in the gap between two sheets of transparent plastic. By moving that film […]

Announcement: Project Hub is evolving

Reading Time: 2 minutesEncouraging people to share projects and tutorials has always been central to Arduino’s mission of democratizing technology. Learning from the work of others is very important  as we always felt that most makers like to start from an existing project and evolve from their own creation. If you’ve been following Arduino for a while you […]

The Infineon team’s XXL Chatbot offers you yuletide greetings

Reading Time: 2 minutesInfineon is one of the world’s largest semiconductor manufacturers, but the company is made up of regular people like any other. Many of those people just happen to be engineers and they like to build gadgets and gizmos like the rest of us. Following a water cooler discussion about who had the biggest 3D printer, […]

Check out James Bruton’s robotic camera operator

Reading Time: 2 minutesWe’re ages past the time when a YouTuber could get away with sloppy camera work. If someone wants to achieve any level of success making videos today, they need near-professional camera equipment. But even that equipment isn’t enough if it’s still used for static shots. Many makers build sliders and other rigs, but James Bruton […]

Ghostwriter is a gorgeous typewriter with an onboard AI co-writer

Reading Time: 2 minutesMuch to the consternation of those of us who write for a living, AI writers are gaining traction as their capabilities increase. The hot name in the AI content creation industry at the moment is ChatGPT, which is powered by OpenAI’s GPT-3 engine. With the right input and direction, GPT-3 can output some impressive writing. […]

Predicting potential motor failures just using sound

Reading Time: 2 minutesNearly every manufacturer uses a machine at some point in their process, and each of those machines is almost guaranteed to contain at least one motor. In order to maintain uptime and efficiency, these motors must always work correctly, as even a small breakdown can lead to disastrous effects. Predictive maintenance aims to achieve this […]

Grimmboy is an RFID music player designed for kids

Reading Time: 2 minutesKids, like full-sized humans, love music. But most music players are designed for adult dexterity and user interface familiarity, which makes them difficult for young children to operate. For many parents, Amazon’s Alexa and similar services are the answer, as kids can simply ask a device to play the song they want. But to give […]

Make your own Grinch-themed Operation game this Christmas

Reading Time: 2 minutesBefore succumbing to the Whos’ Christmas cheer, the Grinch’s heart was two sizes too small (or three in the text) and that sounds like a medical condition that warrants immediate surgery. What better way to celebrate Christmas this year than by performing that surgery yourself after building this Grinch-themed Operation game. This project from Hanzlica puts a […]