Sometimes we forget to put our trash cans out until the garbage truck is already outside. What we need is Max Maker’s Trash Train running on a schedule. Max built this automated railway for his cans when he had to start storing them on the other side of his house. Engineering and fabricating it was more complicated than it looks.
This arcade game is as small as they come. It runs on an Arduino-compatible 32-bit processor and has a tiny full-color OLED screen, a D-Pad, two pushbuttons, plus a built-in speaker. It comes pre-loaded with three homebrew games, and can be expanded with more games via a MicroSD card. Takes about 10 minutes to assemble.
Xyla Foxlin likes to build all kinds of things but has a special affinity for canoes and paddles. Using an existing canoe as a mold, she created a translucent fiberglass vessel that she wired up with strips of RGB LED lighting, making it the most vibrant and colorful boat on the water.
Dimitar Tilev shows off a truly awesome R/C car build. This scale replica of a vintage Oldsmobile Dynamic 88 wagon packs an Arduino-controlled active suspension which can raise and lower, along with a rear-wheel drivetrain that makes it especially adept at drifting. We love the engine noises and light-up tailpipes.
Telegraphs were once the fastest way to send messages over a distance. While they’re long since obsolete, DIYprojects decided to build a modern take on the paper strip telegraph, using an Arduino Mini, a motor, wood, and a pen to write down text messages. Build guide here.
We’ve seen industrial machines that can bend wires into shapes, but thanks to 3D printing and low-cost controllers like Arduino, you can make your own desktop machine now. How to Mechatronics shows us exactly how. Grab the full instructions, models, code, and schematics here.
A band of LEGO Bionicle musicians gets outfitted with servos and bang out some catchy beats, with the help of an Arduino Uno board, and the Clavia Nord Beat iPad sequencer app.
To showcase their Teagueduino hardware platform, Teague Labs created this physical side-scrolling ‘video game’ based on Super Mario Bros. Looks pretty entertaining based on reactions.
Never be without a Rock, Paper, Scissors sparring buddy again with Steve Hoefer’s Playing Glove: this arduino gadget will not only play against you, but learns from your moves.
Kudos to Frans, aka fotoopa (Belgian for photo-grandpa): he’s built his own Arduino Bee Camera Rig that uses crossed lasers to photograph insects as small as 2 mm while in flight.
If you liked Parrot’s AR.Drone, build your own using Arduino; Paul Rene’s aptly-named Quaduino features four rotors, pitch/roll//yaw controls, a compass, barometer, and accelerometer.
Sean Carney’s Weather Clock looks old fashioned, but it’s actually high tech: an Arduiino scrapes data from the Internet and displays temperature and conditions using two servos.
While it may not be bright enough to signal the Dark Knight, this Batlamp is ideal for do-gooder decorating; made with cardboard and RGB LEDs, the lighting is controlled by Arduino.
Coming to a customer service desk near you, the Happiness Hat is disturbing yet awesome: a servo motor moves a metal spike into the head whenever it notices you’re not smiling.
Sony Music and freestyle footballers (that’s soccer for Yanks) gives Guitar Hero a more athletic kick with Football Hero: it’ uses Arduino, pressure sensitive pads, and Frets on Fire.
We’ve seen Twitter for power usage and watering plants, but the Tweeting Kegerator is easily the most useful: it monitors beer temp, handle pulls and brew levels; follow it on Twitter.
The union of a dragon cutout and an Arduino tracked platform, Puff is designed put out fires with puffs of air; he even has a panic mode that makes him flee after too many failed attempts.