As touched on in this video by Charlotte Dann (aka “Charbytes”), she has magnets in her fingers.

This may or may not seem like a small detail, but either way it allows her to draw interesting shapes by passing them over a magnetometer mounted to an Arduino Uno. Dann’s sensor/Arduino package passes serial data to a computer, which does the “heavy lifting,” turning the input into beautiful colors on a computer screen.

It’s an interesting project, and the build process is nicely narrated in her video. A few highlights include a problem with “plastic weld” at 4:00, and a few electrical issues around 7:30 that she eventually solves. You can see more details on this project on its GitHub page, as well as check out Dann’s Twitter account to see what else she’s up to!

After procuring a new Easy-Bake Oven, engineer Jason Cerundolo decided to convert it to run off of USB. According to his project write-up, “USB-C spec allows for 100 Watts of power to be transferred through the connector, and that is the power rating for the oven, so it should work.”

The biggest modification in this build was dividing the heating element into six segments in order to power it with 20V allowed over USB-C. Finding a suitable charger for this device was also a bit of a challenge, but after 20 minutes, it was able to reach 300° F, producing five strangely-shaped but likely still tasty cookies!

For the electronics, I used my USB-C breakout board with the FUSB302B PHY and an Arduino Uno. I wired I2C plus interrupt between the two. I connected VBUS from the breakout board to VIN on the Arduino to power it. Then, I connected +3V3 from the Arduino to the VDD on the breakout board to power the FUSB302B, as well as +5V to V_pullup on the breakout board. I also connected VBUS to the switch, then to the modified heating element and back to GND. To make the connections easier, I crimped spade connectors onto jumper wires. Finally, I plugged the modified light into pin 13 on the Arduino.

You can check out more about Cerundolo’s project, and find his code on GitHub.

We’re excited to welcome Croatian startup Inovatic ICT and its EMoRo Kit to our AtHeart program!

EMoRo (Educational Mobile Robot) is an Arduino-compatible robot designed to encourage logical thinking and technical curiosity in a fun, engaging way. The solder-free DIY kit consists of a robust aluminum chassis along with easy-to-connect components like servos, sensors, and relays. It also supports other construction sets like LEGO Technic, Eitech, and Fischertechnik.

Based an ATmega250 board, EMoRo can be programmed using the Arduino IDE and upgraded with the addition of interchangeable modules, such as Bluetooth for Android device control, an LCD display, push buttons, and an accelerometer, gyroscope and compass for navigation. Built-in safety features include step-down regulators, thermal shutdowns, under-voltage lockouts, and cycle-by-cycle over-current protections–all of which make the EMoRo rugged enough for beginners, yet versatile enough for advanced Makers.

According to Boris Jakov Anic-Kurko, Inovatic ICT Managing Director: 

EMoRo originated as a result of our vision to create a tool that would introduce the world of robotics to children and spark their interest in technology and programming. With that vision in mind, we have decided to use the programming platform Arduino, as the world’s most used and popular programming platform when it comes to programming small educational robots.

Interested in EMoRo for your next robotics competitions or as a tool in your STEAM class? You can now buy a kit here! 

Electronic interfaces have advanced from plugging things in, to keyboards, touchscreens, VR environments, and perhaps soon temporary tattoos. Led by Martin Weigel, researchers at Saarland University in Saarbrücken, Germany have come up with a way to turn your skin blemishes and wrinkles into touch-sensitive controls for devices like smartphones and computers.

“SkinMarks” can be transferred onto the skin using water and last a couple of days before rubbing off. As seen in the video below, these e-tattoos can take the form of buttons, sliders and visual displays, and even sense when a joint is bent. For example, knuckles on a hand made into a fist could act as buttons and then become a slider when the fingers are straightened.

Another type of SkinMark is electroluminescent, meaning that an image printed on your skin could light up to signal a phone call or other important notifications. These tattoos are connected to a wrist-mounted Arduino Nano and an Adafruit MPR121 capacitive touch shield via wires and copper tape; though if the system can be shrunk down even further, this could open up many different possibilities!

You can find more information on this project on New Scientist, or in the team’s published paper here.

Modding vehicles to do something different and unique has been a pastime of “motorheads” almost since cars began to replace horses. Many modifications involve speed, but some like these fancy turn signals by Shravan Lal, simply supplement the looks of his ride.

An Arduino Nano was used as the brains of this hack in order to control strips of WS2812B LEDs acting as blinkers (similar to those on the new Audi A6) in the video below. In addition to signaling a right or left turn, Lal’s build also has a neat startup animation, and can act as a set of hazard lights if needed.

It’s a neat project, with lots of further potential; on the other hand, be sure to check the legality of this type of modification in your area before attempting something similar! You can find more information on his GitHub page. Speaking of customizing cars, don’t miss AtHeart’s Macchina M2 on Kickstarter now!

Using a pair of Arduino Unos and nRF24L01+ modules, this hacker can now remote control his lights.

After struggling with a wall switch that was just too far from his desk to turn off without getting up, “Guyfromhe” decided to take matters into his own hands and rig up a servo to do it for him. The servo is simply hot glued to the switch plate, and when it gets a command, it obediently switches the lights on or off. Though crude, it seems to get the job done, and it wouldn’t be too hard to imagine a good bracket setup.

An Arduino Uno controls the servo, and takes signals from another Arduino via an nRF24+ RF module. He chose this wireless device as a simple transmission method, and one that uses less power than an ESP8266 that he also tried out. The non-servo Arduino can potentially take signals from several sources, including a Raspberry Pi, laptop, or even a hacked Amazon Dash button.

You can see this makeshift system demonstrated in the video below, and read more about the build here.

Though this low-cost robotic hand by Maker “MertArduino” might not be the best platform for manufacturing, or even world domination, it does show off some interesting physical build techniques. The DIY device can mimic a human’s hand wirelessly via a pair of Arduino Unos and nRF24L01 modules.

For construction, the fingers and thumb are made out of springs and foam, and nylon cords are used to pull them closed with a small servo for each digit. Control is accomplished by flex sensors attached via zip ties to a glove. It’s a great demonstration of how you don’t actually need a 3D printer or other advanced CNC machinery to craft something really unique!

You can see the project in the video below, and check out more hacks on Mert Arduino’s YouTube channel!

This is a guest post from Vaughn Shinall, Head of Product Outreach at Temboo.

Making 20,000 cakes more safely and efficiently every day, improving engine manufacturing for lawnmowers so they run more quietly, and designing farms to need less water. These are just a few examples of how Arduinos are being used everyday by engineers, businesses, and researchers with Temboo. Our embedded code generation engine empowers all sorts of people and organizations to program Arduino to connect to any cloud service, enabling ideas and creative applications all over the world.

Today we’re excited to announce a big update to our support for Arduino devices. In line with the great advances that Arduino has made with its development boards and Internet-connectivity shields recently, we’ve upgraded our generated code and Arduino library to support the latest Arduino hardware.

Temboo’s code generation engine now officially supports the following boards:

• Arduino Yún
• Arduino Uno
• Arduino Mega
• Arduino Zero
• Arduino 101

As well as the following Internet connectivity shields:

• Arduino Yún Shield
• Arduino WiFi 101 Shield

Temboo will generate code for these Arduino boards that is production-ready and optimized for embedded devices. You can even select the sensors, actuators, and GPIO pins you are working with in our interface so that the generated code automatically converts sensor readings into real world units and handles conditional logic to, for example, send an SMS alert whenever high temperatures are detected.

Temboo also ensures that your sensor data and other information is protected in transit by establishing a secure connection from your board to the Temboo platform via HTTPS. As always, any information that you store on the Temboo platform is secured via military-grade encryption. Combining Temboo’s generated code with your Arduino board enables you to easily accomplish many common IoT tasks, from generating sensor data graphs viewable in any browser, to integrating with 100+ popular APIs, triggering sensor-based alerts via email and SMS, and remotely controlling actuators like LEDs, solenoids, fans, motors, and more.

Our customers in the food & beverage and manufacturing industries have been putting these features to good use on top of Arduino hardware, and they’re part of a growing trend. More and more types of engineers, from chemical and civil to mechanical and electrical, are incorporating Arduino and Temboo into their work and in the process acquiring new skills that can be applied to many engineering tasks, from retrofitting existing machinery for connectivity to remotely monitoring any type of physical asset.

We’re really excited about supporting the latest Arduino hardware, and will be regularly enhancing our Arduino library and generated code, so stay tuned for updates!

Using an Arduino Uno along with a Raspberry Pi for control, hacker “HomoFaciens” came up with this clever delta-style robot.

If you were going to make a robot with five servos, many Makers would make a robot arm with them and call it a day. HomoFaciens, however, who is known for making amazing machines with minimal tools and improvised materials, instead made something that seems to be a cross between a delta robot and a Skycam.

His device, called “WinchBot,” uses three winches attached to an equilateral triangle frame to move a slider on a central pivoting square rod. This allows the robot’s 5-axis “hand” to be positioned within the robot’s work area. The servos are then tasked with keeping everything in the correct orientation, as well as opening and closing the gripper as needed.

If you’d like more details than given in the very entertaining video seen here, be sure to check out the project’s write-up.

We are happy to announce another new member in the Arduino AtHeart Program! GOBLIN 2 from Mexican startup VERSE Technology is an Arduino-friendly development board with powerful wireless capabilities and broad compatibility with industrial protocols like RS-485.

Designed for both IoT professionals and Makers alike, GOBLIN 2 features an ATmega328P MCU and SIM5320A module at its core, providing dual-band HSDPA and quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE connectivity, along with high accuracy 16-channel GPS. The SIM5320A enables GOBLIN 2 to connect with web servers through any cellular network, and includes a header for keyboards, microphones, and speakers. 

GOBLIN 2 is equipped with six analog and 10 digital ports (half of them work as PWM), and offers 24V, 5V and 3.3V voltage outputs. The board is powered by a LiPo battery, which can be charged through micro-USB or solar cell thanks to its built-in battery management system. 

According to VERSE Technology CEO Aaron Benitex:

“We are developing technology to monitor and control the billions of present and future Internet of Things-ready devices. GOBLIN 2 is a board that allows our users to measure parameters like temperature, humidity, position, and others in remote locations. We have designed it in a way that it can easily work with industrial sensors and other applications such as telemetry, weather, GPS systems, and more.”

GOBLIN 2 can be programmed using the Arduino IDE as well as Atmel Studio. Simply upload your code to the board via micro USB, and begin exploring the IoT. Want to learn more? Check out VERSE Technology website.