Project Ideas

List your project ideas. This can be helpful for both the novice and the experienced.

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Navigation

• Easy
• Intermediate
• Advanced

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Easy

• Frequency Counter using 16x2 LCD
• Dancing Ghostbusters Toaster - Turn your toaster into a dancing toaster -- Slime not required.
• http://www.avdweb.nl/arduino/samd21/sam-15x15.html: The SAM 15x15 is an Arduino development board of just 15 x 15mm with the powerful controller SAMD21G18. It has even more I/O pins than the Arduino Zero: 34 instead of 20.
• http://www.instructables.com/id/Thirsty-Flamingo/: The Thirsty flamingo beeps whenever humidity levels in the soil drop. Full tutorial including electronic diagram, code and 3D modeling file.
• How to Build a Simple Arduino-Based Calculator: Includes full source and video of working prototype.
• Smart Night Lamp for Kids: Lights up when dark and changes color automatically. Step by step tutorial with full source code!
• Motion Following Camera Base: Upgrade your home security camera, webcam, or any other type with a motorized stand that will detect, track, and follow any motion in the room! Check out the Step by Step Tutorial!
• Lightning Detector for Arduino: A simple lightning detector for Arduino. Step by step tutorial with full source code!
• RedBot Buggy UI: Learn to build an Arduino program that does things when it receives serial commands. Send commands to drive a SparkFun RedBot buggy around from your computer.
• A simple PID fan controller with nice LCD display: The fan controller described on this project page, controls one or more PWM controlled 12V PC fans. It uses the input from two precise DHT22 based temperature sensors. The MCU is an Arduino Uno, which is powered using a 12V power source. On top of the Arduino Uno, there is the Adafruit data logger shield — and on top of that is an Adafruit LCD shield. The software is a simple, custom written PID controller.
• Electronic Piano Keyboard with Preset Songs: An electronic keyboard with 7 piano keys, programmed to Middle B/A/G/F/E/D/C, and an 8th button used to access a menu of preset songs using a 16x2 LCD screen. Check out the Step by Step Tutorial!
• PHIRO: Learn how to connect PHIRO Pro wirelessly to an Arduino with Pocket Code smartphone app! We have made a step by step Instructable just for you!
• Project Tutorials with Full Source Code: An ongoing webpage dedicated to Arduino projects, tutorials, courses and source code!
• ArduPhotographer: Why do not let Arduino to automatically trigger your SLR based on motion detection or just remotely via web interface?
• Smartphone controlled Dice Roller. Why not just press a button on your smartphone! Get an Annikken Andee, some servo, connect some wires and finally code in Arduino for a simple graphic user interface and have fun guessing the next number on the dice!
• Arduino Tutorials - These tutorials will bring you up to speed in the arduino syntax/API, and you will almost certainly get some project ideas. If you do, remember to add them here.
• Home Automation Server with Arduino + Ethernet shield
• Create a simple data logger, recording humidity and temperature over time. Check if your documents are safe in your root cellar.
• Learn how to create Dragonkeepers' Screensaver.
• Smart phone Garage Door Opener.
• Learn how to build a Talking Clock.
• Make an automatic night light which switches on when its dark
• LED Stoplights
• Display LCD
• Intrusion alarm.
•  Thermostat 10 rooms, http GUI.
• Line Follower Robot.
• Make a capacitive switch using capsense library which controls lights or some other devices.
• RBS lights and switches: My rolling ball sculpture has switches on the track and my Arduino triggers lighting events from them.
• Intelligent bug zapper: show how many bugs were zapped and average/cumulative zap time.
• Photovore: a robot that goes to the brightest source of light.
• Automatic exhaust fan in the toilet that turns on and off with a methane sensor and relay
• Plot Sensor Values from the Arduino analog to digital converter.
• Poo and Pee detector, with a Diaper Shield, for use on newborn newbies.
• Red Desk Lamp dimmer
• 12V DC, Red LED strip light, for Astronomy enthusiasts. Aim is so that light does not adversely affect you night vision (It is an astronomy thing)
• A binary clock
• Food Detector: By measuring resistance. Pixelate
• Nabto demo|Control a lamp with Arduino Ethernet and Nabto software.
• Build a stripped down Arduino
• Simple kaleidoscope, based on a strip of addressable RGB leds.
• Create color changing xmas decoration which always shows beautiful color combinations.
•  Tweet the temperature via the wifi shield.
• An electronic thermostat for a fridge/freezer combination FridgeController.
• An MPU-6050 IMU controlled Big Trak / Bee bot clone program it to fetch apples from the kitchen if you dare!
• A Telephone Ringer tailored for the hard-of-hearing
• ultrasonic range finder: distance measurement with 2.4 ftf and ultrasonic sensor, see example.
• https://github.com/redbird457/TFTPong.git: A simple 2-person pong game for Arduino Uno
• Morse Keyer: A simple Morse keyer for kids.

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Intermediate

• Python projects for Arduino DUE (and other 32 bit MCUs)
• LED Lightsaber - 4 part series detailing how to make a very cool lightsaber!
• Make your guitar an IoT device with temperature and humidity sensor. Combining guitars, Arduino, RaspberryPi, Azure and mobile apps:http://www.vandyke-it.nl/IoG
• Hack your air conditioner and control room temperature with an Arduino
• NexArdu: Illumination Smart Control (based on Nexa devices)
• Machine olfaction: Electronic nose with Taguchi gas sensors.
• General purpose GPIO and relay board for an Arduino Nano.
• Sonic eye for the blind to help them to navigate with no-cane (less use)-- At the minimum , they are informed of the setting of environment beyond the reach o the cane.
• Build a Talking Clock with an LED display, temperature sensor and light sensor. Contains a good video introduction to Arduino and a tutorial with a components list.
• Write a library
• Become a master brewer with your own malt kiln
• Blinkenlight Experiments Implement lots of different experiments with just 20 LEDs. Lots of ideas for just a bunch of LEDs. Difficulty ranges from novice to advanced. Figure out more applications for this setup.
• Stopwatch
• Balance multirotor motor using Arduino & accelerometer
• Custom Arduino Controller with character LCD display and wireless serial communication facility
• Steampunk chromatic clock-Digits based on colors. Time, Date and Temperature-Humidithy
• Email notifier
• Arduino Ipod like-SMARTGPU2
• Tic Tac Toe
• |Ligh organ (psychedelics lights) using FFT library with power stage TRIAC controlled
• Make a speedometer for your vehicle using a hall effect sensor and a magnet
• LED Matrix Control
• MIDI Controller
• Drawing Bot
• TETRIS Game-mini SMARTGPU
• Maze Solver Robot
• Anti-tailgater: use distance and speed sensors to light up a sign in the back window of a car.
• Auto-internals: read OBDII data from your car and display the state of the sensors, calculate MPG (see opengauge mpguino, OBDuinoInterface too)
• Ultimate computer case fan controller: you got 6 analog inputs and 6 PWM outputs. That's a lot of fan control!
• Fountain and/or lights that respond "happy to see you" via proximity and/or motion sensors.
• Ham radio Morse code keyer/propagation beacon.
• Ham Radio Transceiver
• Arduino VFO - a Direct Digital Synthesis Radio-Frequency generator on the Arduino platform
• Arduino VFO (2) - an old-school Colpitts Radio-Frequency Oscillator under Arduino control
• Arduino VFO (3) - a full-featured Radio Frequency Oscillator using the new Kanga-UK DDS Shield
• A small ball of individually addressable LEDs.
• Fail Safe lock using keypad, LCD, electric deadbolt with optional proximity sensor.
• Colour following robots: Two or more robots that follow lines of a certain colour, so one follows blue the other follows Red etc.
• kitchen timer:use in kitchen
• Home Wireless Internet Thermostat:Controllable from anywhere from an IPhone via 802.11 connectivity.
• Radon Gas Detector: Interface Safety Siren Radon detector to Arduino Ethernet and post data to Pachube
• Web server that can turn on and off outputs via a web form - see haavardgj's example here !(DEPRECIATED - Can't compile in 22 without editing)!
• Seismograph- Hang a pendulum. Put an LED on the bottom. Put a small "webcam" under that, looking up. (Choosing the right "camera" critical to success) Monitor and record which pixel in image is brightest. Hardest: Achieving high enough data capture rate. This was also raised in a forum post
• Arduino + vineyard = Vinduino. Soil moisture measurement, not only for vineyards ;-)
• Make a home security system with sensors for intrusion detection and a GSM shield for notification. The project can be expanded using RFID reader, thermal printer, 433 Mhz mdoules, internet connectivity etc.
• Make a self-recharging UPS sytem which recharges itself when plugged into a power source and runs on the recharged battery(s) when the power source fails. This could be very handy for your projects.
• Internet controlled car (Arduino + GSM Shield + Motor Shield)
• Convert Color to Sound: Use A.C.I.D. (Arduino + TCS3200 color-to-frequency converter) to hear all the colors of the rainbow, or hook into the SPI header to feed color detection results to other components.
• Christmas Tree Shield with Addressable LEDs WS2812/WS2812b and "Jingle Bells" melody
• Make a game controller controlled by your muscles
• Create a Segway like balancing robot for under £50
• Cat Protector|Create a device to protect certain areas (e.g. tables) from the cat. The device detects motion and speaks to the cat..
• wireless pan and tilt camera rig powered by Arduino nano and NRF24L01 wireless Transceivers.
• Intrusion Detection Alarm - Detects When Someone OTHER Than I Enter And Speaks Scary Warning with Music!!https://github.com/SueColley/MyIntrusionAlarmIdea.
• How to create an app for Arduino projects by building an Arduino powered turntable tonearm lifter.

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Advanced

• Arduino Retro Handheld Gaming Device: Includes all How-To steps
• Arduino Retro Computer TV- How to build a computer using 2 Arduinos, an SD card reader, a TV, and a PS2keyboard. This computer can execute BASIC programs. This is like a C64 or Sinclair.
• Arduino Home Automation System
• Arduino Retro Computer LCD- How to build a computer using an Arduino, an SD card reader, an LCD screen and a PS2keyboard. This computer can execute BASIC programs. This is like a TSR-80 and is portable.
• Modify open source projects done with other micro-controllers like PIC, AVR, Basic stamp, PICAXE etc. to work with Arduino
• Make an IVRS phone system using a DTMF decoder, WAV or MP3 shield and a phone or a GSM shield
• Arduino theremin using ultrasonic sensor or capacitive plates
• Monome
• Synthesizer
• Arduino Radio - a Software-Defined-Radio receiver on the Arduino Due
• Motion Tracking Turret
• Arduino SmartPhone Demo-SMARTGPU2
• Arduino Project Autopilot and Navigation waypoint*Autopilot and navigation waypoint
• Learning Maze Solver Robot
• Iphone controlled logging robot
• Energy efficiency/reporting: put current sensors on each circuit breaker in the AC panel and report usage/stats.
• Whole house climate control: Control HVAC and ceiling fans, watch for diffs between upstairs/downstairs, ceiling/floor and outside temps.
• whole house (mega) light and heat control or living room status with possibility to turn on the heat over the web(Uno/older)
• UPS/power control system: Add power control and usage reporting to a normal UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supply)
• µSpeech library with docs|Voice recognition library
• Use Arduino to collect and process position/weather/telemetry data and then output data strings serially into an amateur radio transmitter using APRS (Automatic Packet Reporting System).
• Ham radio repeater controller with DTMF control.
• Arduino communication: Create robots with IR blasters and receivers that can "talk" to each other and tell one's "voice" from another's
• sudo make me a sandwich: A robot that makes a simple sandwich when "sudo make me a sandwich" is received over serial
• Bluetooth Controlled Car over Android
• Bluetooth remote controlled Arduino with WLAN web cam so you can create an awesome remote controlled car
• Using an Android phones Gyro to Control an RC Car over Bluetooth
• Video Library: A library for making images / pixels appear on a TV screen.
• Graphical calculator that graphs serial inputs on a graphical LCD.
• Hands-free mobile display to message other drivers, i.e., "Back Off!".
• Wifi controlled RC-Car
• Loading A ATmeta324 With Arduino Bootloader And Make a Bare Bones Arduino
• Chromatic musical instrument tuner
• Cycling computer
• LED Clock
• Remote controlled desktop missile launcher

How about a wireless RC car in a friend's living room in say Germany, operated by a girl in New York (or San Francisco). Should be simple: girl uses keyboard to transmit instructions through German friend's computer. German Friend has a wireless transceiver that communicates to the RC car. How does she know what instructions to send? Easy way is Skype. Creative way are sensors, even cameras on RC car that communicates back to her in NYC!

• Wii Nunchuk Computer Mouse using Arduino and AutoIt
• Build a radio controlled copter
• Create and build an MP3 jukebox, that is easy to see, use and operate (technologically impaired elderly parents). Use an SD card array to load music permanently. Provide visual feedback, song titles and audio driven menus.
• Build an NTP synchronized sidereal clock
• Arduino-based automatic control system for a tiny Ni/H fusion reactor
• Brewmigo|An All Grain Home Brewery using an Arduino Uno
• Automate your Chicken Coop
• Automatic trash can moving using integration between UNO and Kinect for Windows
• Universal Remote for media center
• Uno Controlled 2D Plotter.
• Here's something I've wanted to do for a long time. It's funny, or more like totally zany. Imagine, if you will, a pair of sunglasses. Preferably big, round sunglasses. We make them with polarized lenses, being careful to align the polarization at the same angle in both (fixed) lenses. Then we have another set of polarized lenses in front of the two fixed lenses. Now imagine we have a motor, and a drive belt or gears, or a chain that will turn the two front lenses. We mount a photocell somewhere on the earpieces such that it looks forward though the lenses. When the light through the lenses changes, the photocell detects it, and the Arduino (preferably a very small one), drives the motor, letting in more light or less light. As the wearer turns his head, the lenses react quickly (and perhaps a little audibly), to the astonishment on onlookers. I visualize them as somewhat "steampunkish" in appearance.
• Solar panel array tracking monitoring system. Monitor the voltage, current, and temperature from each solar panel in each of several arrays. Each array is mounted on a post with linear actuators and light sensors to move the array towards the sun. The system will use low power Bluetooth and WiFi to interact and store data as well as activate virtual meters. One of the issues to be addressed is the control of several Arduinos. Can Arduinos be daisy-chained? Will software coordinate the several micro-systems. The design is intended to be modular and expandable.