While at the Kiwicon conference last November I was introduced to the Arduino digital-electronics development environment. Arduino is an electronics prototyping platform that is easy to use and completely open source (including the hardware reference, IDE and programming language).
The pictures above are not to scale. The "pro mini" board on the right is approx 1/6th the size of the 'Duemilanove' board on the left. The Duemilanove is approx 7cm wide and 5cm tall. The Arduino programming language is very easy to learn and there are fantastic 'hardware abstraction libraries' available that can be used to easily interface the boards with various electronic devices (eg, LCDs, keypads, RFID readers, thermometers etc). The Duemilanove is generally used for 'on the bench' prototyping and costs around $55 NZ dollars. There are also a range of pre-built 'sheild' boards that can be clipped on to extend the Arduino (for example, the 'ethernet shield' which allows your circuit to connect to the internet).
I have taught myself (with the help of the internet and some of the local amateurs) a huge amount about digital electronics over the last two months and so far I have used Arduino in projects including a fan-controller for my Xserve, a 4-way controller for the lights in my lounge (which I intend to hook up with an ethernet shield to allow me to control the lights from my iPhone), a replacement flasher for the indicators in my car, a time-adjustable controller for my soldering iron to stop it overheating and a keypad door-entry system for my house, as demonstrated in the short Quicktime movie clip below:
If you have problems playing the movie above, make sure you have the latest version of Quicktime installed
By programming the Arduino as the controller, I retain control over what can be done. For example, I have created code that will issue "one time PIN codes" that I can give to someone to let them into my workshop to collect or drop off equipment. Yes, the code used in the video is a one-time code and no longer works ;-)
My fascination with the Arduino is quickly becoming an obsession (unfortunately for my partner!) and I suspect I'll be building many more cool projects with it in the future. I am going to do a presentation on the Arduino at our amateur club meeting in March and I hope to spark some interest in other club members so I can help them with their projects too.
Are you interested in digital electronics too? Then you should come along! It would be great to see you there. For more information on the meeting time and place, see the calendar on the club blog site...