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 For the serious PC enthusiasts and overclocking crowd who are concerned about the internal temperature of the rig due to extra GPU cards, serious power supplies and so on - this project is for you. Simple, yet quite useful - measuring the internal temperature of the PC with an inexpensive temperature sensor and displaying the results with some coloured LEDs.

Powering the project shouldn't be a problem, as most motherboards should have a spare USB line, or you could split a drive power supply cable and take 5V from that. One could also run a USB cable from the Arduino board back to a spare slot at the rear of the case to allow  upgrading the Arduino sketch without pulling the case apart. To get started with your own version - consider using a Freetronics LeoStick. Apart from being one of the smallest Arduino-compatibles on the market, it has onboard USB, RGB LED and a piezo for sounds (useful for a high temperature alarm!)

For temperature measurement, we have a highly-accurate temperature sensor module, and a bright yet customisable RGB LED module for the display:

For more infomation and instructions, visit the project page. 

 Although the ~duino project naming is starting to get a little out of hand, Nicoo created the Aquameterduino in order to track his domestic water usage. The purpose of measuring water usage with this project was to determine the usual amounts, so that irregularities in water use could be detected. The key to measurement was having a second water meter fitted with a reed switch that closed once per litre of water flowed through it. 

Then it is a simple task of counting the pulses from this meter and working with the data via an Arduino board. Nicoo has added Ethernet access and a real-time clock module, and the data is sent to an online service such as cosm or can be polled over the network. The Aquameterduino is a prime example of what can be done with an Ethernet-enabled Arduino board, and to get started with your own version consider our Freetronics EtherTen - the Arduino-Uno compatible with onboard Ethernet, microSD socket and optional Power-over-Ethernet support, which would make powering a remote project a breeze:

The rest of the circuitry would then fit nicely on a Protoshield, including our real-time clock module:

To examine the project details, including circuits and code, see here. 

 Michael Robinson works in an office with music playing in the open, and sometimes people didn't agree with the currently-playing music track. To enable some democracy and office mayhem with regards to the choice of music, he created the "Change the tuner" poster. Simply this is a poster which has a piezo knock sensor behind it - and once an object hits the poster, the sensor sends a signal to an Arduino board which changes the track of the music player via USB. For example:

Although not fully documented, the project can be easily replicated. A piezo can be measured with an Arduino analogue input, and then send commands as a keyboard via USB as described in this article. Apart from using one of our range of Arduino-compatible boards, you can bring this project to life with our SOUND: sound and buzzer module which is perfect for knock detection:

For more information and inspiration, visit Michael's site here. 

 And now for something completely different - "Noisy Jelly". Using various moulds, the user mixes up a jelly liquid which sets into various shapes, and then the jelly object is places on a board containing capacitive sensors. This turns the jelly object into a type of sensor - as the electrical conductivity of the jelly changes in relation to the thickness, and once the signal is read by an Arduino - it is converted to sounds using software on an attached PC. See it in action here:

This project is a fascinating synergy of art, imagination, chemistry, electronics and Arduino. For more information, visit the project site here and here. To get started with your own musical project, consider the Freetronics Eleven - the Arduino Uno-compatible with onboard prototyping space:

Some of us still hold dearly to the games of the past, and one of them is Zork - one of the first interactive fiction games that dates back to 1977. Talofer99 on the Arduino forum also has the bug, and is in the process of recreating not only the game using an Arduino Mega - but has added support for a keyboard and display via the tvout library. Here is his work in progress:

Although this project may push the limits of the Arduino system, it is a testament to ingenuity and imagination. To get started with your own Zork or other creation - you will need more memory than what a standard Arduino board can offer. Therefore consider using the Freetronics EtherMega - the Mega2560-compatible with onboard Ethernet, microSD socket and optional PoE:

To follow the project, visit the Arduino forum page. 

 Next in our series on inexpensive robot projects is this Hexapod from Mad Science. Using only a few paddle pop sticks, fishing line, pipe cleaners, a servo, Arduino board and wiring they have created a Hexapod robot that really walks. Although it sounds like a third-grade project, it really does work and shows you don't have to spend a lot of money to have fun in the process. Here it is in action:

Once again it just goes to show what you can do with an Arduino board and some imagination. To keep the cost and size down, consider using one of our Freetronics LeoStick boards for your hexapod. As well as being one of the smallest Arduino-compatibles on the market, it has onboard USB, a piezo for making Hexapod sounds and an RGB LED for further effects:

So to get started with your own Hexapod, read the instructions, Arduino code and demonstrations on this site. 

 Joe has documented the process of monitoring an Arduino digital input pin over the Internet as part of a garage door system. Although he  hasn't moved forward with the entire project, his article is excellent as it descibes the complete software and hardware process for sending information from an Arduino board over the Internet. 

In his example the status of a digital input pin is returned. You can then build upon Joe's code and make your own monitoring solutions. An ideal base for these projects is to use our Freetronics EtherTen or EtherMega boards - the only Arduino Uno/Mega compatibles with onboard Ethernet, microSD card socket and optional PoE support:

For more information and to get started with your own Internet-connected project, visit Joe's site here. 

 Recent Arduino boards including the Uno and our Freetronics Eleven board use the small ATmega8U2 microcontroller to take care of the USB interface. However this can also be programmed to help the board behave as a USB keyboard, and the people at Mitchtech have explained the process for doing this in a well-documented manner. Several examples are shown, including making a keyboard-based volume control, for example:

Certainly useful - you could make a macro-style function to enter many presses, perhaps a sequence to enter a password, or hide it at the back of the machine and enter random keystrokes as a practical joke. All this and more is possible with our Freetronics Eleven - the Arduino-compatible with onboard prototyping area:

To find out more and learn how it's done, visit Mitch's website here. 

As technology becomes cheaper over time, so do interesting robotic-style toys and devices from electronics stores. Often you can see a robotic arm, bug, car, tank and so on for less than forty dollars. David found one for himself, and modified it with a larger battery, small Arduino-compatible board and an ultrasonic sensor for obstacle avoidance. Here it is in action:

The key to these modifications is to find something that has simple, direct controls to the motors or a recognisable motor control IC. Then using some simple circuitry you can interface with the Arduino digital outputs and create your own little monsters. An ideal board for these modifications is our Freetronics LeoStick - one of the smallest Arduino-compatibles on the market, with onboard USB, piezo and RGB LED:

For his explanation, code and examples - visit David's page here.

 Adi Soffer has used an Arduino as the driver for a interesting piece of photography hardware - the follow focus. This is necessary when filming a subject that is moving towards or away from the camera, and needs to be kept in focus at all times. In theory, the design is very simple - a servo turns the focus ring on the lens, for example:

What is most impressive is that Adi's design allows for several modes - including recording a pattern of focus control for later playback. And the results are quite effective, as shown in the following video:

Truly an amazing project, and a great application of using an Arduino. For more information including the design story, Arduino code and hardware description - visit Adi's project archive here. When building your own FF controller, it would be convenient to keep the physical size as small as possible. With this in mind, consider using our Freetronics LeoStick - one of the smallest Arduino-compatible boards on the market with onboard USB, RGB LED and piezo: