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Sometimes you may find yourself not being able to make a decision - or give the right answer to someone else. Thus a random answer could be suitable, and to choose on consider making the machine described by Instructables user "bissaorboea". They have build a device that holds square 80 x 80 mm cards - each printed with an answer of wit, comedy or wise. These cards can be rotated at speed using an Arduino-based motor control system and thus randomly selecting a card when it stops. The framework has been created with a 3D printer and results with an interesting project, for example:

You could also make a really large flip-clock with four of these. Nevertheless, visit the project page to get started. And for more, we're on twitter and Google+, so follow us for news and product updates as well.

If you found the project above interesting - but not sure how to start with Arduino, then the best way to learn is with our Experimenter's Kit for Arduino:

 The type of clock you can make with an Arduino as the brains is only limited by your imagination - and a fine example has been described by Instructables user "kaustubhv". Embedded in a circular piece of artwork, there's a normal four-digit digital clock and a ring of LEDs around the circumference of the clock. Then various effects can be generated to indicate the time, seconds and so on. All the LEDs are driven via Charlieplexing to save circuitry - and all the design details are supplied so you can recreate your own. To get you started, here's the clock in action:

Fantastic! Visit the project page for more information. And for more, we're on twitter and Google+, so follow us for news and product updates as well.

 When considering making an Arduino-controlled vehicle of some sort, a lot of money can be saved by modifying a commercially-available unit. And why not? You get a lot of hardware for the money, and an excuse for a trip to the toy store. Instructables user "absolute zero" has done just that by converting a cheap R/C car with an Arduino and various electronics to make it somewhat autonomous. With the use of infra-red LEDs the car has detect obstacles and change direction - and with some imagination much more intelligence could be added. 

With some canny shopping you can recreate this without breaking the budget. You can avoid the use of a motor shield by tapping into the motor control circuit in the R/C car as well - so click here to get started. And for more, we're on twitter and Google+, so follow us for news and product updates as well.

If you're new to Arduino, the first step is a solid board for your projects - our Freetronics Eleven - the Arduino-Uno compatible with low-profile USB socket, onboard prototyping space and easy to view LEDs:

 Alex Glover has demonstrated an interesting form of electronic lock... instead of using a keypad or RFID, Alex's system uses an accelerometer. An Arduino is programmed to measure the values from the accelerometer - and when the device is tilted in a certain sequence this is detected by the Arduino and an action can be take, for example opening a solenoid to allow the box to be opened. A quick demonstration is in the following video:

That's a nifty project that can easily be recreated, so visit Alex's website for more information. And we're on twitter, so follow us for news and product updates as well.

 The team at "Three's a crowd" design house relaunched their website today, and as a demonstration of their hardware and software prowess  - connected four Freetronics Dot Matrix Display units together with an EtherTen and enabled messages to be displayed via a form on the website. Although it's a fun project there's also many more serious applications for such a design. Furthermore there's (currently) a live stream so you can see the results yourself - for example:

You can try it yourself by visiting their website. Kudos to "Three's a Crowd" for their fascinating project and sharing it with us. And for more, we're on twitter and Google+, so follow us for news and product updates as well.

 Instructables user "timbit1985" was tired of fumbling for the bedside light switch in the middle of the night, so he instead created a capacitive touch sensor that can be used to control LED lights or other devices. Although it sounds complex - doing so is relatively simple and inexpensive. The sensor surface can be almost any metal object, and in this example it's part of the enclosure. Finally to save money they've used a standalone microcontroller with the Arduino bootloader. A quick demonstration is contained in the following video:

To make your own touch-switch, visit the project page. And for more, we're on twitter and Google+, so follow us for news and product updates as well.

 For something complete different Mark Robert asked his friend to create a device that times how long someone is in his office, and then plays a "Mario Brothers" style tune. However to appeal to a certain market the entire device has been fitted inside an original Nintendo Entertainment System, with the cartridge door hiding the Arduino and an SD card shield for audio files - and a numeric LED display for the countdown timer. In the following video the whole thing is explained in a comedic fashion:

Just goes to show what you can come up with using an Arduino and some imagination. You can download the design information from here (it's a zip file). And for more, we're on twitter and Google+, so follow us for news and product updates as well.

 Seriously. If you're tired of your dolls just sitting around taking it easy or riding the lift instead of taking the stairs - it's time to give them some real fun by riding a miniature mechanical bull. The beast is driven by two servos to give tilt action over two axes and controlled by an Arduino with an analogue joystick, allowing the user to test the doll's stamina over the eight-second rush. It's simple to construct and a whole lot of fun, for example:

For complete details visit the project page. And for more, we're on twitter and Google+, so follow us for news and product updates as well.

If you're new to Arduino, the first step is a solid board for your projects - our Freetronics Eleven - the Arduino-Uno compatible with low-profile USB socket, onboard prototyping space and easy to view LEDs:

 If you somehow come across an old set of traffic lights, the following tutorial may be of interest. Instructables user "fzumrk" has described how they controlled the mains-rated light bulbs inside the traffic lights with an Arduino and some mains-rated relays. The methods described may not be up to local electrical standards, however it's an interesting read and if you have the lights - food for thought. The results have been demonstrated with a fitting soundtrack in the following video:

A safer method would be with 12V automotive lights, however that's up to the individual. Nevertheless click here for more information. And for more, we're on twitter and Google+, so follow us for news and product updates as well.

 If you're working with relays and Arduino - it's much easier to use dedicated relay control boards. Here at Freetronics we have the RELAY4: board, perfect for controlling up to four relays with Arduino (or any other microcontroller's) digital output pins:

Or if you'd like to control up to eight relays - or more at once with an Arduino Uno orcompatible board - consider our RELAY8: board. Controlled via I2C, you can stack up to eight shields with the appropriate power supply to support 64 relays at once: