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 Once more Emmanuel Turner has ported another game to work with an Arduino and our LCD Keypad Shield. In this instalment he brings us the classic game "Acey Ducey". It's a game from way back but still a lot of fun, and Emmanuel has used some clever coding and by slightly modifying the sketch's "artificial intelligence" the player's chance of winning has been increased. The game works well and with some imagination is a great interlude, for example:

For more information including the sketch and other interesting Arduino projects, visit Emmanuel's site. And for more, we're on twitter and Google+, so follow us for news and product updates as well.

Instead of building your own LCD module onto a breadboard, save time and move forward with the Freetronics LCD & Keypad shield which contains a bright 16x2 character LCD and five buttons that can be read from only one analog input pin:

 Next in kenyer's series on modifying LEGO bricks to work with Arduino is his double-LED brick. As always he has described in great detail how to modify bricks in order to add LEDs, making them flush and with their own customised electrical contacts. His methods do involve the use of a CNC machine, however this could be done by hand if you weren't in a hurry.  Here's a quick demonstration of the twin-LED brick:

Once again very well done, and we're looking forward to see what he comes up with next. In the meanwhile, follow his series here. And for more, we're on twitter and Google+, so follow us for news and product updates as well. 

If you're looking to make more creative designs with LEDs, consider the Freetronics RGBLED: full colour module. It includes a bright RGB LED on the top of the board and a WS2801 constant-current, addressable, multi-channel LED driver on the back. This smart module can be daisy-chained, so you can connect a number of these together in a string and drive each of the module colours individually from your microcontroller. For more information and to order, visit the product page.

 For an interesting and somewhat futuristic form of user input, consider the following 3D controller. Using three aluminium-covered squares   as capacitive sensors (one for each axis), Kyle McDonald has a very neat system that can roughly determine the position of your hand within the open cube. To take advantage of this, he has included a processing sketch to demonstrate monitoring the controller by a PC, for example:

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

 In what can only be described as a brutally simple yet complex exercise, 'ray74' has documented his method of sending SMS text messages from a mobile phone controlled by an Arduino. Instead of using the typical GSM shield, they've simple taken apart an inexpensive mobile phone and hard-wired the buttons back to a lot of reed relays, which are controlled by the Arduino's digital I/O via 74HC374s. Then the Arduino can control the phone just like a person, as you program the sequence of button presses into the sketch. The creators have also removed the phone LCD and mounted it for more convenient viewing:

So next time you see a prepaid phone for $19 at the supermarket, this could be an interesting project to replicate. For more information click here. And for more, we're on twitter and Google+, so follow us for news and product updates as well. 

If this sort of project intrigues you and 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:

 Thomas Ness has documented some interesting thoughts and methods on interfacing the Processing language with the Skype API. In doing so, this allows notifications to be received from Skype and acted upon by other code. A fascinating by-product of this relationship is Processing and Arduino. Therefore with Thomas' theory one could create devices that take action once a message or call is received by Skype. From his page you can download the appropriate code and libraries, and an Arduino example is also included. 

To get started head over to Thomas' project page. And for more, we're on twitter and Google+, so follow us for news and product updates as well. 

 The LED, light-emitting diode, those things that blink when you upload a sketch to your Arduino. How much do you really know about them? It is fair to say a few of us just know enough to stick a 560R resistor in line with them to keep current under control, but there is so much more to know about the humble LED. For something that we place a lot of importance, and even emotional connection to (nothing like the blink of an LED to say your project works) - a lot of people just don't get it. To solve this dilemma and spread the word, the people at Dangerous Prototypes have written a great tutorial on how the LED works, from the composition, using them in circuits, selecting the correct resistor and more - excellent reading. 

So to improve your knowledge, start here. And for more, we're on twitter and Google+, so follow us for news and product updates as well. 

If you're looking to make more creative designs with LEDs, consider the Freetronics RGBLED: full colour module. It includes a bright RGB LED on the top of the board and a WS2801 constant-current, addressable, multi-channel LED driver on the back. This smart module can be daisy-chained, so you can connect a number of these together in a string and drive each of the module colours individually from your microcontroller. For more information and to order, visit the product page.

 Technologist Richard Parker made a device to monitor electricity consumption which published the data over the Internet via cosm (Pachube), and he now returns with a method of measuring the gas consumption as well. Using an Ethernet-enabled Arduino board, some external circuitry and a photo reflector his system can detect the rotation of the flow wheel in the gas meter, and then determine the volume that has been used. At which point the data can then be processed, broadcast and so on. The only catch is that gas meters can vary wildly, for example ours has the small plastic rotating needle:

For more information including the schematic and Arduino sketches, click here. And for more, we're on twitter and Google+, so follow us for news and product updates as well. 

When putting together your next Internet-enabled Arduino project - save time, space and money with the Freetronics EtherTen. Apart from being fully Arduino Uno-compatible, it has onboard Ethernet, microSD socket, full USB interface (so you don't need a costly FTDI cable just to upload a sketch!) and supports optional Power-over-Ethernet.

 For fun and something different - check out this robot project. With a 3D-printed body and an Arduino heart, Wex will detect your presence and move his head to watch you as you move past him (or her?). Motion detection is handled by two ultrasonic distance sensors, and its' head moves via a servo. Here it/he/she is in action:

With some imagination and the right sensors all sorts of things could be possible. Put it on wheels and it could possibly follow you around! Either way, to get started click here. And for more, we're on twitter and Google+, so follow us for news and product updates as well. 

Interested in making things like Wex - but not too sure where to start? Then the best way to learn is with out new Experimenter's Kit for Arduino:

The package includes a wide variety of parts, sensors and modules including: a servo motor, lights, buttons, switches, sound, sensors, breadboard, wires and more. Furthermore a Freetronics Eleven Arduino-compatible board is included to make this an extensive hobby experimenter, inventor and starter kit. However we don't leave you alone to figure it all out, included is a great project and instruction booklet, plus access to a supporting web page and software examples. In other words - this is everything you need to get started for a fun range of electronics and Arduino related projects! 

So to get started or for more information and to order, check out the product page.

 As one of his first Arduino-based projects, James Wynne organised the typical Arduino and Ethernet shield combination and created the webserver example. Further on from this he added a temperature and humidity sensor module and can now monitor the values returned from the sensor using the webserver. Although it's quite simple, projects like this form a great base for more complex or interesting examples and are a good learning experience. In the following example James explains it in more detail:

[Update - project link dead. However the same type of project can be found here]. And for more, we're on twitter and Google+, so follow us for news and product updates as well. 

If you're looking for a sensor to measure temperature and humidity - check out our HUMID: humidity and temperature sensor module. Designed around the DHT22 sensor, it only requires one digital pin and power - and is easy to use with out Quick Start guide. With a temperature range of -4°C to +125°C with +/-0.5°C accuracy, and humidity at 0-100% with 2-5% accuracy you're ready to measure. For more information and to order, click here. 

 Although there are a plethora of Arduino-web control services, sometimes the simplest options are often the best. With this in mind, if you have a static IP address or are within an Intranet the following simple project by Instructables user 'jamesrww' will be of interest. He has described quite plainly how to control an LED (and therefore a digital I/O pin) from a simple piece of HTML - and also to read the pin status. This would make a simple remote control for intra-office tomfoolery or more serious uses such as door lock control. 

Either way, to get started click here. And for more, we're on twitter and Google+, so follow us for news and product updates as well. 

When putting together your next Internet-enabled Arduino project - save time, space and money with the Freetronics EtherTen. Apart from being fully Arduino Uno-compatible, it has onboard Ethernet, microSD socket, full USB interface (so you don't need a costly FTDI cable just to upload a sketch!) and supports optional Power-over-Ethernet.