[OPLIN 4cast] OPLIN 4cast #346: Arduino for Makers

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OPLIN 4Cast

OPLIN 4cast #346: Arduino for Makers
August 7th, 2013

arduino boardTomorrow it will be exactly a year since we wrote 
<http://www.oplin.org/4cast/?p=2940> about 3D printers, now one of the 
staples of Maker Spaces in libraries. But for the growing number of 
"hardware hackers" who like to invent and build their own devices, 
another tool is equally important - the Arduino <http://arduino.cc/> 
board. It looks like a small circuit board, and can receive input from 
sensors and then control things around it based on that input. So for 
example, an Arduino board could turn on the room lights when it gets 
dark. (OK, not very inventive, but you get the idea.) While the Arduino 
is very familiar to hardware hobbyists, it is still pretty rare in 
library Maker Spaces compared to 3D printers. But that may change.

  * Library staff, supporters celebrate Maker Space birthday
    <http://westport.patch.com/groups/around-town/p/library-staff-supporters-celebrate-maker-space-birthday>
    (Westport Patch/Caitlin Mazzola) "As supporters, volunteers, and
    staff cut the cake to celebrate the Maker Space birthday, they
    looked ahead to the future. First up is the introduction of Arduino
    boards - tiny micro controllers - to the Maker Space."
  * China's hardware accelerators turn engineers into entrepreneurs
    <http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/small-business/sb-growth/going-global/hardware-accelerators-in-china-turn-engineers-into-entrepreneurs/article13545928/>
    (Globe and Mail/Tim Bradshaw, the Financial Times) "Low-cost
    prototyping equipment, such as 3D printers and Arduino
    microcontrollers that allow you to manipulate a range of hardware,
    have made it easier to test ideas. Fostered by such innovations, the
    'maker movement' - a subculture of hobbyists applying the DIY
    approach to technologies - has been likened by many to the Homebrew
    Computer Club
    <http://www.computerhistory.org/revolution/personal-computers/17/312>,
    which spawned Apple in the 1970s."
  * Five trends driving the hardware boom
    <http://news.cnet.com/8301-10797_3-57596007-235/five-trends-driving-the-hardware-boom/>
    (CNET/Boris Wertz) "Numerous innovations are making it easier than
    ever to develop hardware. The benefits of 3D printing (quicker and
    cheaper prototyping) are well publicized, but there are other
    innovations too. For example, there's the Arduino Robot Kit
    <http://arduino.cc/en/Main/Robot> to experiment with projects that
    move; UDOO
    <http://www.hackthings.com/udoo-might-eat-raspberry-pi-for-lunch/>,
    which combines Android, Linux, and Arduino in a tiny single-board
    computer to interface with sensors and actuators; and Spark Core
    <http://www.sparkdevices.com/>, which is the easiest and most open
    way of creating cloud-connected hardware experiments."
  * Raspberry Pi and Arduino to get cellular access with SIM card add-on
    <http://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2013/08/raspberry-pi-and-arduino-to-get-cellular-access-with-sim-card-add-on/>
    (Ars Technica/Jon Brodkin) "Lots of projects involving the Raspberry
    Pi and Arduino rely on Wi-Fi, so there would be plenty of ways to
    put the cellular connectivity to use. SparqEE's project suggestions
    include an 'Arduino-enabled vehicle tracker to know exactly where
    your car is right from your smartphone,' and a 'small,
    solar-powered, RC helicopter that could fly across the US from the
    comfort of your desk.'"

*/Bear fact:/*

Perhaps the most novel Arduino hardware hack (to date, anyway) uses 
Arduinos to control those talking Teddy Ruxpin bears from the 1980s and 
turn them into BearDuinos 
<http://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2013/07/bearduino-hacking-teddy-ruxpin-with-arduino/>. 

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