Practical Arduino: Cool Projects for Open Source Hardware (Technology in Action) |  | Authors: Jonathan Oxer, Hugh Blemings
Publisher: Apress
Category: Book
List Price: $39.99
Buy New: $25.00
as of 3/11/2010 17:12 WIT details
You Save: $14.99 (37%)
New (16) Used (4) from $25.00
Seller: pbshop
Rating:  5 reviews
Media: Paperback
Edition: 1st Edition.
Pages: 450
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.4
Dimensions (in): 9.2 x 7.4 x 1.1
ISBN: 1430224770
Dewey Decimal Number: 621
EAN: 9781430224778
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
| |
| Features:
| • | ISBN13: 9781430224778 | | • | Condition: NEW | | • | Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark. |
|
| Similar Items:
| |
| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
Create your own Arduino-based designs, gain in-depth knowledge of the architecture of Arduino, and learn the user-friendly Arduino language all in the context of practical projects that you can build yourself at home. Get hands-on experience using a variety of projects and recipes for everything from home automation to test equipment. Arduino has taken off as an incredibly popular building block among ubicomp (ubiquitous computing) enthusiasts, robotics hobbyists, and DIY home automation developers. Authors Jonathan Oxer and Hugh Blemings provide detailed instructions for building a wide range of both practical and fun Arduino-related projects, covering areas such as hobbies, automotive, communications, home automation, and instrumentation. - Take Arduino beyond "blink" to a wide variety of projects from simple to challenging
- Hands-on recipes for everything from home automation to interfacing with your car engine management system
- Explanations of techniques and references to handy resources for ubiquitous computing projects
Supplementary material includes a circuit schematic reference, introductions to a range of electronic engineering principles and general hints & tips. These combine with the projects themselves to make Practical Arduino: Cool Projects for Open Source Hardware an invaluable reference for Arduino users of all levels. You'll learn a wide variety of techniques that can be applied to your own projects.
What you'll learn - Communication with serial devices including RFID readers, temperature sensors, and GPS modules
- Connecting Arduino to Ethernet and WiFi networks
- Adding synthesized speech to Arduino
- Linking Arduino to web services
- Decoding data streams from commercial wireless devices
- How to make DIY prototyping shields for only a couple of dollars
Who is this book for? This book is for hobbyists and developers interested in physical computing using a low-cost, easy-to-learn platform.
|
| Customer Reviews:
 Recommended Companion Book to Expand your Arduino Design and Programming skills January 16, 2010
Neil G. Matthews (Adelaide, South Australia)
10 out of 10 found this review helpful
The authors have well and truly delivered what they've outlined as their goal in the Introduction section, namely "We want you to take these projects as inspiration and examples of how to apply a variety of handy techniques and then adapt them to suit your own requirements, coming up with new ideas that put ours to shame". Frankly I'm impressed with what Jonathan and Hugh have achieved. They've packed in an incredible amount of information in over 400 pages using 14 broad coverage real-world projects demonstrating how to put the Arduino to practical use. Importantly, they've included some succinct and relevant background information on basic electronic theory and implementation that will save readers days of frustration in getting their circuits working. Nothing kills off the excitement of working on projects than not being able to find why something won't work as intended. With Arduino projects, there is the added difficulty that 'bugs' could be in the software and/or hardware. Excellent title - Practical. Says it all.
I like the Contents at a Glance page in addition to the detailed Contents. Use the former to get you quickly to a project of interest or the detailed Contents to quickly search out techniques relevant to your latest brainstorm.
The included source code easy to read and well explained. Great to see it is also available on line - an essential requirement for this type of book.
Circuit diagrams (schematics) clear are easy to read. I support the authors' approach in encouraging readers to develop skills in reading these.
A useful index - I find it very annoying when books that are likely to be used as a reference omit one.
Do yourself a favour and read the Resources chapter first. Rather than a list of Internet references, this 27 page chapter contains practical tips on interfacing the Arduino with the outside world. An excellent walk-through on how to create an Arduino Library is also included to encourage you to share your solutions in accordance with the Open Source philosophy of the book and the Arduino platform.
The only disappointment was the quality of reproduction of many of the photographs; I assume the muddy contrast is the result of a compromise in the printing process. That said, the book price really is very good value for the range of material covered.
I have over a decade of experience in electronics design and manufacture with an international electronics company (Philips) and many years of experience in Engineering and IT Project Management. While I've enjoyed working with PCs as a hobby for nearly 30 years, I've only dabbled in programming. The Arduino has enabled me to rediscover the fun of electronics and develop my programming skills - I've been having fun with Arduinos for just one year. This book will give me inspiration for years to come.
Neil Matthews
B. Tech. Electronic Engineering, MBA
Arduino Development From ABC's To Hardware & Software Professional January 5, 2010
Ira Laefsky (Philadelphia, PA)
8 out of 9 found this review helpful
This is the best book for Arduino Accomplishment!!! Other pamphlets and freely available websites and literature, describe the Arduino in terms of hobbyist and artist physical computing experimentation--This 422 page mammoth illustrated book takes the user from simple Hello World experiments in hardware and software to accomplishment in engineering Professional-level Commercial and Real-time Research Systems. While this book about the inexpensive yet powerful Arduino Open-Source Physical Computing platform can be read and understood by anyone, regardless of their previous experience with software and hardware development, it is unlike any previous attempt to describe the Arduino System in that it carefully illustrates the Design, Development and Construction of Professional-Level Products for Industry, Automotive Applications and Real-Time Systems. Even the skills needed for Professional-level Packaging of the Arduino-based Product are carefully described--so that the powerful Physical Computing projects you build will look and feel as Professional as Commercial Products. The only slight criticism I would have of this excellent, necessary and one-of-a-kind volume is that some of the black and white illustrations would benefit from higher contrast printing.
Careful yet easily understood text describes the theory, development and fabrication of each project, electronic schematics are given along with photographic illustrations of the components and procedures one must follow to construct these projects and develop your own skills to develop sophisticated, functional and attractive systems. This is a valuable and very necessary book for anyone who deals with the Arduino, whether as a hobbyist, electronics consultant or academic and it is the first of its kind carrying the hobbyist to a professional level. I give it a well-deserved five-star review.
--Ira Laefsky
MSE/MBA Engineering and New Product Consultant
 Not a Beginners Reference -- More for Advanced Projects January 19, 2010
Brent Thorley (Phoenix, Arizona, United States)
9 out of 9 found this review helpful
I am a beginner to the Arduino, and received this book just a few days ago with my shipment of a Arduino Duemilanove starter kit. In short, this book is not for beginners.
My background is that of a mechanical engineer, so I'm more technically inclined than most. I have not programmed, or coded, anything in the last 10 or so years, and I have not programmed in C.
This book should really be entitled ADVANCED Arduino. It is lacking some basic overview chapters or appendices to get a beginner up and running. Another very useful reference would be a Programming Language appendix that really covers the programming structures available and suggestions on how to get the most out of the language. For that, I found a useful PDF reference by Brian Evans on the web.
I was hoping this book would have covered some interfacing with motors. An overview on interfacing with different types of motors, including DC Brush, Brushless, hobby servos, and servo motors with encoders or larger motor types would be very helpful. One of my first projects that I am tackling is using an Accelerometer, but I need the resolution via a digital interface. A project including an SPI data interface would have also been appreciated.
I'm sure I will be referencing this book in the future. Some of the projects are quite amazing. I've never thought about interfacing the Arduino to an automobile for real time telemetry!
A useful reference guide February 14, 2010
Jeff Glans (Trumbull, CT USA)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I've been playing around with the Arduino for about a year now and bought this book to look for some new projects. I found the book to be quite readable with excellent discussions of all aspects of the various projects and well commented sketches. I found the extensive discussion of each sketch really helpful, probably as programming isn't my strong point. Although I probably won't build any of the projects as shown in the book I did learn a lot of great tips and ideas for current and future projects. I would definitely recommend this book to novice users but probably not complete neophytes. I also found the associated website quite useful.
Good book. January 18, 2010
K. Bourgault (Anytown, USA)
1 out of 22 found this review helpful
Dear Authors,
I think this book does a good job of explaining Arduino. I would have liked to have more web resources or an easier way of downloading code for the projects.
I also hope that you can use the money that I spent for this version to correct your schematic errors in future editions or at least provide corrections on the web site. I just think it would be a fair deal to actually have all the information presented needed to build these projects, not just the 90% that you think is relevant.
I also hope that your friends are more pleased with this review. I also hope that the person that took the interpretive leap of accusing me of writing a "sexist" review does some warm-ups before jumping to their next conclusion. It was nice to see this forum as a vehicle for their inferiority complex.
|
|
|
|
