Make: Technology on Your Time Volume 25

Book excerpt: The first magazine devoted entirely to do-it-yourself technology projectspresents its 25th quarterly edition for people who like to tweak, disassemble, recreate,and invent cool new uses for technology. MAKE Volume 25 is all about the Arduino Revolution! Give your gadgets a brain! Previously out of reach for the do-it-yourselfer, the tiny computers called microcontrollers are now so cheap and easy to use that anyone can make their stuff smart. With a microcontroller, your gadget can sense the environment, talk to the internet or other hardware, and make things happen in the real world by controlling motors, lights, or any electronic device. The Arduino is an easy-to-use microcontroller board -- it's like an R&D lab on your kitchen table for prototyping any gadget. We show you how to make one, and how to use Arduinos and other microcontrollers to make an automatic yogurt maker, a vintage Skype telephone, a gumball machine that recognizes your secret knock, and more. Plus, make a Helicopter Rocket, gourmet Sous Vide food cooker, Reverse Geocache treasure box, and many more fun DIY projects.