8 More Cool Components for Your Arduino Projects

So you’re thinking about getting an Arduino starter kit. but I wonder if basic LEDs and resistors will be enough to keep you busy for the weekend? Probably no.

Here are 8 more cool Arduino electronic components you might just want to add to your shopping cart, as well as some great ideas on what you can do with them.

Servo motor

The motors that you and I may be familiar with are the ones that just turn on and you can change their speed. They need time to start moving and slow down. On the other hand, a servo motor can accurately control the speed, direction, and amount of rotation. They are widely used in robotics, but the basic servo motor is not at all expensive. You should be able to pick one up for about $10-20.

Arduino components

Potentially Awesome Project:

rotating imitation turret with sounds wee-pee for protection from stray neighbor cats!

laser

accessories for arduino

Obviously any aspiring hardware hacker needs a laser or two in their collection. Prices will range from about $20 for a 0.8mW red laser module that you can only see the beam at night with a smoke machine… to about $200 for that 500mW blue laser that is highly visible and very guaranteed to burn. .

Potentially Awesome Project:

This is an optional upgrade for any base cat tower defense with breaker table .
Paired with a camera and a laptop, an automated balloon can be quite fun at parties.
Warning: lasers really are dangerous, no kidding, so make sure the party you’re hosting your balloon robot isn’t a good friend because you might never see them again. Also, if you can, let us know in advance that health insurance is required for all participants.

Robot Platform

accessories for arduino They are really popular right now and for about $100 you can also get a complete base of buildable robots with 4 independent drive wheels and extra tank tracks. Whatever you build — just think how much cooler it will be on wheels!

Potentially Awesome Project:

What part mobile you don’t understand the laser-revolving cat protection system ?!
Or how about creating your own little drumming robot that runs around looking for things to play drums and sampling them for later playback.

LED Matrix

accessories for arduino 2D Matrix of LEDs — They are a little more difficult to control than standard LEDs, but it’s a natural progression that gives you another dimension to play with. They cost about 30 dollars.

Potentially Awesome Project:

Create your own version of the British speed camera emoji sign for cats rushing through your garden too fast. Here’s a real life example I picked up on the road next to me, even though it’s designed primarily for cars and not cats.

Programmable super bright RGB LEDs

Arduino projects Pretty expensive for LEDs ($20 each), but you can program the full gamut of colors dynamically. To do this, you will need to learn a little more about the different data protocols on the Arduino, but that’s a good thing.

Potentially Awesome Project:

Basically a good mood. This guy used 6 of them to make a homemade version of the TV backlight, which is next on my list of materials to build.

Real life Nyan Cat? You can tie a few of them to a white Persian and let the rainbows begin. Note: must be white. The ability to project darker cats results in disappointing rainbows.

Arduino projects

WiFi module

8 More Cool Components for Your Arduino Projects $50 will get you the very best communication devices for your project, allowing your device to communicate over standard WiFi networks and over the Internet! Open your device to the world.

Potentially Awesome Project:

The above tower can be easily modified to automatically tweet number of shots by playful feline intruders to your @gardenprotector Twitter account.
Why not buy a domain kittykillers.com and allow random Internet users to remotely control the firing mechanism. Note: Network lag can result in a significant drop in shot-to-kill ratio.

IR range sensor

Arduino projects It’s actually an infrared LED and sensor in one standalone package that works by emitting an infrared beam of light and measuring how long it takes for it to return. Useful in any robotic projects for avoiding obstacles, and only about $20.

Potentially Awesome Project: