For the better part of the last year, I have been building, wiring, coding and writing projects for my first book. After all the months put in to the creation of the book, I am proud to say that my first book, Arduino and LEGO Projects is now available from Apress Books!
I had met the editors at Apress Books at Maker Faire, where I built a relationship and did some tech reviewing of books for them. When the editor had said they were looking to do this book, I expressed interest in doing it, and we began discussing different projects for the book. We went over projects I had previously created, projectsI had created that could be enhanced, and projects that could be created.
Once the list of projects was decided, some of the projects needed to get approval. I began work on the non-licensed projects while reaching out to the IP holders of other projects. While some turned down the inclusion of the book (who I won’t name here), the most exciting email I received was from the BBC allowing me to include the TARDIS in the book. I was very proud of how that project turned out and was glad to have permission to include it in the book.
The projects in the final book are:
- Ultimate Machine – A machine that turns itself off
- The Android – Turning its head in response to Ultrasonic sensors
- Twitter Pet – A Karotz inspired LEGO sculpture that reacts to Twitter
- Crystal Ball – An RFID activated crystal ball that reacts when a wand is waved in front of it
- TARDIS – Lights and sounds animate the LEGO TARDIS
- Train Controller – Control LEGO trains with the Arduino
- Light Sensitive Box – A music box inspired box that will react when exposed to light
All the projects are told in depth, giving information on how to do all the technical building of the electronics, programming the Arduino, and building the LEGO. It starts from the beginning, teaching the basics and moving on to more advanced techniques, so that anyone can build them. It also includes a list of all parts necessary, so that all the necessary parts can be easily ordered to build them.
I’m excited to finally have my first book available. I can’t wait until the day I can walk into a bookstore and see my book on the shelves, but it can be ordered in print and ebook formats in the meantime. If you do pick up a copy, please let me know what you think. I’d look forward to hearing what others think and how they liked building the projects.
