I recently had a discussion with my friend Brian Ghidinelli.  We were discussing several different projects that would be fun to work on not limited to anything related specifically to software, hardware or mechanical.  Doing a little research on some possibilities for a project ideal, I came across a prototyping device called an Arduino.  You can argue that it can be viewed as an ‘older version’ of a Raspberry Pi, which is based on Linux.

I became quite interested in the capabilities of this device that I jumped the gun and ordered one along with a “Programming Arduino..” Book for me to get started.  At the time of this writing, I was only able to get through a few chapters to get some LED lamps to blink on the board at different rates.  It’s just the “Hello World” of hardware.  Nothing too exciting to see here, but it has so far gave me good insight into programming C.  I’m certainly no software engineer, so only time will tell if my brain is wired this way.  (I’m self-proclaimed ‘mechanical engineer’, even though I don’t have an ME degree.)

Back to the topic at hand, even though I haven’t dove into the product too much, I already thought of potential possibilities of what could be created.  Some are nothing new, just a test of skills.  And…. here it goes….

Idea	Description
Electric derailleur	electric bike derailleur with push button shifting
Draft efficiency display	measures drafting efficiencies when cycling or in a race car using a Pitot tube
GPS based predictive lap timer	predicts your lap around a race track (car or bike?)
Fuel efficiency display	Displays efficiency of one’s driving to save fuel
Alarm clock	World clock with Alarm
Prime rib readiness notifier	temp probe would send a push notification to your phone when your prime rib is ready
MMS text of visitors	Who visited your home when you were gone? Receive a text with image.
Automatic shifter for bikes	Shifts your bike depending on torque placed on crank
Data Logger	Logs performance data

I’m ready to get started.  Arduino. Check.  Breadboard.  Check.  Random jumpers, buttons, LED’s.  Check.  Bandaids.  Check.