Jon Lazar - Arduino and LEGO Projects

Arduino and LEGO Projects

Jon Lazar

Arduino and LEGO Projects

Copyright 2013 by Jon Lazar

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ISBN-13 (pbk): 978-1-4302-4929-0

ISBN-13 (electronic): 978-1-4302-4930-6

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President and Publisher: Paul Manning

Lead Editor: Michelle Lowman

Developmental Editor: James Markham

Technical Reviewer: Brian Evans

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To all those who pick up two bricks and snap them together.

Contents at a Glance

Contents

About the Author

Jon Lazar is a freelance developer and LEGO builder with 15+ years of experience in the technology field. He started his career at AT&T and has since helped a number of startups in the NYC area in building their digital presences and their digital infrastructures. In his free time, he is an accomplished builder of LEGO sculptures. He regularly writes about LEGO, social media, technology, and other related topics on .

About the Technical Reviewer

Brian Evans is an artist working in electronic media and Assistant Professor of Art at Metropolitan State University of Denver, where he teaches multidisciplinary courses in art on topics that include electronics and digital fabrication. He is the author of Beginning Arduino Programming (Apress, 2011) and Practical 3D Printers (Apress, 2012). He received an MFA from California State University, Long Beach in 2008, and a BFA from Arizona State University in 2005.

Acknowledgments

Jon would like to thank Mike and Lee for helping him come out of his LEGO dark ages and become the AFOL LEGO builder he is today. Thanks to Marwan for his assistance with the Arduino controller for the LEGO Power Functions train. And thanks to Brian for looking at the code for the projects and cleaning up and improving it.

A special thank you to the British Broadcasting Company for the permission to include the TARDIS in this book and for 50 years of Doctor Who.

Introduction

For 80 years, The LEGO Group has produced building toys for children to enjoy. As technology has advanced, they have introduced some interactive components that were limited in different ways.

The Arduino is an open source microcontroller that allows interaction with all different forms of electronic devices and sensors. It allows for many creative projects that can be controlled by a device that is a small, low-powered computer.