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The flexibility of the Arduino platform means it can often be a drop-in replacement for circuits that would otherwise be surprisingly complex, while its power allows it to bring intelligence to scenarios that would normally be solved via brute-force. A great example of this can be found in the latest project of Electro-Labs' Abdulgafur Mujdeci: an add-on shield which turns an Arduino Uno into a programmable charger for lithium batteries. Frequently used in portable devices thanks to their high energy density, lithium batteries - both lithium-ion and lithium-polymer - require careful handling so as not to overcharge them, a task...

One of the biggest advantages to the Arduino platform is that it's entirely open, both in hardware and software design. This means that if you find the traditional Arduinos - the Uno, Mega and Leonardo - unsuitable for a given task, you're free to redesign them according to your whims without sacrificing compatibility with the Arduino IDE and its wealth of code samples and libraries. The latest to take advantage of this fact is Rayshobby.net, a US-based hobbyist electronics shop which has designed an Arduino variant specifically for working with radio modules based on the nRF24L01 and similar pin-outs -...

Here at oomlout we'd be lost without our handy-dandy laser cutter, but we appreciate that even with the growing trend for open-access cooperative manufacturing facilities and hackspaces not everyone has easy access to such equipment yet. Someone else who clearly understands that is Instructables staffer Jonathan Odom, who has posted a great guide to using many of the same concepts in digital manufacturing to cut and construct objects by hand. Using nothing but affordable hand-tools and plywood, Jonathan walks the reader through building a laptop stand which was designed digitally in much the same way as the owner of a...

Capacitive sensors, which measure the electrical capacitance of the human body, underpin the touch-sensitive displays of most modern smartphones and tablets. The way they operate can be a little hard to grasp, however, which is why we were thrilled to find a guide from Instructables user 'ohneschuh' to creating capacitive sensors for the Arduino. Built from nothing more than aluminium sheet, plywood and metal washers, the five-zone sensor provides reliable capacitance readings on both battery and mains power without the user ever having to physically contact the metal. As a low-cost alternative to a series of switches, the project shows...

As big supporters of education as well as self-directed learning, we were fascinated by a post from psychotherapist Dr. Kristi Pikiewicz over on SparkFun which provides anecdotal evidence that soldering may provide a benefit in children's therapy. As well as learning an undeniably useful life skill, Dr. Kristi suggests that the concentration required during the soldering process can help children with emotional and behavioural difficulties achieve a feeling of focused calm difficult to achieve any other way - and, once achieved, stand a better chance of being able to reach that state again in the future without the aid of...