Making Things Talk: Using Sensors, Networks, and Arduino to See, Hear, and Feel Your World

The workbenches of hobbyists, hackers, and makers have become overrun with microcontrollers, computers-on-a-chip that power homebrewed video games, robots, toys, and more. In Making Things Talk, Tom Igoe, one of the creators of Arduino, shows how to make these gadgets talk.

Whether you need to connect some sensors to the Internet or create a device that can interact wirelessly with other creations, this book shows you what you need. Although they are powerful, the projects in this book are inexpensive to build: the Arduino microcontroller board itself ranges from around $25 to $40. The networking hardware covered here includes Ethernet, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and can be had for $25 to $50.

Fully updated for the latest Arduino hardware and software, this book lets you combine microcontrollers, sensors, and networking hardware to make things... and make them talk to each other!

Tom Igoe teaches courses in physical computing and networking, exploring ways to allow digital technologies to sense and respond to a wider range of human physical expression. He has a background in theatre, and his work centers on physical interaction related to live performance and public space. He is a co-author of the book Physical Computing: Sensing and Controlling the Physical World with Computers, which has been adopted by numerous digital art and design programs around the world. Projects include a series of networked banquet table centerpieces and musical instruments; an email clock; and a series of interactive dioramas, created in collaboration with M.R. Petit. He has consulted for The American Museum of the Moving Image, EAR Studio, Diller + Scofidio Architects, Eos Orchestra, and others.