Articles
Step-by-step guides and project logs where code meets DIY.
Live Video Streaming to a Browser with ESP32-CAM
Stream live MJPEG video straight from an ESP32-CAM to any browser on the local network, viewable from a phone or laptop with zero apps β with the core streaming handler code.
Laser Tripwire Security Alarm with Arduino
Build a movie-style laser tripwire with a laser module and an LDR light sensor β with automatic baseline calibration on boot and debouncing to kill false alarms.
Touch-Free Smart Trash Can with Arduino
Use an HC-SR04 ultrasonic sensor to detect an approaching hand and a servo to auto-open the lid β touch-free, with a state machine that keeps the servo from jittering.
Air Quality Monitor with ESP32 and a PMS5003 Sensor
Read PM2.5/PM10 fine dust levels with the PMS5003 laser sensor, parse its binary UART frame, and alert when air quality crosses a safe threshold β with full frame-parsing code.
Build a DIY GPS Tracker with an ESP32 and a NEO-6M Module
Read and parse NMEA data from a NEO-6M GPS module using an ESP32 and the TinyGPS++ library, log coordinates over time, and serve the last known position from a small self-hosted web page.
Build a Self-Balancing Two-Wheel Robot with Arduino and PID Control
Build an inverted-pendulum two-wheel robot using Arduino, an MPU6050, and a PID control loop to keep itself upright β P, I, D explained plainly, with working code and real tuning advice.
Build a DIY Smart Mirror with a Raspberry Pi
Combine a Raspberry Pi, an old monitor panel, and two-way acrylic mirror film into a smart mirror that shows the time and weather right on its surface β with kiosk-mode setup and a weather widget.
Build a Plant Growth Time-Lapse Camera with a Raspberry Pi
Use a Raspberry Pi and a Pi Camera to photograph a plant every 10 minutes for weeks, then stitch the frames into a time-lapse video with ffmpeg β with a working capture script and the exact ffmpeg command.
Build a DIY Macro Pad with an Arduino Pro Micro
Turn a handful of switches and a Pro Micro board into a real USB macro keyboard that fires custom shortcuts with one press β full code and debounce tips included.
Relative Noise Level Monitor with ESP32 and a Built-In Web Dashboard
Sample sound amplitude with a mic sensor, compute a relative noise level in real time, and watch a live chart served directly from the ESP32 itself.
Automated Pet Feeder with ESP32, a Servo, and an RTC Module
Feed on schedule using an RTC module that doesn't depend on WiFi, plus a browser button on your phone for an extra feeding anytime.
Build a Retro Game Console with Raspberry Pi, RetroPie, and a GPIO Controller
Wire real arcade-style buttons and a joystick directly to Raspberry Pi GPIO pins and read them with a Python daemon so RetroPie sees them as keyboard input.
Smart Mailbox Notifier: Get Alerted the Moment Mail Arrives with an ESP8266
A reed switch and ESP8266 deep sleep detect when mail arrives and push an instant notification, running for months on a single battery.
Gesture-Controlled Lamp with Arduino and the APDS-9960
Wave your hand up, down, left, or right to toggle and dim a lamp β no touching required, using an APDS-9960 gesture sensor and a PWM-driven MOSFET.
Motion-triggered wildlife camera with Raspberry Pi and a PIR sensor
Use a Raspberry Pi, Pi Camera, and PIR sensor to automatically snap photos or clips whenever a bird or animal visits your garden β with Python code using picamera2 and cooldown logic to avoid a flood of files.
Home energy monitoring with ESP32 and a non-invasive current sensor
Measure an appliance's power draw with a non-invasive SCT-013 current clamp and an ESP32, publishing readings over MQTT β with an important safety note about working near mains wiring.
Bluetooth-controlled RC car with Arduino and L298N
Build a phone-controlled RC car using an HC-05 Bluetooth module, Arduino, and an L298N H-bridge β with a simple command protocol and PWM speed control code.
RFID door lock with Arduino and RC522: unlock only for the right card
Build a card-based door lock with Arduino, an RC522 reader, and a servo β including how to read a card's UID, maintain an allow-list, and full working code.
Smart doorbell with ESP32-CAM: snap a photo and send it to Telegram
Use a PIR sensor and an ESP32-CAM to detect motion at the door, snap a photo automatically, and push it straight to Telegram β with sample code and the classic GPIO0 gotcha.
A Self-Hosted Dashboard for DIY Sensor Data with Grafana and InfluxDB
Pull data from every ESP32/Arduino board you've ever built into one dashboard, self-hosted at home with InfluxDB and Grafana, with no dependency on any cloud service.
A Real-Time LED Matrix Data Dashboard with ESP32 and WS2812
Turn a WS2812 LED matrix into a tiny display for weather, coin prices, or unread notification counts β updated continuously over an API, no LCD required.
Building an AI Camera That Catches 3D Print Failures with Raspberry Pi and OpenCV
Use a webcam, a Raspberry Pi and a bit of image processing to automatically detect 'spaghetti' or warping mid-print, then auto-pause the printer through OctoPrint.
Building an Offline Voice Assistant with ESP32 and Keyword Spotting
No audio sent to the cloud: use an ESP32-S3 and a tiny keyword-spotting model to trigger a device by voice, running entirely on-device.
Programming Firmware for a Custom Mechanical Keyboard with QMK
From a hand-soldered keyboard frame to an input device with its own logic: use QMK to program layers, macros and shortcuts for your DIY keyboard.
Build a Mini Weather Station with ESP32 and Home Assistant
A walkthrough for building a compact weather station using an ESP32 and a BME280 sensor, streaming live data into Home Assistant over MQTT.
Building an Obstacle-Avoiding Robot with Raspberry Pi and Python
Project log: using a Raspberry Pi, an ultrasonic sensor and Python to turn a basic robot chassis into a self-driving obstacle avoider.
A Smart Auto-Watering System with Arduino
Use a soil moisture sensor, an Arduino and a relay to water your plants exactly when they need it β sample code and tips for avoiding fried relays and dead sensors.