I have a lot of fun with Arduino, so over the years I have come up with projects to use it as an opportunity to learn better habits.
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This green box is my second iteration of a “useless” machine, where I upgraded a lot of basic features from my first one to learn about building better finite state machines and better design. Custom GameCube Controller Honestly, I just really like playing Super Smash Bros. After my controller thumbsticks started getting wonky, I decided to revamp it. I didnt design the PCB, but this project was mostly to just get into better soldering habits and learn more on the software side. The potentiometers that are typically in these controllers were swapped out with hall-effect sensors to take advantage of better ranges of motion and calibration.
Head Tracking Module for FPV Planes The V1 of this unit was completed and functions as desired, however it was controlled via potentiometers connected to the Arduino. V2 is currently in development, and this version will instead use a gyro to follow the orientation of my head to move the camera. Lemelson-MIT InvenTeam Bandsaw Safety System (”4-Warn”) This was a Highschool project I led, funded by Lemelson MIT. It used 4 points of safety to ensure proper usage of this typically dangerous machine to minimize the hazard. Point 1 was a setup process that prevented the machine from starting until you properly aligned the saw guard and cleared your hands from the table. Safety point 2 was a laser that projected the path of the saw and regions your hand should not be. In the case of a slip, your hand would not travel in front of the saw. Safety point 3 was a camera that watched the hands to make sure they were far enough from the saw. It would notify the user with lights and sounds as they got closer to the saw until we hit a “danger zone” which would turn off the machine. If the camera detected a high speed indicative of a slip, the last safety mechanism, a quick-release shield, would deploy to cover the saw before the hand got to it. Please excuse the mess of a wiring job it is. When travelling to MIT to present, the van carrying the device got in a car accident and we had to spend the next 10 hours overnight rebuilding it :O 
Arduino Projects
