Like any self-respecting geek, as soon as I heard about the Arduino, I wanted one. Admittedly I was pretty late to the party, way past what could pass for fashionably late, as I only found out about it a year and a half ago. But anyway, no sooner had I heard about it than I was adding an Arduino Uno to my basket and checking out on Amazon.

I diligently worked my way through the first few projects in the book that came with the Uno, which provides a nice and gentle introduction to electronic circuits. Inevitably I started dreaming up grand designs for what I was going to do with my new toy. I had visions of some artificially intelligent robot that could rove amiably around my flat without smashing into anything, learning the layout as it went, and perhaps letting me know if it's going to rain later … Read more