Embedded & Hardware

Voltage, Current, Resistance & Power

Core electrical quantities and their relationships.

beginner

Ohm’s Law & Kirchhoff’s Laws

V=IR, KCL and KVL — the laws every circuit analysis rests on.

beginner

Resistors, Capacitors & Inductors

The three passive building blocks and their behaviour in DC and AC.

beginner

Diodes, LEDs & Transistors

Semiconductor devices for switching, rectification and light output.

beginner

MOSFETs & Op-Amps

Switching transistors and operational amplifiers for amplification.

beginner

Voltage Regulators

Supply regulation and protection on the board.

beginner

Analog vs Digital Signals

Continuous vs discrete signals and how they are interfaced.

beginner

Basic Circuit Analysis

Series/parallel analysis and reading simple schematics.

beginner

Breadboard & Multimeter Techniques

Prototyping without solder and measuring what you built.

beginner

Binary & Hexadecimal Systems

Number bases that hardware actually speaks.

beginner

Logic Gates & Boolean Algebra

AND/OR/NOT/XOR and simplifying boolean expressions.

beginner

Combinational Circuits

Adders, subtractors, multiplexers built from gates.

intermediate

Flip-Flops & Latches

Storing one bit of state and clocked sequential logic.

intermediate

Registers & Counters

Multi-bit storage and sequential counters built from flip-flops.

intermediate

Multiplexers / Demultiplexers

Routing data across shared lines.

intermediate

ADC & DAC Architectures

Converting between analog and digital domains.

intermediate

Timers & Memory Basics

Timing elements and memory hierarchy on a microcontroller.

intermediate

C/C++ Fundamentals

The languages embedded toolchains are built around.

beginner

Pointers, Arrays & Structures

Memory addressing — the core of embedded C.

intermediate

GPIO, Analog & Digital I/O

Reading pins and driving outputs.

beginner

PWM & Hardware Timers

Pulse-width modulation for analogue-like control from digital pins.

intermediate

Hardware & Software Interrupts

Event-driven execution on the MCU.

intermediate

Serial Communication (UART)

Wiring two microcontrollers together.

intermediate

Ecosystem: Arduino → ESP8266/ESP32 → STM32

The board progression from hobby to industry.

intermediate

Temperature & Humidity Sensors

Reading the physical world.

intermediate

Ultrasonic / PIR Motion Sensors

Distance and motion detection.

intermediate

IMU / MPU6050 Accelerometers

Orientation and motion sensing.

intermediate

Relays & MOSFET Switches

Driving loads beyond the MCU pin limit.

intermediate

Motors & Motor Drivers (H-Bridge)

H-bridge control for DC motors.

intermediate

Servo Motors & Encoders

Positioned actuation and feedback.

intermediate

Displays (OLED, TFT, LCD)

Showing state back to the user.

intermediate

SD Cards & Storage

Logging and persistent storage.

intermediate

Batteries, Charging & Power Management

Powering the board and keeping it safe.

intermediate

UART (Universal Asynchronous Receiver/Transmitter)

The simplest serial link.

intermediate

I²C (Inter-Integrated Circuit)

Two-wire bus with addressing.

intermediate

SPI (Serial Peripheral Interface)

Fast full-duplex peripheral bus.

intermediate

CAN Bus (Automotive / Industrial)

Deterministic multi-node bus.

intermediate

PWM Signal Control

Pulse-width signalling for control.

intermediate

USB Protocol Basics

Universal serial link to a host.

intermediate

Wi-Fi & Bluetooth / BLE

Wireless connectivity on the SoC.

intermediate

MQTT Messaging

Publish/subscribe for connected devices.

intermediate

ESP32 Networking Frameworks

The stack that connects a microcontroller to the internet.

intermediate

Wi-Fi & BLE Connectivity

Joining networks and pairing peripherals.

intermediate

MQTT & HTTP / REST APIs

Talking to brokers and REST endpoints.

intermediate

Embedded Web Servers

Serving a UI straight from the device.

intermediate

Firebase / Cloud Platform Integration

Hosted backends for device fleets.

intermediate

Over-The-Air (OTA) Firmware Updates

Shipping fixes without physical access.

intermediate

IoT Device Security Fundamentals

Securing connected devices.

intermediate

Low-Power Optimization & Sleep Modes

Battery life as a design constraint.

intermediate

Circuit Schematics & Netlists

Drawing the design before the board.

intermediate

EDA Software: KiCad & Altium Designer

The toolchains used for board design.

intermediate

Component Selection & Datasheet Review

Picking parts that actually meet the spec.

intermediate

Footprint & Symbol Creation

Library entries for real components.

intermediate

Multi-layer PCB Stacks

Stackup and layer assignment.

advanced

High-Speed & Power Routing

Routing for signal integrity and current capacity.

advanced

Ground Planes & Return Paths

Why return current matters as much as the trace.

advanced

ERC / DRC Design Rule Verification

Catching errors before fabrication.

advanced

Gerber & Drill File Generation

Production outputs for the fab house.

intermediate

PCBA & DFM (Design for Manufacturing)

Designing boards that can actually be assembled.

advanced

Bare-Metal Embedded C

Running without an OS.

advanced

ARM Cortex-M Architecture

The architecture behind STM32 and most modern MCUs.

advanced

STM32 Hardware Peripherals

GPIO, timers, SPI, I2C, ADC on real silicon.

advanced

Direct Register Access & Manipulation

Driving peripherals from the reference manual.

advanced

Advanced Interrupts, Timers & DMA

Offloading transfers and precise timing.

advanced

Custom Peripheral Driver Development

Writing drivers for devices with no library.

advanced

Custom Bootloaders

Owning the boot chain.

advanced

Hardware Debugging (SWD / JTAG)

Debug probes, breakpoints and watchpoints.

advanced

Memory Management & Linker Scripts

Placing code and data in memory.

advanced

Low-Power Operational Modes

Sleep modes in production firmware.

advanced

FreeRTOS Kernel Fundamentals

Tasks, queues and the scheduler.

advanced

Task Creation, States & Prioritization

Task lifecycle and priorities.

advanced

Preemptive vs Cooperative Scheduling

When the CPU switches tasks.

advanced

Queues & Mailboxes

Passing data between tasks safely.

advanced

Binary, Counting Semaphores & Mutexes

Synchronising shared resources.

advanced

Inter-Task Communication & ISR Safe APIs

What you may call from an interrupt.

advanced

Real-Time Constraints & Deadlock Avoidance

Meeting deadlines and avoiding priority inversion.

advanced

Oscilloscope & Logic Analyzer Mastery

Seeing what the circuit actually does.

advanced

Deep Datasheet & Errata Analysis

Reading errata before they read you.

advanced

Signal & Power Integrity Debugging

Chasing the cause of unstable behaviour.

advanced

EMI / EMC Compliance Basics

Emissions and immunity requirements.

advanced

Thermal Management & Dissipation

Heat is a design constraint.

advanced

Hardware Qualification & Validation

Proving the design before launch.

advanced

Prototyping → Testing → Iteration → Production

The path from breadboard to product.

advanced

What Is Arduino?

Arduino is an open source programmable circuit board that can be integrated into a wide variety of makerspace projects both simple and complex.

beginner

Types of Arduino Boards

There are many variations of the official Arduino boards and then there are hundreds more from competitors who offer clones.

beginner

Arduino Uno

One of the most popular Arduino boards out there is the Arduino Uno.

beginner

Board Breakdown

Here are the components that make up an Arduino board and what each of their functions are.

beginner

Arduino Power Supply

The Arduino Uno needs a power source in order for it to operate and can be powered in a variety of ways.

beginner

Arduino Breadboard

A solderless breadboard allows you to prototype your Arduino project without having to permanently solder the circuit together.

beginner

How To Program Arduino

Once the circuit has been created on the breadboard, you’ll need to upload the program (known as a sketch) to the Arduino.

beginner

How Everything Works Together

See how a breadboard, Arduino, jumper wires and the sketch work together to perform a function.

beginner

Arduino Projects

Example projects which help to showcase how truly amazing this board is and the capabilities of it.

beginner

Tools Needed

Some of the most common tools you will need when working with Arduino projects.

beginner

Arduino Shields

Arduino shields plug into the top of the Arduino board and can add capabilities such as WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS and much more.

beginner

Arduino Sensors

If you want your Arduino to sense the world around it, you will need to add a sensor.

beginner

Electronics Retailers

Some of our favorite places we tend to go when we need makerspace materials or electronic components.

beginner

Tools and Parts Needed

In order to complete the projects in this tutorial, you’ll need to make sure you have the following items.

beginner

Download The Software

The Arduino IDE is the interface where you will write the sketches that tell the board what to do.

beginner

Arduino IDE

Once the software has been installed on your computer, go ahead and open it up.

beginner

Connect Your Arduino Uno

At this point you are ready to connect your Arduino to your computer.

beginner

Arduino Project 1: Blink an LED

In this example, we are going to make your Arduino board blink an LED.

beginner

Change The Code

Lets change some of the code in the “Blink” sketch to make it do something different.

beginner

Arduino Project 2: LED w/ Switch

In this project, we will be using a small pushbutton switch to control an LED.

beginner

Troubleshooting

If you are having any problems with the projects we did, make sure the following has been checked.

beginner

Resources

Where to go next after the beginner projects.

beginner

Introducing Raspberry Pi 4

Get to know the new, more powerful Raspberry Pi 4, its BCM2711B0 system-on-chip, dual 4K displays, USB 3.0 and specifications.

beginner

QuickStart Guide

Step-by-step instructions to set up your Raspberry Pi, from formatting a microSD card and installing NOOBS/Raspbian to first boot.

beginner

Raspberry Pi 4 Starter Guide

Learn all about the Raspbian operating system and applications, including desktop, Bluetooth, Sense HAT, camera and remote access.

beginner

Your next Desktop PC

Using Raspberry Pi 4 as a full desktop replacement, with office suite, email, web and WebDAV file access.

intermediate

4K digital media hub

Build the ultimate 4K home theatre PC with a Raspberry Pi 4, using Kodi and a Raspberry Pi TV HAT.

intermediate

Make with Code

Learn how to code and start controlling electronic components with Python 3 and GPIO Zero on a breadboard.

beginner

Electronics with GPIO Zero 1.5

Build a smart, camera-equipped doorbell programmed with Python.

intermediate

Teenage dinner klaxon

Create a dinnertime alert with a tower light you can control from your phone.

intermediate

GPIO music box

Make a customisable music machine that you control at the touch of a button.

intermediate

Laundry-saving rain detector

This easy-to-build, wire-free detector alerts you to sudden downpours.

intermediate

Smart door

Find out who's at the door and know when the post has arrived.

intermediate

NeoPixel display cabinet lights

Light up a cabinet with some NeoPixels, a Raspberry Pi, and Python code.

intermediate

Build a secret radio chat device

Add a cheap 433MHz radio to Raspberry Pi to send wireless messages.

intermediate

Powerful Raspberry Pi projects

Meet the makers taking Raspberry Pi projects to the next level.

advanced

Build a low-cost wheeled robot – part 1

Discover components for building a robot without breaking the bank.

intermediate

Build a low-cost wheeled robot – part 2

Assemble your robot, including motors, controller board, and battery box.

intermediate

Build a low-cost wheeled robot – part 3

Using Python and GPIO Zero, program your robot to get it moving.

advanced

Build a low-cost wheeled robot – part 4

Add sensors to your robot to stop it bumping into walls.

advanced

Make a Marauder’s Map

Track your family, pets, and friends on a map using Bluetooth beacons.

advanced

Use AI to build a plant monitor

Measure the growth of plants with a Raspberry Pi Camera Module and OpenCV.

advanced

Make comics from TV recordings

Convert a recording from the Raspberry Pi TV HAT into a comic book.

advanced

Car Spy Pi

Check which vehicle is parked in your driveway using ANPR.

advanced

As We Are

See your face lit up in LEDs on this 3D sculpture.

advanced

Yuri 3 Mars rover

Just like a real interplanetary rover, but in miniature.

advanced

SoFi

This soft robotic fish swims alongside real ones in the ocean.

advanced

Teslonda

Custom electric car with Raspberry Pi dashboard and engine feedback.

advanced

Pi Fighter

Gamifying boxing with a special punchbag that lets you fight AI foes.

intermediate

The Squirrel Cafe

This animal feeding station can even help to predict the weather.

intermediate

Tide Clock Weather Thing

Fascinating device that shows a detailed weather forecast and low tide times.

intermediate

A Whisper of Moths

An art installation filled with hand-crafted moths that move.

advanced

Underwater Drone

Explore the watery depths with this Raspberry Pi-powered submersible.

advanced

Chord Assist

With a built-in AI voice assistant, this smart guitar can help almost anyone learn to play.

advanced

TV Wall

Visually arresting Raspberry Pi-controlled display upcycling old CRT televisions.

advanced

Telepresence Hand for Hazardous Areas

Manipulate objects at a distance with this remote-controlled robotic arm.

advanced

Pi VizuWall

This Raspberry Pi cluster with moving parts can help to train programmers.

advanced

Smart Home Herb Garden

Automated system looks after your herbs using Google's Smart Home API.

intermediate

Marvin Go-Kart

Remote-controlled go-kart using Raspberry Pi and an old golf trolley.

advanced

Tortoise Fridge

Automating perfect hibernation conditions for your reptilian pets.

intermediate

Immersive Bar

Mix virtual cocktails in this fascinating blend of the physical and digital worlds.

advanced