Making Things Talk: Using Sensors, Networks, and Arduino to see, hear, and feel your world [Paperback]

Tom Igoe (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 26, 2011 | ISBN-10: 1449392431 | ISBN-13: 978-1449392437 | Edition: Second Edition

Make microcontrollers, PCs, servers, and smartphones talk to each other.

Building electronic projects that interact with the physical world is good fun. But when the devices you've built start to talk to each other, things really get interesting. With 33 easy-to-build projects, Making Things Talk shows you how to get your gadgets to communicate with you and your environment. It’s perfect for people with little technical training but a lot of interest.

Maybe you're a science teacher who wants to show students how to monitor the weather in several locations at once. Or a sculptor looking to stage a room of choreographed mechanical sculptures. In this expanded edition, you’ll learn how to form networks of smart devices that share data and respond to commands.

• Call your home thermostat with a smartphone and change the temperature.
• Create your own game controllers that communicate over a network.
• Use ZigBee, Bluetooth, Infrared, and plain old radio to transmit sensor data wirelessly.
• Work with Arduino 1.0, Processing, and PHP—three easy-to-use, open source environments.
• Write programs to send data across the Internet, based on physical activity in your home, office, or backyard.

Whether you want to connect simple home sensors to the Internet, or create a device that can interact wirelessly with other gadgets, this book explains exactly what you need.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

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.

Product Details

• Paperback: 496 pages
• Publisher: Make; Second Edition edition (September 26, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1449392431
• ISBN-13: 978-1449392437
• Product Dimensions: 9.7 x 8 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #14,621 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #5 in Books > Computers & Technology > Hardware > Internet & Networking
  • #7 in Books > Computers & Technology > Hardware > Microprocessors & System Design
  • #17 in Books > Computers & Technology > Digital Music

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Thoroughly Updated Project Book For Networked Smart Objects, October 6, 2011

By 

Ira Laefsky "Ira Laefsky" (Philadelphia, PA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Making Things Talk: Using Sensors, Networks, and Arduino to see, hear, and feel your world (Paperback)

This excellent Second Edition of "Making Things Talk" by Professor Tom Igoe is an outgrowth of a course he teaches on "Networked Objects" for Physical Computing and Multimedia Work. The original edition included exciting projects involving an Interactive Stuffed Monkey with resistive sensors, web interaction and infrared and radio based interfaces to microcontrollers.

This edition has been thoroughly updated to include (for example) remote sensing of Galvanic Skin Response (GSR), extensive interconnection with WIFI; Web Services Software and Data Acquisition and use of Android phone-based Processing language data display. It has also been revised and augmented to reflect many new form factors of the Arduino Microconttroller and several Open Source Hardware projects. Extensive (illustrated indexes of tools and devices, as well as contacts with suppliers and manufacturers addresses, phone contacts and web sites. There is also an extensive chapter/appendix on the telecommunication protocols which make possible Web Services and communication with Networked Objects.

The project-oriented approach of this book, as well as the extensive illustrations and commented software listing make it an excellent addition to other works about the Arduino Microcontroller family.

--Ira Laefsky, MSE/MBA HCI Researcher formerly on the Senior IT Consulting Staff of Arthur D. Little, Inc. and Digital Equipment Corporation.

5.0 out of 5 stars Classic, January 17, 2012

By 

cyber-heel - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Making Things Talk: Using Sensors, Networks, and Arduino to see, hear, and feel your world (Paperback)

I had the old version of the book but the new edition is even better. This book is a must for those who want to develop solutions or products in the Sensor and Actuator space.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good but "different", February 5, 2012

By 

Longhorn (AZ) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Making Things Talk: Using Sensors, Networks, and Arduino to see, hear, and feel your world (Paperback)

You can learn a lot from this book if you overlook the funky projects and don't let it turn you off. For example, a lot of knowledge is in the Pong project but I can do without the monkey. A couple of 10K pots will suffice. I also am not too fond of cats. That being said...the book is well worth having if you are trying to learn how Arduino and Processing can communicate with each other. It covers a variety of communication protocols. I can recommend it if you can stick your tongue in your cheek and soldier on. The author really does know his subject matter.

As one other reviewer said - you can't judge this book by its cover (toy monkeys?...I guess I don't have much of a sense of humor but I am glad I bought the book).