Sensor Lab: Books

BOOKS

Encyclopedia of Electronic Components: Volume 1Author: Charles Platt

Description:
This book is just cool. The Encyclopedia of Electronic Components is, well, exactly what it sounds like. Want to know how to use an electronic component? Want to look up a component you’ve never heard of? This book includes key information on electronics parts for your projects; complete with photographs, schematics, and diagrams.

You’ll learn what each one does, how it works, why it’s useful, and what variants exist. No matter how much you know about electronics, you’ll find fascinating details you’ve never come across before.

Make: ElectronicsAuthor: Charles Platt

Description:
Get step-by-step instructions on building working devices that demonstrate fundamentals such as voltage, amperage, resistance, inductance, and capacitance. Then tackle more complex electronics concepts, including analog/digital conversion, logic gates, and integrated circuits. Along the way, you’ll learn valuable tips and techniques, always with clear explanations of what you’re doing and why.


Building Wireless Sensor NetworksAuthor: Robert Faludi

Description:
Create distributed sensor systems and intelligent interactive devices using the ZigBee wireless networking protocol and XBee radios. By the time you’re halfway through Rob Faludi’s fast-paced, hands-on guide, you’ll have built a series of useful projects, including a complete ZigBee wireless network that delivers remotely sensed data. This resource- and reference-packed book is perfect for inventors, hackers, crafters, students, hobbyists, and scientists.

Code Examples

Arduino CookbookAuthor: Michael Margolis

Description:
Create your own toys, remote controllers, alarms, detectors, robots, and many other projects with the Arduino development board. This simple microcontroller lets artists and designers build a variety of amazing objects and prototypes that interact with the physical world. With this cookbook you can dive right in and experiment with more than a hundred tips and techniques, no matter what your skill level is.

Code Examples

Getting Started with ArduinoAuthor: Massimo Banzi

Description:
If you’ve heard about this Arduino thing, but are unsure about where to begin, Getting Started with Arduino is a great book to begin with. 110 pages of easy to read, well written, Make/O’Reilly goodness. Massimo Banzi (author and one of the 5 Arduino developers) describes the basic hardware, writes some simple programs, and explains how to use the free Arduino development environment. The second edition is updated for Arduino 1.0!

Code Examples

Getting Started with ProcessingAuthor: Benjamin Fry & Casey Reas

Description:
Learn computer programming the easy way with Processing, a simple language that lets you use code to create drawings, animation, and interactive graphics. Programming courses usually start with theory, but this book lets you jump right into creative and fun projects. It’s ideal for anyone who wants to learn basic programming, and serves as a simple introduction to graphics for people with some programming skills.

Code Examples

Making Things TalkAuthor: Tom Igoe

Description:
This full-color book covers a wide range: flex sensors, Bluetooth wireless, XBee wireless, USB, networks, IR remote control, RFID, force sensitive resistors, protocols, and of course, lots of LEDs. It’s pretty awesome – and it’s not just how to work with these neat technologies, but how to apply them in innovative projects. This is a great book to build upon a basic knowledge of Arduino. The author has a great way of describing and teaching on a very easy to understand level, while leading the reader to an understanding of complex concepts.

Code Examples

Programming InteractivityAuthor: Joshua Noble
Description:
Programming Interactivity is a great new book that covers a wide range of topics. What is different about this book is that it shows hardware geeks like myself that Processing and openFrameworks is not scary – it’s actually quite powerful and easy to use! And for the software person that eats Java with a heap of scripting, hardware can un-tether you from a computer and open up a new world of embedded computing.

Code Examples

Electronic Formulas, Symbols & CircuitsAuthor: Forrest M. Mims III

Description:
Electronic Formulas, Symbols & Circuits provides a complete, basic electronics reference guide. Included are many frequently used electronic formulas, tables, circuit symbols, and device packages. Also featured are basic resistor and capacitor circuits, plus many circuits using piezoelectric buzzers, LEDs, FETs, and ICs. Also included are some 100 digital logic circuits ranging from simple gates and oscillators to sequencers, shift registers, and data selectors. Design and testing tips are provided to help you plan and troubleshoot your circuits.

Electronic Sensor Circuits & ProjectsAuthor: Forrest M. Mims III

Description:
In Electronic Sensor Circuits & Projects you’ll learn about important sensors like solar cells, photoresistors, thermistors, hall-effect devices, and magnet switches. Then use these sensors to build circuits and projects that respond to heat, pressure, light, touch, water, strain, lightning and magnets. You can even make a circuit that detects the presence of the cursor on your computer screen and the position of a compass needle.


Science and Communication Circuits & ProjectsAuthor: Forrest M. Mims III

Description:
You can use the plans in Science and Communication Circuits & Projects to make a simple seismometer by hanging a magnet over a coil; build a sun photometer and make accurate measurements of haze in the atmosphere; study rain, lightning, clouds, sunlight, water, temperature, and other topics; and build a wide variety of lightwave and radio communication circuits.


Timer, OpAmp & Optoelectronic Circuits & ProjectsAuthor: Forrest M. Mims III

Description:
Timer, OpAmp & Optoelectronic Circuits & Projects features more than two dozen 555 timer circuits that you can build, including tone generators, LED flashers, sound-effects circuits, and a touch switch. It also includes more than 50 operation amplifier (Op Amp) circuits, many with simple formulas to help you modify them for special circuits of your own design. A wide range of optoelectronic circuits and projects are featured, including many LED circuits and various lightwave communication systems.


iOS Sensor Apps with ArduinoAuthor: Alasdair Allan

Description:
Turn your iPhone or iPad into the hub of a distributed sensor network with the help of an Arduino microcontroller. With this concise guide, you’ll learn how to connect an external sensor to an iOS device and have them talk to each other through Arduino. You’ll also build an iOS application that will parse the sensor values it receives and plot the resulting measurements, all in real-time.

Code Examples

Environmental Monitoring with ArduinoAuthor: Emily Gertz & Patrick Di Justo

Description:
This inspiring guide shows you how to use Arduino to create gadgets for measuring noise, weather, electromagnetic interference (EMI), water purity, and more. You’ll also learn how to collect and share your own data, and you can experiment by creating your own variations of the gadgets covered in the book. If you’re new to DIY electronics, the first chapter offers a primer on electronic circuits and Arduino programming.


Algorithms in a NutshellAuthor: George T. Heineman, Gary Pollice & Stanley Selkow

Description:
Creating robust software requires the use of efficient algorithms, but programmers seldom think about them until a problem occurs. Algorithms in a Nutshell describes a large number of existing algorithms for solving a variety of problems, and helps you select and implement the right algorithm for your needs — with just enough math to let you understand and analyze algorithm performance.

Code Examples

Fashioning TechnologyAuthor: Syuzi Pakhchyan

Description:
Ready to take your craft projects to the next level? With “smart” materials, unorthodox assembly techniques, and the right tools, you can create accessories, housewares, and toys that light up, make sounds, or do even more. Fashioning Technology is an introductory DIY book that brings technology and crafts together in a fun and unique way. You get jargon-free primers and lots of how-to projects that will have you making — and even wearing — functional works of art.