Tag Archives: arduino

Clear-Shell Game Boys Never Made the Screen Transparent, Arduview Did

Posted on by

Every gadget on a desk is built to hide what makes it work. Phones, consoles, controllers, they’re all sealed slabs designed to keep the copper and silicon out of sight. Arduview refuses that logic entirely. Its shell is clear, its circuit board is clear, and its OLED display lets you watch pixels light up while seeing straight through to the components producing them.

Retro handhelds have flirted with transparency before. Clear-shell Game Boys and modded Miyoo units let you glimpse a shadow of the board through tinted plastic, but the display itself stayed opaque, a black rectangle sitting in an otherwise see-through frame. Arduview closes that gap by making the screen itself transparent, so nothing on the device breaks the illusion of looking clean through it.

Designer: Louis Huang

Peer through the front and the internals aren’t just visible; they’re the entire visual identity. The board, the chip, an orange copper flex cable, the button domes, and the USB-C port all sit in plain view, arranged the way a watchmaker might arrange gears behind sapphire crystal. Nothing here was designed to be hidden later. It was designed to be looked at from day one.

That philosophy extends to how the thing works, not just how it looks. Built on Arduboy, an open-source handheld platform, Arduview skips the layers that usually complicate small electronics. There’s no app store hunting, no Wi-Fi pairing, no account setup standing between you and 400 preloaded games. Power it on and it plays, the same instant gratification that made simple handhelds addictive in the first place.

At 50 grams and roughly the footprint of a credit card, the size does real work here. A device this small and this light stops being a dedicated gaming session and starts being something you carry the way you’d carry a keychain or a pocketknife, small enough to disappear until the moment you want it. Pull it out on a train platform or set it on a desk between meetings, and it reads less like a toy and more like a curiosity someone can’t resist picking up.

That reaction seems to be the entire point. A transparent gadget invites touching in a way an opaque one never does, because there’s an implicit dare in showing your internals: come look closer. Arduview leans into that dare completely, treating the space usually reserved for a case as prime real estate for the very thing most companies spend their design budgets concealing.

Retro gaming has always had a strong current of nostalgia running through it: chunky buttons, pixel art, low-resolution charm. Arduview borrows all of that while adding something genuinely new to the mix: a device that looks like it belongs in a display case at a design museum as much as it belongs in a pocket.

The post Clear-Shell Game Boys Never Made the Screen Transparent, Arduview Did first appeared on Yanko Design.

Arduino’s $61 Matter Bundle Lets You Build Smart Home Devices That Work With Apple, Google, and Amazon

Posted on by

The smart home space has always had a problem, and that problem has a name: fragmentation. Your Philips Hue bulbs want to talk to your Google Home, your Apple HomeKit wants to command your smart thermostat, and somewhere in the middle, your Amazon Alexa is just standing there, confused. For years, developers and tinkerers alike had to pick sides or wrestle with clunky workarounds. Then Matter came along, and the industry finally had a universal language for connected devices. Now, Arduino wants to put that language in your hands with the brand new Matter Discovery Bundle, priced at a very approachable $61.04.

Because here’s the thing: once every major smart home platform agrees to speak the same language, the real fun begins. Imagine designing your own smart thermostat, building a presence sensor that dims the lights when you leave a room, or retrofitting that vintage lamp on your desk into something your phone can control. Arduino’s bundle turns those ideas from “cool concept” into “actually buildable weekend project,” and it does it without requiring a computer science degree or a garage full of equipment.

Designer: Arduino

The kit is built around the Arduino Nano Matter, a compact but capable little board that forms the brain of whatever connected device you want to bring to life. Alongside it, you get a plug-and-play connector carrier that lets you snap in additional components without any soldering, and three sensor and control modules that cover the core building blocks of almost any smart home creation. One module handles switching real-world appliances and devices, one detects presence in a room using distance sensing, and one reads temperature and humidity. Output, presence, environment. Those three capabilities alone unlock a surprisingly wide range of DIY smart devices, all of which talk natively to Apple HomeKit, Google Home, Amazon Alexa, and Home Assistant right out of the box.

If the idea of jumping into this stuff headfirst sounds daunting, don’t worry… there’s a free 7-course curriculum you can access. Arduino built a free seven-module course on their Cloud platform that takes you from a complete beginner all the way through building devices that can be officially certified and even commercialized. The course balances theory with hands-on building, so you’re always making something tangible rather than just reading about abstract concepts. Complete the whole thing and you earn an Arduino Certified Engineer credential, which is a genuinely useful thing to have if you’re building a portfolio in the product design or IoT space.

The bundle was developed in collaboration with Silicon Labs, whose wireless chip technology powers the Nano Matter board at the kit’s core. All the complex smart home communication happens automatically in the background through Arduino’s Matter library, leaving you free to focus on the creative side of what you want to build and how you want it to behave. That’s been Arduino’s philosophy since the beginning, stripping away the intimidating technical layers so the idea can take center stage.

One small caveat worth knowing upfront: connecting your creations to a live smart home network requires a Thread border router, like an Apple TV 4K or a HomePod. Most households already deep in the Apple or Google ecosystem will have one without even realizing it. For everyone else, it’s a minor additional step before things really come alive.

The bigger picture here is genuinely exciting for tinkerers and creators wanting to hack together a product or an idea within an existing ecosystem. We talk about the smart home almost exclusively as a product category, something you buy off a shelf and plug into an app. Arduino’s Matter Discovery Bundle reframes it as something you design and build yourself, shaped around your actual space and your actual needs. Custom connected devices that fit your life rather than the other way around, available to anyone curious enough to try, for about the price of a nice dinner out.

The post Arduino’s $61 Matter Bundle Lets You Build Smart Home Devices That Work With Apple, Google, and Amazon first appeared on Yanko Design.

This Mini Robot Arm can be built in Under $100 Using Arduino Nano and 3D Printed Files

Posted on by

reating a mini robotic arm with Arduino and 3D printing is an exciting way to merge electronics and design. This project invites enthusiasts into the world of robotics, blending creativity with hands-on technical work. It’s ideal for those eager to dive into the realms of motion control and automation, using accessible components and open-source technology. The core of the project is the Arduino Nano, a compact microcontroller that coordinates the movements of four SG90 servo motors. These motors are controlled through potentiometers, offering precise adjustments to the arm’s motion. By adjusting the position of each potentiometer, you can direct the servo to move in a specific direction, making the control feel intuitive and satisfying.

Designer: FABRI Creator

To build this arm, you’ll need several essential components. Beyond the Arduino Nano, four SG90 servo motors serve as the muscles of the arm, providing the torque required for smooth movements. These motors are driven by the signals from potentiometers, which read user inputs and translate them into specific positions for the servos. The project also requires electronic parts like resistors and capacitors for the PCB, ensuring stable and efficient operation. A DC jack connector allows for easy power connection, supporting a 5V 3A adapter or a standard PC power supply, ensuring the arm has a reliable power source. With a breadboard for prototyping and a custom PCB for permanent assembly, you can seamlessly organize all connections, creating a clean and efficient setup.

But here’s where the magic truly happens: 3D printing. Using software like Fusion 360, you get to design the structural parts of your robot arm, optimizing the form and function to your specific needs. It’s not just about the technical specs—it’s about bringing your vision to life in a tangible, tactile way. The parts, printed with durable PLA filament, take shape layer by layer, transforming digital models into physical components. The design smartly minimizes the need for supports during printing, making it efficient and less wasteful. The result is a sleek, lightweight arm that looks as good as it functions, embodying the intersection of art and engineering.

Programming the Arduino is where the project gains its soul. With a bit of code, you can teach the arm to follow your commands, offering both manual and automated control modes. In manual mode, the potentiometers give you direct control over each servo, letting you guide the arm’s movements with finesse. Automated mode, on the other hand, takes it a step further—allowing you to record sequences and replay them, turning the arm into a precise tool for repeating tasks. This duality of control means you can create everything from a delicate touch for small tasks to a mechanical memory that runs on its own.

As you bring it all together, the assembly process becomes a meditative practice in precision and patience. Soldering each component onto the PCB, carefully routing wires, and securing the servos in place requires focus, but the reward is a beautifully crafted piece of tech that feels like a personal accomplishment. The attention to detail in organizing cables and ensuring smooth motion paths doesn’t just keep things tidy—it elevates the overall aesthetic and functionality of the arm. It’s a reminder that design is as much about what you don’t see as what you do.

By the time the project is complete, you’ll have a fully functional mini robotic arm capable of manual and automated control. The combination of 3D printing and Arduino brings a level of customization that lets you adapt the design to your needs, making it a perfect entry point into robotics. This DIY project is less about building a one-time gadget and more about being an entry-point into the world of STEM and Design. It demonstrates how accessible and versatile modern technology can be, offering a fulfilling way to explore the world of robotics, whether you’re a seasoned maker or just starting out… and once you’re done you can quite literally pat yourself on the back with your new robot arm!

The post This Mini Robot Arm can be built in Under $100 Using Arduino Nano and 3D Printed Files first appeared on Yanko Design.