Arduino microcontrollers are perfect for creating practical computing projects. All computing projects are inherently linked to numerical data. Some, however, deal with external data visualization, storage or communication.
Here are three specifically data-oriented Arduino projects. All of these projects are intended to be part of larger projects that make use of the sensors that can be attached to all of the Arduino microcontrollers. Happy tinkering!
Visualizing Arduino Data on Excel
Excel is a near ubiquitous tool for the plotting and visualization of data. It makes sense, therefore, that hobbyists have figured out ways of getting their Arduino and their copy of Microsoft Excel to communicate with each other. Arduino can be outfitted with all sorts of sensors, and sensors create data. Excel is the perfect program to visualize the data that your Arduino collects. If you want to know more about how you can learn advanced Excel processes, check out Computergaga.com.
Instructible user CrtSuznik has helpfully written out a set of clear instructions for the setting up of a communicative relationship between Microsoft Excel and Arduino. This project will likely be relatively simple to those people who have been working with Arduino for a while. Not only can this project collect data, but it can plot that data in real time! A truly impressive hack.
Automatic Temperature Logging System
The COVID-19 pandemic means that safety in schools and workplaces can be seriously jeopardized if a person suffering from the virus is allowed to attend. Body temperature is a relatively reliable indicator of whether a person is unwell with coronavirus. Manually logging temperature data would produce an unworkable workload. Luckily, hobbyists worked out how to use Arduino to create an automated temperature logging system. They did so not during the COVID-19 pandemic, but during the earlier SARS outbreak in Asia. Their system was installed in several schools. Similar systems are proving extremely useful during the current pandemic as schools and workplaces begin to open up again. Here is a guide to building your own automated temperature data logging system using Arduino.
Data Collection System With SD Card
Many Arduino projects require the collection of several different examples of data before they can be considered successful. One example would be a project that measures the ambient light present in a room. Unless the light is measured in several parts of the room, the reading will not be a representation of true ambient lighting. One way to make sure that such a project would be viable would be to collect and store data so that several readings from different places can be taken, stored and combined to create an average automatically.
This project uses an SD card as the storage medium. It is made of cheap components, with the Arduino being by far the most expensive item needed.
It includes LED indicators that let a user know when data is being collected and when the collection and storage are complete. A truly practical and achievable build!