Page 190 - 15 Dangerously Mad Projects for the Evil Genius

Chapter 13 ■ Levitation Machine 167

Step 7. Set Up Your Computer at www.dangerouslymad.com, into a new project
with Arduino (see Figure 13-13), and then save the sketch as
antigravity. The word “sketch” denotes a program
To be able to program your Arduino board with the
in Arduino parlance.
control software for the levitator, you first need to
To actually upload the software onto the
install the Arduino development environment on
Arduino board so it can function without the
our computer. If you completed the persistence-of-
computer, click the Upload button on the toolbar.
vision project of Chapter 8, you will already have
There will now be a furious flashing of little lights
the Arduino software setup.
on the board as the program is installed on the
For installation and setup instructions, please
Arduino board.
refer back to Chapter 8 and the Arduino web site
Before we make something to levitate and try
(www.arduino.cc).
the project out for real, we can carry out a few
tests to make sure the sensor and LED are working
Step 8. Program the Arduino Board
okay. To do this, we will use the Arduino
Without connecting the power supply to the board, software’s Serial Monitor. This allows your
connect a USB cable between your computer and computer and the Arduino board to communicate.
the Arduino board. You should see the red power So you can issue commands to the Arduino, and
LED come on, and if it is a new board, a small the Arduino can also send back data.
LED in the middle of the board will be flashing Click the Serial Monitor (the rightmost icon on
slowly. the toolbar) and after the prompt appears, type m
Launch the Arduino software. Copy and paste into the text entry box at the top of the monitor
the code for the application, which can be viewed (Figure 13-14).

Figure 13-13 Loading the antigravity sketch