Internet of Things (IoT) is now everywhere. The rise of open hardware such as Arduino has triggered this phenomena and driven even further. The result is there are many interesting projects spanning various domains. Here we highlight some open source projects, in particular those which can be referenced for our own DIY (Do-It-Yourself) projects.

Autonomous (self-driving) vehicle is, without doubt, one of favorite applications from so many Artificial Intelligence (AI) domains. The main enabler of this autonomous vehicles is the combination of sensor technology, predictive AI and computer vision / imaging technology. From data delivered by various sensors, a 3D environment model around the vehicle is constructed. Then, the AI part processes all the information to respond accordingly, so that the vehicle moves safely. All sub-systems has to be working in concert with very short information delays.

Selected Input/Output - Sensors and Actuators: LDR Laser Receiver, PIR Sensor, LM35, DHT11, Ultrasonic Sensor HC SR04; Local Input/Output with Processing.org.

This slides cover local connectivity using nRF24L01+ and sample integration for connecting local sensors/actuators to Blynk cloud.

Connected Services and Cloud Computing: Connected Things, IoT and 5G.

Introduction to NodeMCU, an IoT Development Board based on ESP8266 SoC. This covers accessing NodeMCU with Blynk App and connecting NodeMCU to Firebase.

RTL-SDR is a very cheap software defined radio that uses a DVB-T TV tuner dongle based on the RTL2832U chipset. The RTL-SDR is also often referred to as RTL2832U, DVB-T SDR, RTL dongle or the '$20 Software Defined Radio'. There are many other software defined radios better than the RTL-SDR, but they all come at a higher price.

Raspberry Pi is a low cost, credit-card sized computer that plugs into a computer monitor or TV, and uses a standard keyboard and mouse. It is a capable little device that enables people of all ages to explore computing, and to learn how to program in languages like Scratch and Python…

ESP8266 is a low-cost, low-power, highly-integrated Wi-Fi solution from Espressif Systems. ESP8266EX integrates a 32-bit microcontroller unit (MCU), which features extra-low power consumption. ESP8266EX provides enough processing power for applications while maintaining the Real Time Operation System (RTOS) and a functional Wi-Fi (TCP/IP) stack.

Arduino is an open-source electronics platform based on easy-to-use hardware and software. It’s intended for anyone making interactive projects. Arduino senses the environment by receiving inputs from many sensors, and affects its surroundings by controlling lights, motors, and other actuators. You can tell your Arduino what to do by writing code in the Arduino programming language and using the Arduino development environment. Several Arduino-Board variants exist e.g.: UNO, NANO, MEGA, DUE, YUN, etc.