Many of the "homebrew" Brushless motor controllers used in the RC hobby area use an ATmega8 CPU, which is the same CPU used on the original Arduino (the newer CPUs are essentially the same speed, but have more program memory.)
Thomas Radetzki RC modelling and RC electronics is an example.
(many commercial controllers use the same CPU, and there are assorted instructions out there for reprogramming some of the inexpensive imported ESCs with alternative software.)