i started cause of the use with music, what about you?
just wondering.
I discovered Arduino about 8 months ago after seeing an interesting art project online. So I bought one. Since then I've built several dozen silly things, including a pair of autonomous bots and a home automation system. I had never touched so much as a resistor before ordering the Arduino. Now I find myself enrolled in an EE program and spending all of my free time in my makeshift electronics workshop.
I'm interested in building robots in which the interaction between their software/software/data subsystems produces interesting, flexible and possibly even "intelligent" emergent behaviour.
My ultimate aim in all this is to produce a pet robot - not a robot pet 
Currently, I use it for whatever electronic devices I imagine I "need"/REALLY want that either don't exist or are expensive for what they really are. It's also to help me interact with electronics in a complex way without necessarily needing years of analog experience(I have years of programming experience, so why bother?).
Currently, I'm creating a voltage-signal TO servo tester converter that includes the ability to limit battery current and I'm implementing a throttle ramp: this is all for the powerful electric scooter I'm creating.
I'm also interested in making an automated battery tester as I really think the current battery testers out there are either way too expensive or they aren't really automated. I'm thinking I could possibly get an edge in the market on that one.
Also, I'm very interested in learning about all facets of creating a robot as I'm very interested in the future of intelligent robotics and I don't want to be cripplingly inexperienced. In that regard, I'm currently trying to learn various methods of shuttling information to and from a micro-controller and other electronic equipment, by wire and wirelessly, as I think for many tasks, "true autonomy" is not really where robots will evolve to in the near future. I think the true "thinking" will be held in vast relatively stationary computers(or some mother computer that's not as mobile), and the necessary information for the actions a robot will carry out will be transmitted and the "robot" will be basically a giant suite of specialized actuators, sensors and communications technology. I think this will be true of the robots that require complex computing which is almost always where the more interesting behavior emerges, at least for now and in the near future, and less complex robots(like one that follows a path to mow your back lawn) may be truly be autonomous as the computing tasks aren't really as demanding. The reason for these relatively immobile computing platforms is that they'll almost always potentially be more powerful than mobile computing platforms, and physically moving around vast computing resources is relatively wasteful when you can just move around the necessary actuators, sensors and communications equipment. Other robots where this relatively immobile platform won't be present is probably "critical tasks", such as hospitals and war zones, and zones where traditional communications is relatively impractical(Such as deep underground in a cave or deep underwater.).
I'm kind of also interested in "directed" wireless technology(Like lasers as opposed to a omni-directional attenae.), as I think communications efficiency is maximized when the wireless signals are focused as much as possible. I can imagine how lasers, or directed optics, can be used to achieve extremely high bandwidths with the proper encoding.
Arduino hexapod robot 
Also started because of music. I'd been wanting for about ten years an easy way to generate simple MIDI notes from a button press or sensor. Arduino made this dirt-simple to accomplish.
That opened my mind to the possibilities of micro-processing. My current work-in-progress is a car immobilizer. Taking a while because I added an LCD to display random phrases, and.......
I just recently started with the arduino, but I am a mechanical engineer. I use it for work, basically for prototyping mechanical systems that need some electrical control. I love it so far. My only problem is that I seem to be one of the only few using it for this, so I have to walk myself through a lot of problems.... Also, I am completely new to programming, so its a steep learning curve.
Ryan
I like the pet robot idea, and the hexapod robot. I too would like a pet robot but it would need to fulfil these requirements:
1 self charging at a station ( so it has to be able to navigate around unfamiliar objects to get to base)
2 interesting behaviour. Follow a laser pointer on the floor, be interested in movement / noise, investigative nature ( so camera / photosensors, mic)
Just how that would be achieved is anyones guess. I can do pathfinding algos and the like, the one thing I can't see how to do well is how to locate the robot within my house to any level of accuracy.
Myself, I'm assembing a robotic arm. If I can afford it that will be retasked into a walking robot later.
Every now and then I have silly aka "not productive in the real world", ideas. I use the Arduino to provide the brains for this.
Past projects include:
- Automated Bartending Machine. Didn't end up working to well probably cause I lack any sort of mechanical intuition and made the most fragile rudimentary frame.
- Web Based Door lock
- Interface for people who don't know how to use computers. Basicly an interface to allow my grandma to add stuff to a shopping list. The list gets uploaded to a database and then I can download it at home come shopping time and pick up what she needs. Saves the old lady some trouble, plus with the Alzeimers she keeps forgetting everything!
Current project:
- LED based board game - a recreation of my favorite game as a kid. Don't think it really has a game, just something my grand dad taught me. Completely not worth it as the price tag is approaching 100 dollars in parts but I'm sure it would make grand dad happy to see it again albeit in a waaay fancier form
I started with the Arduino because I was deep into programming, even though I'm a graphic designer, and I wanted to go outside the limits of the screen or print.
Arduino meant that I needed to learn some other stuff, like processing or max/msp, and I'm glad, because now, I get some contracts (I'm a freelancer) from clients that needs this kind of thing.
Actually, I'm using the knowledge I gained by building my Ableton Live LED Matrix on another project that involves having 2 computers linked by an RJ45 cable, with a Master running Ableton Live, having midi data sent to a tailor made processing sketch, translating this into OSC messages and sending it via the cable to the Host computer, which in returns runs videos according to the music.
Thanks Mr Banzi, Mellis, Cuartielles, Igoe and Martino ^^
Just getting started, order placed a couple of days ago..
I'm building a logging accelerometer + barometer for use in a
high powered model rocket.
I'm also planning on using it in my static test rig logging thrust
using a strain gauge (Loadcell)...
I use arduinonto make neat projects that need physical computing. I got my Duemilanove for Christmas and have since purchased two xbee's, another arduino, an RFID reader, and several accesories. I've also made my own shield. Before, I had only done a bit of c++, and I knew about mostly everything in mainstream technology. And I'm only thirteen. I working on a project right now that uses xbee, RFID, and two arduino's to wirelessly open doors.
Clocks !
Just finishing the prototype of the definitive binary clock, and now working on a "gauge" clock, using old Bakelite gauges with each dial recalibrated to show mins, hours, weekday, am/pm etc.
Just received my DS1307's yesterday, so I've got to incorporate those to stop all the pesky manual time setting.
Few other odd projects in the tubes...the Roman Numeral clock/calendar, and the Roman Numeral counter.
I'd tried to get my head round programming PIC's, but ended up classifing it as too hard, but the Ardunio makes it all so easy.
Also going to make a few weird toys.....something that senses nearby movement, and shows one of many web meme messages, (Epic Win, The cake is a lie, with great justice, RTFM, etc). Something soft and spherical, that just blinks pretty colours and babbles at you (think electo-tribble), as long as it moving.
Long term, I want a happy little robot, that will do my vacuuming, then fetch me a beer.
I got into it because I wanted to create an electronic, web enabled & controllable, logging, LCD display, pump controlling, no-touch water measurement system for the cistern in my house.
At this point I have all devices "proofed" individually, now I just need to bring the code together to get it all running at once, and build my enclosures.
It's a really cool platform!
My first and main reason was to create an IR receiver for my Creative Megaworks 250D's wired remote. And it works! Was really suprised 'cos I'm a newbie in electronics. When the Arduino receives a Vol Up/Down, Mute or Power code from the remote it sends a signal to the appropriate pin in a quad optocoupler. Each photocoupler is hooked up to one of the buttons in the original remote.
I then used the Arduino to create some small Christmas decorations for the office at work. A Santa Claus climbing up a chimney breast and a log fire effect for a fake fireplace a colleague of mine built.
Latest projects are an alarm clock (nothing out of the ordinary except it will have multiple alarms) and a GPS back tracker. I'm hoping to build a back track application that will help me find where I parked my car. Parking is really hard to find in my area and I never seem to be able to park in the same road twice and.I'm always forgetting where I last parked. I know I could easily solve the problem by just taking a photo of the street with my mobile but I thought this would be a great way to learn about GPS too :). I plan to use the street maps available from the OpenStreetMaps project.
I'm hoping to build a back track application that will help me find where I parked my car.
Have you seen this - it might give you some inspiration: http://www.bushnell.com/gps/gps_backtrack.cfm
Andrew
Thanks for the link. I had seen that and it's what got me thinking I could create my own. I'm thinking about using an 1.7 inch OLED 4Dsystems uOLED-160-G1 as my display.
Still in very early stages though.
Thanks again