Part 3. More sophisticated projects

This part of the book ups the ante and opens new possibilities through serial communication and the snazzy, Node.js-capable Tessel 2 development board.

To use more sophisticated sensors and exchange more complex data, you’ll need to get a handle on how serial communication works, which is the topic of chapter 7. You’ll get a chance to experiment with some nifty sensors, including an accelerometer, a GPS, and a compass. Along the way, you’ll learn the difference between asynchronous and synchronous serial, and you’ll meet the I²C and SPI protocols. You’ll also learn to solder.

In chapter 8, you’ll untether your projects, going wires-free with the Tessel 2 development board. You’ll get to know the Tessel, which can run your Johnny-Five scripts natively, and you’ll build more complex experiments that make increasing use of third-party npm packages.

As you continue your adventure, you’ll likely be starting to think of your own things to build. Chapter 9 walks through the steps of adapting existing hardware and writing your own software support for components. You’ll hack a remote-controlled outlet switch and the APDS-9960 gesture sensor breakout board.

This part of the book is a step toward more independence and sophistication for your projects. You’ll achieve independence from wires via the Tessel’s native Node.js and onboard WiFi, and you’ll try out more sophisticated components using serial communication.