Top 10 Arduino Final Year Projects

What is Arduino?

Arduino is a free, open-source electronics platform with simple hardware and software interfaces. Arduino lets users experiment with embedded designs by providing an easy-to-use platform. The Arduino offers hardware boards. Arduino boards can read inputs such as the amount of light from a sensor, the press of a button, or a Twitter message and convert them into outputs such as activating a motor, turning on an LED, raising the alarm, or publishing something online. You can program your board by sending instructions to the board’s microcontroller. You use the Arduino programming language (based on Wiring) and the Arduino Software (IDE) to accomplish your goals.

Arduino Hardware

Arduino hardware is a printed circuit board available as a development kit. The Arduino board uses the Atemga microcontroller at its heart and has an array of peripherals such as ADC, UART, I2C, SPI, etc. The onboard hardware lets you connect the Arduino board to your Laptop/PC using a conventional USB Port (USB-Port A). There is no need to buy a separate programmer as the Arduino board has a built-in programmer that you can use to program the Arduino board using your PC/Laptop via the USB connection.

There are many different versions of the Arduino hardware. However, the good news is that there are hundreds of other Arduino Development shields that you can buy to develop something specific. The shield is a generic term given to an add-on board that connects to the base Arduino Board. You can get shields to either run multiple stepper motors or can get shields to enable wireless communication using the Arduino board. The possibilities with Arduino are endless.

Arduino Software Development

The Arduino offers a software development environment using an integrated development environment called Arduino IDE. The Arduino board can be programmed using a language called Wiring. The wiring language is closely related to the Basic language and has a C-like structure. The Arduino IDE also offers support for writing software using C and C++. Installation of the Arduino IDE is supported on Windows and Apple Operating Systems. The Arduino IDE provides a lot of libraries and a communication display to transfer information between the board and the connected PC. Moreover, you can program the Arduino board directly from the Arduino IDE.

The library support for the Arduino boards is enormous, and thousands of open-source libraries are available online. You can make use of these libraries to pretty much do anything you want.

What are the applications of Arduino?

Arduino offers a very flexible and easy-to-use platform in terms of hardware, software, and library support.

There are thousands of applications where Arduino-based solutions are an optimal choice.

The Arduino applications are not limited to business applications; they reach out to the general public. In use cases, Arduino is a platform of choice for applications that impact daily life and improves lifestyle.

The use cases of solutions developed using Arduino range from a simple data logger device to operating a real-time system. The Arduino devices can also collect essential data from safety-critical machines. Arduino can then analyse the data to detect any abnormalities in the performance of the machines.

There are various fields, including IoT and Industrial 4.0, where Arduino is prevalent and indeed a platform of choice for quick proof of concept and faster deployment to the market. In this article, we will cover the top 10 Arduino Projects in various fields that Final Year Project students can develop as part of their Final Year Projects.

Why should you design an Arduino-based Final Year Project?

It is straightforward to answer why you should design a Final Year Project using Arduino.

Firstly, suppose you have little experience with Embedded System application development. However, you are interested in the subject area and want to do an embedded-based Final Year Project. In that case, Arduino is the best platform for you. Furthermore, Arduino is intuitive and easy to learn for people of all academic backgrounds.

Secondly, the Arduino Environment lets you develop a complex project in no time compared to a conventional approach. Thirdly, the Arduino environment offers a ready-to-use hardware and software environment with access to Thousands of libraries. Finally, the Arduino environment’s flexibility ensures that users concentrate entirely on application development and testing. Therefore, using the Arduino platform for your Final Year Project will accelerate your project development and have a better chance of completing a complex project on time.

Advantages of developing Arduino Based Final Year Project

Various advantages are associated with using the Arduino Platform for Final Year Project. We will list some of the benefits here:

• No matter what your background is or if you have little experience with electronics and software, you will find that the Arduino Environments (both Hardware and Software) are straightforward to learn. You will get up and running in no time.
• You can develop complex Embedded projects using Arduino. The projects can range from creating an Artificial Intelligence-based human motion detection system to developing a robotic arm.
• The hardware cost is under $25/£20, and you do not have to pay any software fees.
• There are thousands of libraries available online, free of charge, and the chances are there is already a library available for anything you want to do. 
• The online Arduino community is vast, and you will get much support if you get stuck.
• The Arduino-based project will be a hands-on project where you will physically develop something giving you the experience of working with real projects.
• Using Arduino, you can develop embedded applications for any field.
• You can showcase an Arduino-based project on your CV. Potential employers will certainly value that you have already used Arduino, which is closely related to the embedded environment in professional engineering settings.
• Moreover, some organisations use the Arduino environment for proof of concept before developing a compact, cost-effective solution. It will be advantageous if you can demonstrate on your CV that you already have experience working with Arduino.

Top 10 Arduino Projects for Final Year Project Students

This article will discuss the top ten Arduino projects that beginners can develop as part of their Final Year Project.

1. Arduino-Based Car Parking Assistant

The first project in our list of the Top 10 Arduino Final Year Projects is related to automotive. Cars are becoming intelligent, and some latest cars offer state-of-the-art car parking assistance. However, what about the old cars that do not have this facility? Using an Arduino board, you can develop a Car Parking assistance system and attach it to your vehicle.

Regarding system components, you can use an ultrasonic sensor and interface it to the Arduino board to calculate the car’s distance from an object. The Ultrasonic sensors usually give out either voltage or pulse outputs which are proportional to the distance of an object from the sensors.

You can use a Tri-color RGB LED to flash different colours based on the measured distance. For example, Green colour when you are 2 meters away from the garage wall, yellow colour when you are within 1.5-meter distance and Red colour when you are 1 meter away from the Garage Wall.

2. Home Automation System based on Arduino

Home Automation is a hot topic. The IoT (Internet of Things) and home automation have come a long way since their beginning in early 2014. Arduino is a perfect platform for designing a simple home automation system. 

Using Arduino hardware and software, you can design a simple, compact and intelligent home automation system. Using the ESP8266 Arduino shield and the Arduino microcontroller, you can establish communication over the wireless network and access it from anywhere in the world. Furthermore, you can interface digital I2C temperature and humidity sensors, such as Sensirion SHT40 (SHT40-AD1B-R2), to determine the home temperature. You would also have an electromechanical relay to enable/disable the home air conditioning system on your command. Additionally, you can monitor the home ambient environment and change it from anywhere in the world over the internet.

Using this platform, you can further enhance the project’s features by remotely introducing control and monitoring of the home appliances. Your cloud interface or smartphone can control and operate all the household gadgets that are part of your home automation network.

As mentioned above, Home Automation System using an Arduino board will be an excellent final year project to add to your CV, as both Home Automation and IoT are in demand.

3. Monitor and Report Air Quality using Arduino

Air pollution is one of the first three projects on our list of the Top 10 Arduino Final Year Projects. The third project in our ist Air Pollution is a global problem. The countries which heavily rely on manufacturing industries are suffering from high levels of air pollution. Furthermore, some countries have even recently had to lock down entire cities to reduce air pollution levels.  

Dust and smoke contribute mainly to increasing levels of air pollution. The reoccurring wildfires throughout the world have not helped the situation. On the contrary, they regularly contribute to the high levels of air pollution. 

A final-year engineering student can use the Arduino platform to develop an air pollution monitoring and reporting system. Monitoring air pollution levels is an excellent final-year engineering project. To realise this project, one can interface the GP2Y1014AU0F Dust Sensor with Arduino to monitor the pollution level in the air. In addition to this, an ESP32 Arduino shield can send data over the internet using Wi-Fi signals.

The interface of more sensors with the Arduino enhances the level of air pollution monitoring once the student has developed the base system. Some of these sensors are listed below:

• Temperature Sensor
• Humidity Sensor
• Windspeed Sensor
• Ozone, Sensor
• Carbon Monoxide Sensor

The Air Pollution Monitoring and Reporting Final Year Project will let you experience the fields of embedded systems and environmental sciences.

4. An advanced Colour Sensing system using Arduino

There are various applications where automatic colour sensing is required. Unfortunately, we have seen the development of many systems over the years that are complex and costly.

A final-year engineering student can use the Arduino platform and a colour detection sensor such as TCS3200 to identify Red, Green and Blue colours or a combination of these colours. The interface of the TSC3200 sensor with Arduino is straightforward and only requires eight pins, including the two power pins.

The detection of colour is simple yet very effective. The demanding and cost-sensitive projects can use this compact yet low-cost colour detection solution. Moreover, if a student has developed a colour sensor as a final year engineering project. In that case, it will showcase to potential employers that you are capable of finding simple but effective solutions to complex problems.

5. Water Level Measurement System using Arduino

A water level measurement system may sound like an ordinary and straightforward project. However, I can assure you that if done right, it is a challenge to measure water levels effectively.

Overflow of water tanks is a problem for household tanks and a big issue in the industry. Additionally, sometimes the water level measurement systems do not work effectively or are expensive, causing water overflow.

A final year engineering project student can quickly solve this massive problem of water overflow in tanks by making a water level measurement system as part of their final year project. The Arduino platform is perfect for this purpose, and a student can interface a water level detection sensor with Arduino.

The water level sensor works on the principles of capacitors and measures the conductivity between two plates to determine the water level. Furthermore, the water level sensor’s length depends on the tank’s size. The width of the water level sensor is usually less than 10 cm.

A water level measurement system using Arduino can be an excellent final year engineering project for students who are beginners in embedded systems. Therefore, developing a water level measurement system will be an interesting final-year engineering project.

6. Forest Fire Detection system using Arduino

Another important project on our list of the Top 10 Arduino Final Year Projects is linked to the environment. Forest fires are a real problem nowadays. Wild Forest fires not only cause damage to the forests but also contribute the global warming and Air pollution. Moreover, forest fires put a dent in a country’s economy too.

A final-year engineering student can develop a robust forest fire detection system using Arduino. The system will not only detect the fire in the forest but will also report it to a control room by sending messages over GSM signals.

The fire can be detected using so-called flame sensors and monitoring carbon dioxide/carbon monoxide levels using other sensors. The flame sensor usually consists of photodiodes that absorb the infrared light from a fire and convert it to voltage. The Analogue to Digital Converter peripheral within the Arduino helps measure the voltage levels. Devices such as SIM800 or SIM900 are available as Arduino shields that help establish GSM and GPS connections. The system will also need an antenna connected to the GSM module to acquire a strong level of network reception.

The student’s career opportunities are endless if their final year engineering project successfully develops a practical and helpful forest fire detection system.

7. A Pulse Oximeter using Arduino

A Pulse Oximeter is a device that measures the levels of oxygen non-invasively. The oxygen levels can give a good indication of the early symptoms of some diseases.

An Arduino platform is an excellent choice for developing a pulse oximeter using a MAX3100 sensor and an OLED. MAX3100 is a sensor from MAXIM that measures the oxygen saturation level in the blood and calculates the heart rate.

The MAX3100 can be interfaced with Arduino using the I2C interface. In contrast, a parallel bus or SPI interface drives the OLED display. Furthermore, using OLED gives the user a quick reading of oxygen levels and heart rates.

Suppose a final year engineering project successfully develops a practical and helpful Pulse Oximeter using Arduino. In that case, this will give them experience in electronics, firmware, and biology.

8. A Portable Fitness Tracker using Arduino

Obesity is a global concern. In Europe and USA, a considerable percentage of the health budget is spent on dealing with obesity cases. Furthermore, obesity is mostly the root cause of major widespread diseases. The causes of diseases such as Heart Conditions, Diabetes and Blood Pressure can be associated with obesity.

Obese patients are encouraged to exercise and stay fit. To help track the level of exercise, a final-year engineering student can use the Arduino environment. 

A digital 3-axis accelerometer, gyroscope and Arduino platform can help to track human movement, the number of steps taken, and other parameters.

In addition to accelerometers and gyroscopes, other sensors such as heart rate monitoring and temperature sensor can also help measure important vitals. All of this data can be sent to the cloud using an ESP32 Arduino shield to track the activity and improvements in heart rate etc.

By working on this project, a final year engineering project student will gain invaluable experience in working with Arduino hardware, firmware, communication over cloud, accelerometer, gyroscope, temperature sensor and heart rate monitoring sensor. Furthermore, this whole experience of integrating all these sensors with Arduino will enable the student to work on other complex projects in the future confidently.

9. Non-Invasive Digital Infrared Thermometer using Arduino

Temperature is the most widely measured physical quantity in the industry. Various methods determine the temperature, such as NTC, PTC, Pt100, and analogue and digital temperature sensor ICs. The disadvantage is that for measuring the temperature accurately, all of these sensors must be in contact with the surface whose temperature is to be measured. Some applications find it impossible to get to the surface due to space/access constraints. Hence, for these applications, a non-invasive temperature measurement system is required. 

With the advent of Infrared temperature sensors, it is now possible to measure the temperature of the surfaces non-invasively.

Infrared temperature sensors come in various sizes and shapes. Furthermore, they can be interfaced to Arduino using a digital I2C interface or Analogue input. One disadvantage of the Infrared temperature sensors is that they are not as accurate as the Pt100 sensors and do not cover the wide view field area. However, an array of Infrared temperature sensors can be assembled to cover a wider measurement area.

Developing a non-invasive thermometer can be a worthwhile project for a final-year engineering student. The student will be able to learn not only about measuring the temperature accurately but also non-invasively. In addition, the experience gained using Arduino hardware, infrared temperature sensor, and firmware development will be invaluable.

10. Distance Measurement using Time of Flight Sensor with Arduino

Distance measurement is one of the last projects on our list of the Top 10 Arduino Final Year Projects. Distance measurement is an integral part of many industrial applications. Various devices such as Encoder and ultrasonic sensors offer distance measurement. All of these devices have their advantages and disadvantages.

A compact and intelligent distance measurement system can be developed for commercial applications using Arduino and a Time flight sensor such as VL6180. The VL6180 sensor can be interfaced with the Arduino using the I2C interface.

The time of flight sensors is mainly infrared-based sensors that consist of a Transmitter and Receiver on a single sensor. The time of flight sensor transmits and also receives the infrared light. If an object is present in the line of view of the transmitter beam, then the infrared light will reflect the receiver. The sensor will then calculate the time it took for the infrared light to reflect back. Hence, accurately relating it to the object’s distance.

Hundreds of commercial and industrial applications for the time of flight sensors exist. Hence, we highly recommend students choose this project for their final year project owing to its various applications. If a student does a project using Arduino and Time of Flight sensor, their chances of employment are automatically increased.

Summary

In this article, we have discussed the Top 10 Arduino Final Year Projects that engineering final year project students can develop as part of their Final Year projects. The students can take excellent inspiration from the ideas and further build on the presented Arduino project topics.

Firstly, we introduced Arduino to beginners and detailed its hardware and software development blocks. We also discussed what the applications of Arduino are and what benefits it can bring to final-year engineering projects. It is essential to realise that Arduino has many applications. Moreover, one of the main advantages of using Arduino is that it is an excellent platform to prove your concept quickly.

Secondly, we also discussed various applications of Arduino. We highlighted how engineering students could accelerate their careers by selecting the Arduino platform for their final year project. Furthermore, we elaborated on how students can develop exciting projects in the final year of their engineering degree using Arduino. The ease of using the Arduino platform is highly supplemented by the thousands of free source online application libraries.

Top Ten Arduino Projects for Final Year Students

We have also presented the ten most important and trending Arduino-based projects that Final Year Students can use as part of their Final Year projects. We have discussed the following top Arduino projects in this article:

1. Arduino-Based Car Parking Assistant
2. Home Automation System using Arduino
3. Monitor and Report Air Quality using Arduino
4. An advanced Colour Sensing system using Arduino
5. Water Level Measurement System using Arduino
6. Forest Fire Detection system using Arduino
7. A Pulse Oximeter using Arduino
8. A Portable Fitness Tracker using Arduino
9. Non-Invasive Digital Infrared Thermometer using Arduino
10. Distance Measurement using Time of Flight Sensors with Arduino

Hopefully, after reading this article, you will better understand what the Arduino platform is and what it has to offer. You should consider the Arduino platform for your final year project as it can also help in your professional career. Because you can easily use the Arduino platform to quickly prototype systems to verify the concepts. In addition to this, the Arduino also helps with developing early-stage prototypes for customer demonstrations. If you are a final year undergraduate student, then you can work on any of the above Arduino projects. Because familiarity and experience with the Arduino platform will further your engineering career.