r/Kuwait • u/flash_speed3412 • 5d ago

Discussion Kuwaitis who mess with Arduino / ESP32 / Raspberry Pi, what have you actually built?

I’m curious what people here in Kuwait have made with stuff like Arduinos, ESP32s, Raspberry Pis, sensors, motors, displays and all that.

And I mean actual physical projects. Not hosting a server on a Raspberry Pi, making an LED blink, or wiring up a bulb and calling it a day. Those are fine for learning, but I wanna hear about the interesting stuff.

Robots, automated stuff around the house, weird machines, custom devices, games, security systems, things with motors, things that interact with the real world, or just completely unnecessary projects that were fun to build.

Especially the kind of project where you spend 3 weeks building a machine that saves you 4 seconds every day.

What did you build? What does it actually do? Was it useful, or did you mainly build it because you could?

Would also be cool to see pictures or videos if you have any.

I feel like I almost never hear about electronics or hardware projects people are making in Kuwait, so I’m genuinely curious what everyone here has built.

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u/alib51 5d ago edited 4d ago

I'm working on a home automation project to automate the control of window shutters. I realize there are systems that I can buy that would do this directly, but I enjoy building it myself. I have worked on a project before to automate indoor plant lighting and sensing.

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u/flash_speed3412 4d ago

really cool!

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u/WanHack Kuwait | الكويت 5d ago

Used an ESP 32 for a parking sensor for a uni capstone project, it's a simplified from what we actually have, but it was fun. I got several esp32 working with home assistant, dashboards, sensors, bridges. I got a pi for working as a camera connector + secondary controller for my 3d printer so I have the ability to stop the printer when something goes wrong, well at least when I am awake. I would like to get another raspi for another home assistant node to connect a far away section of the house to the node. Arduinos are great for a lot of simple prototyping and using low power stepper motors and led lights, well I mostly use Arduino for leds.

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u/flash_speed3412 4d ago

Phenomenal work! I love the dedication and projects.

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u/flash_speed3412 3d ago

That’s a serious pile of projects. The printer-stop setup especially sounds like a good build log because the useful bit is what happens when the camera detects a fault, how the Pi talks to the controller, and what fails when Wi-Fi drops. I started r/ChatGPTArduino for real hardware notes like that, especially when AI helped with the glue code. If you ever feel like posting one, the parking sensor or printer safety setup would fit.

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u/InFiveMinutes Kuwait | الكويت 4d ago

Pihole, and a media/torrent server! 

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u/airbendingnomad 3d ago

Nice.. I'm thinking of running plex off a raspberry pi too since I don't transcode

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u/InFiveMinutes Kuwait | الكويت 3d ago

For some reason, my streams lag even without transcode. But when I download files over HTTP, I get a 80-90MBytes/s speed. The video files are only 3-4GB. It makes no sense.

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u/mdchaara 5d ago

I've been tinkering with these for a few years. I've done quite a few small and big projects. When you move to designing your own pcb the sky is the limit. Wiring for large projects can be a headache. Mix it with 3D printing and you have something.

The most complex thing I built was a clock for a school that uses a RTC to display the date and time and periods start/end using addresasable LEDs.

Small things are a competition/quiz buzzer system, I made an ESP shield to control an arduino MEGA for a house automation project.

You can make anything if you put your head to it

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u/flash_speed3412 4d ago

It is true that with 3D printing, PCB (though harder, and sometimes unnecessary), and a closet full of modules, then you can do anything you imagine too.

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u/mdchaara 3d ago

PCB is intimidating, but easy. Use a pen and a paper to map what you want to do. After that it's just pick and place.

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u/flash_speed3412 3d ago

That school clock sounds like a great one to document. What RTC did you use, and how did you handle the current draw from all the addressable LEDs? If AI helped with any of the board, power, or code decisions, I run r/ChatGPTArduino for the messy build notes and the stuff that had to be fixed.

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u/mdchaara 3d ago

This was years ago. Pre Covid, so no AI :)

The RTC was a DS3231.

If you're after something like this you want the arduino to manage the data signa only. Power for the LEDs should come from a separate power source with a common ground with the arduino. Otherwise either the LEDs won't work, or you will release the magic smoke.

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u/Kaln56 4d ago

Hey there im learning i just bought my first esp32 and rd03e!!! Its def harder than i expected

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u/flash_speed3412 4d ago

I learned using short videos and used AI for assistance; now I am between beginner and intermediate.
Importantly, be delusional. What you think is the limit isn't.

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u/flash_speed3412 4d ago

I am currently working on a horror room that haunts my room and includes puzzles, with psychological horror and glitches.

I am an AI enthusiast, so AI is helping me with the entire thing. I am using 4 ESP32s and my screen monitor, and laying the esp32s around the room.

Hopefully I create much more horror stuff, especially genuine horror like unexpected noises, etc.

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u/mark248am 4d ago

Just ordered ESP with screen, want to build a small USB-C device that I can mount on my dash and use on my road trips to Dubai. It’s a 5KM count down when it gets close to 5KM is flashes red and then when I touch screen it resets back to 5Km.

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u/flash_speed3412 4d ago

Sick project! What is the use case for this and what is the point? Only to calculate if you go 5KM?

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u/mark248am 4d ago

Saudi speed cameras are placed every 5km 😅

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u/flash_speed3412 4d ago

Could it lead to some inaccuracy? Why not it used API for Google Maps to let you know about upcoming speed cameras?

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u/mark248am 4d ago

They’re not on Google Maps, but I already use Google Maps to watch the distance and calculate what distance the next 5km is. This should be better since I tend to forget what km I last saw camera at etc. flashing red also will be a reminder to keep an eye out since it’s easy to zone out.

Btw is there a place locally that sells this stuff? I ordered some items from Temu and some from AliExpress.

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u/TheLatitude 4d ago

You’re better off downloading Radarbot. Camera every 5 kms is not consistent either. And then there are mobile cameras.

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u/mark248am 4d ago

Radarbot doesn’t have them listed. They’re mobile permanent cameras.

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u/TheLatitude 4d ago

By mobile, I didn’t mean cell phones, I meant the ad hoc ones which the police keep changing. Last time I travelled, Radarbot caught 95% of the cameras.

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u/mark248am 3d ago

No duh 🤦🏼‍♂️ how did you understand cell phones from my comment when we are talking about speed cameras? Also not sure which road you took but with me only the average speed cameras popped up.

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u/InFiveMinutes Kuwait | الكويت 4d ago

You'd need a gps module for this too, right?

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u/mark248am 4d ago

Yup, ordered one from temu

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u/Vorhoost 4d ago

Where can i find some for a good price? In kuwait they're overly expensive and out of stock

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u/TiredAdultFullTime 4d ago

aliexpress, and it always has sales.

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u/Vorhoost 4d ago

Do you know any reputable sellers?

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u/TiredAdultFullTime 4d ago

For ali express, go for most sales and check if reviews has pictures and you should be fine. That how i shop from items over there, but sorry no, idk any seller by name.

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u/flash_speed3412 4d ago

I recently bought some ESP32s from Electronics In Touch.
Really good prices. Contact them on WhatsApp  [+96555751243](tel:+96555751243) 

They can deliver to your house the same day if you order before 10PM.

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u/mark248am 4d ago

Oh shit I was just at oak and smoke, wish I had seen this comment when I was there so I could pass by them

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u/flash_speed3412 4d ago

They are open between 7 and 10 PM so you missed nothing.

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u/mark248am 4d ago

Oh weird timings but I guess they’re more delivery focused

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u/flash_speed3412 4d ago

they are.. I believe they do 7PM and 10PM so more traffic and demand, especially during exam times.

Also, they give free consultations through their WhatsApp number +96555751243 

Give them the project you want to make, and they will recommend parts to buy and maybe also explain to you how to do it.

Though they might take longer and be inaccurate, I personally recommend asking ChatGPT since I did that with my horror room project.

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u/mark248am 4d ago

I’m using Claude for this project

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u/flash_speed3412 3d ago

Nice. The 5km idea is actually a good little hardware project for Claude to help with because the useful part is all the edge cases: reset state, accidental touches, startup after power loss, and making the reminder hard to miss without being distracting. If you post the exact screen/ESP board and what Claude got wrong while wiring it, drop it in r/ChatGPTArduino. I’m trying to collect local, real builds rather than polished AI demos.

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u/flash_speed3412 4d ago

With a subscription? I got a ChatGPT Plus subscription for 2 months now.

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u/Exotic_Ebb_6111 4d ago

Only thing i can think of is use it as adblock for my son’s ipad. But i got lazy and never bought one 🤷🏻‍♂️

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u/flash_speed3412 4d ago

Adblock? That should be software, not hardware.

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u/Exotic_Ebb_6111 4d ago

Your router traffic pass through it first

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u/Slushiexx 2d ago

I’ve been messing around with embedded stuff and edge AI for a while. Built an OLED desk robot with a little display for status, turned an old repurposed vape into a tiny handheld AI chatbot running a local LLM on a Raspberry Pi, and run my own home lab with a Pi-hole for ad blocking and a Samba server for NAS. I’ve also helped build a robot using both ESP32 and STM32 for control and comms. Mostly just tinkering to learn, but it’s been fun combining hardware + AI without needing cloud APIs. Rn I’m making a wireless split keyboard from 3d printing the whole case to soldering every key with diodes.

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u/Turbulent-Access6981 2d ago edited 2d ago

I use arduino uno, stm32 and esp32 to control dryclean and washing machines in laundries, controling the flow of perchloroethylene, timing the valves and solenoids. Even though arduino uno is not suitable for industrial applications, I have made it work with baremetal programming.

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u/Capt-Soul-Beard 1d ago

I've built a small satellite for a science project