A cheap serial Bluetooth modem from eBay lets him connect to his phone. An Arduino ... of all IR-compatible home entertainment devices. You just need a tool to discover the remote control codes.

And although you can dream up just about anything and create it with Arduino, the organization’s website also includes a list of ways to use the bundle to create home automation options.

Soon, you could make everything in your life smartphone-app-controllable—or at least the things that have wires. A California-based inventor has taken to Kickstarter to fund the launch of the ...