I quickly created a simple but compact digital tachometer using an Arduino Uno microcontroller and a pretty nice Arduino LCD Keypad Shield. The setup can measure how many times a switch/sensor action ...

This could make for an excellent controller or debugger for embedded systems. The Arduino, shield, and LCD could be integrated into the keyboard itself with an I/O port for connecting to your project.

The vertsatile Uno Rev3 is capable of more than just a board for experimental and education projects ...