Live: Arduino Announce UNO Q, App Lab, and Qualcomm Acquisition

I’m here on-site at MAUTO for Arduino’s big announcement today, and having been briefed in advance and given preview of the hardware as part of our upcoming annual boards guide, I can now share, as the embargo lifts, that there are not one, not two, but at least three surprises being unveiled. I will try to add more throughout the event, so please refresh often and scroll down to make sure you see the latest!

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Arduino UNO Q

Most exciting is the announcement of the presciently-named Arduino UNO Q. Referred to as “Project Imola” during earlier briefings, the “Q” — a radical naming departure from the R4 and R3 before it, seems to point to the Qualcomm Dragonwing SoC that powers it; though as we’ll see later, there may be more to the name. In addition to the drastic departure in naming convention, the device itself is a huge break from prior UNOs capability-wise — despite the common form factor (enabling the use of voltage-compatible classic Shields), the Q has a 2.0 GHz 64-bit quad-core application processor, which dwarfs 48MHz 32-bit microcontroller RA4M1 from the R4; itself already a mammoth leap from the 8-bit ATmega328P of its predecessors. As such, the board can run Linux, and in fact ships with a version of Debian and Arduino’s new App Lab software (below). The SoC is paired with an STM32U585 microcontroller, which means that you can connect a monitor and keyboard/mouse to use the Linux OS interactively, and program the “Arduino” (MCU) from the Arduino (SBC). The App Lab software allows you to, for example, connect a camera for Python-based image recognition on the SoC side, while a “traditional” C++ or MicroPython sketch gathers sensor values via 3.3V GPIO or Modulino nodes via the Qwiic connector. This “dual brain” approach revolutionizes the capabilities of the UNO form factor, as well as obviating the need for a separate host computer to program it.

Arduino App Lab

The new UNO Q requires new software to take advantage of its groundbreaking new capabilities, and this comes in the form of the Arduino App Lab IDE. Designed to simplify integration of Python and AI on the SoC with traditional Arduino applications on the microcontroller, the open-source platform also integrates with recent Qualcomm acquisition Edge Impulse for simplified machine learning integration.

Qualcomm Acquisition

Perhaps not the greatest surprise — there has been talk or expectation of something like this happening since Arduino raised $54MM two years ago — but as soon as I saw that “Q” silkscreened on the new UNO, I guessed the implication: Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. have announced an agreement to acquire Arduino. According to Arduino CEO Fabio Violante:

“Joining forces with Qualcomm Technologies allows us to supercharge our commitment to accessibility and innovation. The launch of UNO Q is just the beginning— we’re excited to empower our global community with powerful tools that make AI development intuitive, scalable, and open to everyone.”

During a press briefing last night, their commitment to remaining agnostic (i.e. not removing support for other silicon) was made clear, although my question of “for how long?” did not have a definitive answer. Optimistically, the new resources, access to other acquisitions like Edge Impulse, and ability to leverage Qualcomm’s own IP (the €44 retail price tag on the Q was another clue before the announcement that Qualcomm had a particular interest in this board!) may indicate an exciting new era for the now two-decade-old project.

What do you think about today’s announcements? Let me know via social media or drop me an email at editor@make.co.

Arduino co-founder Massimo Banzi does the “please silence your phones” announcement as the official event is five minutes from starting…

Maker Faire mentioned as Massimo hands the mic to CEO Fabio Violante!

And there it is:

Qualcomm’s “most complicated title in the business” (according to Fabio) Nakul Duggal explains that Arduino will remain an independent subsidiary. Support for other silicon vendors will continue, as it has with other acquisition Edge Impulse.