Qualcomm revealed that it has acquired Arduino, the popular open-source electronics company. Along with it is the introduction of a new product called Arduino UNO Q.
Based in San Diego, Qualcomm is best known for providing the chipsets that power most of the world’s smartphones. The company has been steadily growing its business in other areas, including connected cars, laptops, and industrial equipment. The acquisition of Arduino gives it direct access to a massive community of over 33 million developers.
Arduino, an Italian not-for-profit organization, is famous for its easy-to-use hardware and software. Its products are a common sight in classrooms and workshops, used by high school and university students learning to code, as well as by professional engineers who need to build device prototypes quickly.
A key part of Arduino’s appeal is its open-source nature, meaning its designs are freely available and its tools work with chips from many different manufacturers, not just Qualcomm. Both companies were quick to reassure the existing community that this will not change. Arduino will keep its own brand name, its development tools, and its mission. Support for chips from other companies will continue.
As part of the new partnership, Qualcomm also revealed plans for a new Arduino development board. This board will be powered by one of Qualcomm’s “Dragonwing” processing chips. It is designed for advanced projects, like robots, that need the computing power of a smartphone along with precise, real-time control of motors and moving parts.
This will be the first board to work with a new coding tool called “AppLab.” Qualcomm says AppLab is designed to help Arduino developers connect simple robot code with the complex programming languages used for advanced artificial intelligence systems.
Source: Qualcomm