Arduino, known for Qualcomm and its open-source hardware platform, will hold a global developer competition with Edge Impulse, an Edge AI development platform corporations, and the developer community Hackster.
With the newly unveiled "Arduino UNO Q" at the forefront, the plan is to discover innovative ideas in AI, IoT, Robotics, and Edge Computing.
Arduino, Qualcomm, and Edge Impulse said on the 16th that they will host the "Invent the Future with Arduino UNO Q and App Lab Competition" through Hackster. The competition is open to engineers, developers, and makers worldwide, including Korea.
Arduino is an open-source hardware and software platform corporations widely used by developers, students, and makers around the world. It has been broadly used for making electronic device prototypes, education, and IoT development, and its strength is helping anyone relatively easily combine hardware and software to create products and services.
Edge Impulse is a Machine Learning development platform corporations that supports the entire Edge AI development process, from sensor data collection to training, optimization, and deployment. It is known for helping implement complex AI models on small devices and in embedded environments, and it is used across various fields including manufacturing, industry, healthcare, and wearables.
At the center of this competition is the new platform, "Arduino UNO Q." The board features a hybrid architecture that combines the Qualcomm Dragonwing QRB2210 MPU running Linux with an STM32 microcontroller for real-time control. Simply put, it is designed to handle AI computation and real-time control simultaneously. It has also obtained domestic KC certification, meaning it can be used not only in Korea's education, research, and development environments but also on industrial sites.
Participants will develop their projects using "Arduino App Lab." This development environment supports integrating Arduino sketches, Python applications, and AI models within a single flow. By linking Edge Impulse, data training and AI model optimization can be implemented more easily, making it well-suited for edge-based Machine Learning development.
Arduino UNO Q also offers diverse connectivity and expandability, including Wi-Fi 5, Bluetooth 5.1, HDMI, USB-C, camera and display connectors, traditional Arduino headers, and Qwiic support. Based on this, the organizers expect to see projects that can be practically used across multiple fields, such as industrial IoT, home automation, Robotics, gaming, and addressing social issues.
The competition is open to everyone from students and hobbyist developers to professional engineers. Projects will be evaluated based on innovation, level of technical implementation, user experience, sustainability, and scalability. The aim is to encourage development of solutions that can be deployed in the real world, beyond simple prototypes.
To encourage participation, 300 Arduino UNO Q boards will also be provided. Some participants can receive boards for free according to the rules, and those who want to start developing sooner can purchase them individually.
Winners will receive prize money along with global promotion opportunities through Hackster. In particular, the top "Best in Show" winner will receive full expense support to participate in "Maker Faire Rome 2026," offering a chance to present their project to makers, engineers, and technology leaders around the world.
Fabio Violante, Arduino and Qualcomm vice president, said, "With Arduino UNO Q and App Lab, the barrier to entry for developing powerful AI-based systems is getting lower," and noted, "This competition is intended to help developers around the world experiment boldly and develop solutions that can make a truly meaningful impact."