Arduino, Qualcomm launch Hackster contest for UNO Q
Arduino and Qualcomm have launched a global developer contest on Hackster centred on the Arduino UNO Q board, with 300 boards available to participants.
The competition targets engineers, makers and other developers building projects on the new platform. Entries are open to a wide range of participants, from students and hobbyists to professional engineers. Judges will assess innovation, technical execution, user experience, sustainability and scalability.
New platform
The Arduino UNO Q combines a Qualcomm Dragonwing QRB2210 microprocessor unit running Linux with an STM32 microcontroller for real-time control. The setup is designed to support projects that combine AI inference, real-time processing and cloud connectivity on a single board.
Contest participants will use Arduino App Lab, which brings together Arduino sketches, Python applications and AI models in one workflow. The companies say the board also supports edge machine learning workloads, including computer vision and audio AI.
Listed hardware features include WiFi 5, Bluetooth 5.1, HDMI, USB-C, camera and display connectors, Arduino headers and Qwiic support. The board enters a crowded market for compact systems built for connected devices, robotics and AI experiments, but the contest gives Arduino and Qualcomm a way to encourage early projects around the hardware.
Broad themes
Participants are being asked to submit work that addresses practical problems in sectors including industrial IoT, home automation, robotics, gaming and social impact. That broad scope suggests the organisers want to showcase a wide range of uses rather than a narrow set of demonstrations tied to one industry.
The giveaway of 300 boards lowers the cost of entry for selected participants, while others can still buy the hardware separately and enter. That approach could broaden participation beyond established developers with access to specialist equipment, especially students and independent makers who often rely on contests to try new hardware.
Hackster, the platform hosting the contest, is widely used for project documentation and community challenges. For Arduino, which has long had a strong education and hobbyist following, the partnership offers a way to draw those users towards more advanced Linux-based and AI-focused development without leaving familiar tools and workflows.
Qualcomm, meanwhile, has been expanding its reach in edge computing and embedded AI through hardware and software designed for devices that process data locally rather than in the cloud. Linking the QRB2210 to an Arduino-branded board gives it exposure to a developer audience that may not typically begin with industrial or mobile chip platforms.
Prizes offered
Winning teams and individuals will receive cash prizes and visibility on Hackster. The top award includes a paid trip to Maker Faire Rome for the Best in Show winner, along with public recognition for selected projects on the platform.
That prize structure reflects the role contests now play in developer marketing, where hardware vendors seek not only submissions but also public examples of what a platform can do. Successful entries often become reference projects for other users, especially when they combine practical use cases with accessible code and documentation.
"With Arduino UNO Q and App Lab, we're lowering the barrier to building powerful AI-enabled systems. This contest is about empowering developers everywhere to experiment boldly and create solutions that can truly make an impact," said Fabio Violante, VP & GM, Arduino, Qualcomm Technologies.
The launch also highlights how board makers and chip companies are trying to make edge AI development easier to approach. Rather than requiring separate environments for low-level control, Linux applications and AI models, the UNO Q is positioned as a single platform that can handle those tasks within one project workflow.
For developers, the key test will be whether the board and software can support useful projects without adding complexity that outweighs the benefits of a hybrid design. For Arduino and Qualcomm, the immediate measure of success will be the range and quality of projects that emerge from the contest.