Om Singh, SB Components Promise an "Enhanced" Alternative to the Arduino Uno: the ArdiPi and Ardi-32

Om Singh and SB Components have launched a crowdfunding campaign for what they claim to be an pair of boards offering an "enhanced" alternative to the classic Arduino Uno, powered by a Raspberry Pi Pico W or Espressif ESP32: the ArdiPi and Ardi-32.

"The Arduino Uno has long been the go-to microcontroller board for various projects for tinkerers, hobbyists, and electronics fans," Singh explains. "But as technology develops, innovative options have appeared that provide even greater strength, adaptability, and usability. The Ardi series is one such alternative. Engineers who were dissatisfied with the limitations of available microcontroller boards came up with the Ardi series. They desired a panel with the same functionality as the Arduino Uno, but with increased processing speed, memory capacity, and networking possibilities."

The Ardi family is split into two models, both acting as an Arduino Uno form-factor carrier board for a different microcontroller module. The ArdiPi hosts a surface-mounted Raspberry Pi Pico W, offering two Arm Cortex-M0+ cores running at a stock 133MHz, 264kB of static RAM (SRAM), 2MB of flash memory, and a radio capable of Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity. The Ardi-32, meanwhile, uses an Espressif ESP32 module with a dual-core Tensilica Xtensa LX6 processor running at up to 240MHz, 520kB of SRAM, and 448kB of flash memory.

Both models, naturally, eclipse the performance of a genuine Arduino Uno, which is based on a single-core Microchip ATmega328P eight-bit microcontroller running at 16MHz and with 2kB of SRAM, 32kB of flash memory, and 1kB of EEPROM storage. Both Ardi boards also add a Wi-Fi radio, SD Card slot for additional storage, and an on-board buzzer. On the software front, Singh promises support in the Arduino IDE, MicroPython, and CircuitPython, with the Ardi-32 also supporting ESP-IDF and the ArdiPi supporting the Raspberry Pi Pico SDK.

This isn't Singh's first crowdfunding campaign. Last year he launched a campaign for the RoundyPi and RoundyFi, a pair of smart circular displays driven by the Raspberry Pi RP2040 or Espressif ESP-12E respectively. Later, the same concept would be used in Raspberry Pi HAT form with the added bonus of a capacitive touchscreen layer.

The Ardi crowdfunding campaign is now live on Kickstarter, with physical rewards starting at £18 (around $22) for the ArdiPi or Ardi-32; the campaign also includes a range of Arduino Uno-format shield boards, starting at £8 (around $10) for the Ardi Relay Shield. All hardware is expected to ship in May 2023.