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Our project, ROBO UNO+, is an ambitious reimagining of the beloved Arduino UNO R3, designed to push the boundaries of what an open-hardware development board can be. Inspired by our team's collective nostalgia for the Arduino UNO R3 and motivated by feedback gathered over five years of workshops, we took a quest to create the ultimate UNO R3 board.
Motivated by feedback from years of workshops and our personal experiences, we aimed to enhance accessibility for beginners and expand capabilities for experienced users.
ROBO UNO+ is an open-hardware development board inspired by the good-old Arduino UNO R3. It was designed to be 100% compatible with the classic UNO R3, to use and expand the huge ecosystem around it, but redesigned from scratch with additional hardware features that make it a more comprehensive and versatile platform for enthusiasts and educators.
Features & SpecificationsBelow are some of the improvements we’ve made, in more detail.
Yeah, you heard right! The ROBO UNO+ development board sets itself apart with its advanced four-layer printed circuit board (PCB) design, offering significant benefits over traditional two-layer PCBs, and probably making it the only four-layer UNO R3 board in the universe! This sophisticated layering enhances electrical performance by reducing electromagnetic interference (EMI), a critical factor in maintaining signal integrity for complex electronics projects. Additionally, the four-layer configuration allows for a more compact board design, optimizing space for additional features and functionality. This design approach facilitates better heat dissipation, ensuring ROBO UNO+ operates reliably under a wide range of conditions. Integrating internal ground and power planes also improves power distribution throughout the board, leading to more stable and efficient operation. This enhancement make ROBO UNO+ a superior choice for enthusiasts and educators seeking a robust platform for their innovative projects.
Based on our research and experience, almost all medium to advanced projects include some pushbuttons for input, a buzzer to generate audio feedback and sounds, a few LEDs for visible feedback, and most probably a display. Wiring these components for each new project is time-consuming and messy. Incorporating these components directly onto the board streamlines your project build, allowing you to focus more on coding and project-specific wiring.
ROBO UNO+ specifically incorporates, and saves a lot of wiring for:
- 1x Buzzer
- 3x RGB LEDs
- 4x General Purpose Buttons
- 1x Plug & Play OLED Port
- 1x I2C JST-SH Port
Over six years of teaching microcontroller prototyping, we’ve seen beginners struggle with the steep learning curve of both electronics and programming. The ROBO UNO+ simplifies this by incorporating onboard components, clear labels, and easy-to-use features, allowing learners to start with programming and gradually progress to electronics. Since this is a classic educational platform, we labeled all the main components on the silkscreen so students can easily recognize and understand the board layout.
Of course, we wouldn’t limit you in any way; if you prefer not to use the built-in hardware, all pins are accessible for your custom use.
ROBO UNO+ Quest MapTo make your journey even easier, we prepared a list of 20 ready-made projects, ensuring you have a smooth kickoff! A piano project, a police system, an egg timer, an altitude logger, and even DOOM is on the list to play with! All the projects are available in our GitHub repository :)
ROBO UNO+ boasts double header pin rows, providing increased connectivity options for additional sensors, actuators, and expansion modules. A big upgrade is the JST-SH port for plug-and-play connectivity with ROBO UNO+ add-ons, Adafruit’s STEMMA QT, and Sparkfun’s Qwiic ecosystem, opening up an entirely new world of expansion boards for your projects.
ROBO UNO+ includes a standard four-pin connector for the popular SSD1306 OLED display. This plug-and-play feature allows for seamless integration of I2C displays, providing a visual interface to showcase project data, status, user interactions, or even mini-games.
Our journey in developing the ROBO UNO+ has been remarkable. From initial sketches to the final prototype, every step was driven by our passion for technology, electronics, and education. By backing our campaign, you’re not just getting early access to the ROBO UNO+; you are literally bringing this project to life and you’re shaping the future of our startup by giving us fuel to design and develop even cooler and useful open hardware for you!
The schematics and 20 full project examples for ROBO UNO+ are all available in our GitHub repository.
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