ARDUINO

Arduino is open source hardware.

Open source, magic words for me: software released with a free license that keeps the source code available, i.e., the basic structure that makes up the programs, for any modifications and implementations.

The main feature of Arduino was the Creative Commons license, which allowed for its increasingly widespread use.

But we were talking about open source hardware: Arduino is a printed circuit board that integrates several elements as well as a USB interface for connecting to computers.

Have you ever been unable to find a microcontroller that didn’t cost a fortune?

The students at IDII, the Interactive Design Institute Ivrea, have.

So their professor looked for a solution, giving rise to what is essentially the Maker movement, or rather: Make in Italy.

In practice, the microcontroller was created specifically to meet the needs of those international students inspired by multidisciplinary courses in physics, computer science, design, and creative programming.

It all began in 2003 when Hernando Barragán  discussed his thesis on the Wiring project. 

Wiring allows you to write cross-platform software to control devices connected to a wide range of microcontroller boards.

In 2005, associate professor Massimo Banzi, together with David Cuartielles and David Mellis, created Arduino.

The choice of name was also ingenious: easy to remember and certainly shorter and more appealing than the actual technical name.

The name was taken from a place of relaxation, breaks, refreshment, and coffee: the bar they frequented at the time.

I speak in the past tense because Bar Arduino no longer exists: it is now called Caffè Gioberti. 

The inspiration is still historical, but it differs from the tribute to King Arduino d’Ivrea, king of Italy in 1002. 

In fact, 20 years have passed since then, and many developers have used the small board that has “democratized” technology.

Arduino was recently acquired by Qualcomm, a California-based telecommunications, development, and research company.

Do you have a favorite bar?

If you had to name one of your creations after the café you frequent, what would you call it?