Maker UNO Builds on the Arduino Uno at a Price of $6

When you think about programming and electronics education, Arduino, and specifically the Uno comes to mind. While an excellent platform and well supported by add-ons like shields, sensors, and readily available example programs, like any technology there is room for improvement.

The Maker UNO — now available on Kickstarter for a discounted price of $4 each — takes the form of an Uno board, but adds some new tricks to enhance functionality. While it features the same digital and analog IO pins as the flagship Arduino, the Maker UNO has 12 LEDs on IO pins 2 to 13, and includes a built-in piezo buzzer. It also has a programmable pushbutton, meaning students and experimenters can get started programming without any extra hardware.

Beyond that, there are a few other changes changes, such as the use of a CH340G for USB to serial conversion instead of the ATmega16U2 in order to save costs, and it’s only setup to accept power from a USB source. You might also note that it uses the common micro USB connector rather than the USB-B cable found on standard Uno boards.

It looks like an interesting piece of hardware, especially at the $4 to $6 price point. As mentioned in the video below, it will be a great option for educators. Not only will students not have to hook up every LED or button individually, there’s even space to write their names on it on the back so they don’t get boards mixed up!

If you don’t want to wait for the Kickstarter campaign to end, they’re also available right now on Tindie.