Getting Started with the Arduino Uno Q

In this guide, we will be taking a look at the Arduino Uno Q. We will be looking at what you will need to get started, how to run the board both through both the Linux environment and over the network, as well as looking at some demos in App Lab.

Let's get into it!

There are two ways to use the Uno Q, and both of them involve App Lab – the new IDE for the Uno Q. You can either program it from another computer with App Lab installed, or you can boot into Linux on the Uno Q itself and use App Lab directly on the device.

We are going to boot into the Uno Q and set it up on the device because it’s a bit more fun. However, if you install App Lab on your computer, plug in the Uno Q via USB, and select the board when it appears, you should be able to follow along with these setup steps just fine.

To boot into the Uno Q, go ahead and connect your hardware:

1. Plug in your USB Hub to the Uno Q.
2. Connect the HDMI output to a monitor.
3. Plug in your Keyboard and Mouse.
4. Finally, plug in your USB-C Power Supply.

The Uno Q doesn't have a power button and will turn on as soon as it receives power.

After completing its boot phase, you may be prompted to set a password. This password is a tad redundant as you will reset it later, just ensure you don't forget it. Once you have booted into the desktop environment, App Lab should automatically open. You will be prompted to enter your board credentials and connect it to WiFi.

Your Uno Q will then check for any updates, and it should go through and automatically install them.

Note: If you run into any issues while updating, first of all, try closing and reopening App Lab as that may fix it. Also, double-check that you have properly connected to Wi-Fi (you should be able to open up a browser and check on the device). If that doesn’t work, you might have an Uno Q from the initial batch. These initial boards are unable to fully update themselves and need a manual reflashing. If you suspect this is the case, follow our guide on reflashing your Uno Q to get it sorted.

For most people, though, this should be a smooth update process, and once it is done, we can finally start using App Lab.

Now, you could very happily use App Lab on the Uno Q itself and have this sort of all-in-one dev platform, but personally, we enjoy programming this from our desktop PC, so we are gonna switch over to that. 

One of the coolest features of the Uno Q is the ability to program it over your local network. If you have App Lab installed on your desktop PC and your Uno Q is powered on and connected to the same network, it will pop up automatically in the IDE, ready to be programmed.

This network connection method is what we found to be the best way of using the Uno Q, but that’s just personal preference. Regardless of whether you plug it in via USB or use App Lab directly on the Linux desktop on the device itself, you are going to get pretty much the same experience, so don't fret!

Now that we are in, let's take a look at some example Apps. In the world of Uno Q, an "App" is simply what they call a project. These examples are really great and worth checking out as they show you a lot of what the board is actually capable of. More importantly, they show you how to structure your own projects.

If we open up a simple demo, like Blink LED with UI, we can see the standard project structure on the left:

• Readme & YAML: You'll see a readme file with info on the project and a .yaml configuration file. This .yaml is a config file that updates automatically, so you shouldn't need to touch it.
• Sketch Folder: Inside here is an Arduino sketch. If you have ever done anything with Arduino before, this C++ file will look right at home. This is where you put your code to interact with the hardware, just like you would on a regular microcontroller.
• Python File: This is what sets the Uno Q apart. Here is where you put the Python code that runs on the Linux side of the board. This is also where we set up and use Bricks.
• Assets Folder: Not always present, but this will hold any additional files needed for your project needs. Most of the time, it will hold assets for a webpage that the Uno Q creates. In here will be fonts, images, HTML code, CSS, Javascript, etc.

Wait a minute, what are bricks?

Bricks are a bit of a unique concept to App Lab. Think of them as advanced libraries that run on the Linux side of the architecture that run in paralel to your app (infact they actually run in a docker container managed by App Lab). In our Blink example, we are using the webui brick, which handles everything required to host a webpage on our Uno Q.

There is a whole mixed bag of these Bricks available: one generates audio signals, another handles keyword spotting, and another does object detection. They are incredibly powerful tools that bridge the gap between high-level Python code and hardware.

When you hit run, you'll see the interface switch over to the Console tab. This gives you a view of everything happening under the hood, split into three sections:

• App Launch (output from your overall app)
• Serial Monitor (output from your C++ Arduino sketch)
• Python Shell (output from your Python script)

Once the app boots up, it will automatically open a webpage where you can start interacting with your new creation. You'll find that a lot of Uno Q apps utilise this sort of web interface—it’s a really clean way to control your projects. If a webpage doesn't automatically open, you can access the page by using the name of your Uno Q. Ours is called "bobbi", so we will use:

arduino@bobbi:7000

Now, turning an LED on and off with a webpage is pretty cool, but there are much cooler things the Uno Q can do! Have a play around with these demo apps. Some apps we found cool to play around with: object detection from a live video feed, weather data, and keyword spotting.

Also remember, in the top right of the editor page, you can create a copy of an app to start modifying for your needs - this is a handy way to get going with a project that might be similar to one of the demos.