Unlike a single-board computer, an Arduino is a microcontroller board and can’t run an operating system-see the differences between microcontrollers and SBCs. The Arduino project uses a basic programming language called Arduino which is based on C/C++ and an integrated development environment (IDE) written in Java. The microcontroller can be programmed to perform a wide range of tasks, from controlling lights and computers to reading sensors and measuring temperature.Īrduino has been around since 2005 when it started as a project by students at the Interaction Design Institute Ivrea (IDII) in Ivrea, Italy, and has gained much widespread adoption since then.

The Arduino platform comprises a programmable microcontroller board and an integrated development environment (IDE).