The Arduino Project has announced a new compact version of its open source Arduino microcontroller platform called the Arduino Nano. Meanwhile, winners of the Arduino Open Hardware Contest have been announced, and include a security system, a modular robot, and a sweater-clad haptic navigational device.

50,000 Arduino units have been sold worldwide since mass production began two years ago. Those are small numbers by Intel standards but large for a startup outfit in a highly specialized market. What's really remarkable, though, is Arduino's business model: The team has created a company based on giving everything away.

Arduino is cool. It's cool because it's a tiny device - about three inches by two inches - that comes with a USB port and a programmable chip. It's cool because you can program it using a very simple programming language known as Wiring.

Gameduino is a game adapter for Arduino built as a single shield that has plugs for a VGA monitor and stereo speakers. Gameduino hardware is BSD licensed and code is GPL licensed.

Qi Hardware is now shipping its first "copyleft hardware" device, the ultra-portable Ben NanoNote. The palm-sized notebook is designed to be a hackable hardware platform for Linux developers, akin to what the Arduino board is for electronics projects.

Qi Hardware is now shipping its first "copyleft hardware" device, the ultra-portable Ben NanoNote. The palm-sized notebook is designed to be a hackable hardware platform for Linux developers, akin to what the Arduino board is for electronics projects.

Unboxing Arduino Uno and getting started for Arduino development on Ubuntu Maverick.

[Jonathan] Oxer [...] will be conducting a mini-conference, a one-day workshop, on the Arduino...He describes it as a cheap, tiny computer system that was originally designed as a teaching tool and building block for people who want to add some intelligence to objects such as kinetic sculptures and other gadgets

We're all familiar with open-source software, such as the Apache webserver or the Linux OS, but in the last few years, open-source hardware projects have risen in popularity, including the open-source electronics platform Arduino.