The object
David Cuartielles co-designed the original Arduino open-source microcontroller board, a simple, reproducible hardware platform for connecting software to sensors and actuators. The board's open design made electronics prototyping accessible beyond specialist engineering labs and became a durable global maker and education standard.
What David did
Co-designed the original Arduino board and platform with the Ivrea team for rapid physical-computing prototypes.
Why it matters
Arduino's founders created a platform used worldwide for embedded-hardware learning, prototyping and IoT product development; Cuartielles has received awards for that Arduino work.
Living-status check
Arduino's 2025 founder profile identifies Cuartielles as a co-founder, university lecturer and leader of its research projects, positive evidence he was alive in 2025.