A Qualcomm-powered Arduino board running Debian Linux is now the heart of a build-your-own retro console kit. The UNO Q Arcade bundle combines the UNO Q 4GB single-board computer with three daisy-chainable Modulino I2C modules, a joystick, a button pad, and a 6-axis IMU, all connected via SparkFun-compatible Qwiic cables. A Python script bridges those raw sensor events to standard virtual keyboard and mouse inputs through the Linux uinput subsystem, so the operating system treats the whole assembly as a regular HID. No custom drivers, no kernel patches.
The UNO Q itself is a dual-brain board built around the Qualcomm Dragonwing QRB2210, a quad-core Cortex-A53 clocked at 2.0 GHz with an Adreno GPU, paired with an STM32U585 Cortex-M33 microcontroller for real-time I/O. The 4GB variant ships with 4 GB of LPDDR4 RAM and 32 GB of onboard eMMC, plus dual-band Wi-Fi 5 and Bluetooth 5.1. It runs a standard Debian desktop, which means RetroArch and its emulation cores (mGBA, bsnes, Nestopia, among others) install from packages the usual way. Arduino's official tutorial also walks through using the open-source Godot engine for custom game development on the board.
The software side leans into standard Linux tooling. Arduino provides systemd unit files so the controller bridge and emulator launch automatically on boot, and the 3D-printable enclosure files for the base, button pad, and cover are published openly. Armbian also supports the board, with Debian Trixie and Ubuntu-based images available under community support and the UNO Q edge kernel track running Linux 7.1. Community testing has also covered running Steam titles on the UNO Q through FEX x86-to-ARM translation and Proton, a combination that extends the playable library well beyond what RetroArch emulates, with performance varying by title. Assembly requires a 3D printer, fourteen M3x6 flathead screws, two M3x10 screws, and the Qwiic cables included in the kit. One catch: the UNO Q outputs video through USB-C alt mode, so an external USB-C hub with HDMI is required and not included.
The bundle is $91 (€96) with a 20% launch discount running until 2026-09-10, after which it returns to roughly $114 (€120). Both prices include VAT.
