Arduino Provide Official MicroPython Firmware for Several Board Variants

 Since Arduino and Damien George have partnered to provide official MicroPython firmware for several board variants, C/C++ is no longer the only game in town.

MicroPython, a Python port focused on microcontrollers and made for devices with limited resources, has been integrated into the Arduino development ecosystem, according to the company. Damien George, the creator of MicroPython, will work with Arduino to bring the virtual machine to a variety of official Arduino development boards.

The Arduino team justifies the change by saying, "We've lately started experimenting with the Python language as a prospective expansion for our programming platforms, noting how it has become the number-one language for many sorts of users." "Specifically, MicroPython, the version of Python that works on microcontrollers, is what we're looking at. Through our cooperation with OpenMV, several of their virtual machines geared toward computer vision have been translated to some of our devices, allowing us to achieve amazing things with the Nicla Vision (for example).

Expanding on this first experience, we had the good fortune to collaborate with Damien George, the author of MicroPython, to convert the official virtual machine to a variety of Arduino devices.

It's a significant change for Arduino, which for years has emphasized C/C++ programming with its fork of Wiring to abstract the user from the difficulties of handling hardware awareness. Thus, MicroPython becomes only the second Arduino language in project history to be officially supported; however, despite being official, it won't be appearing as a choice in the official Arduino IDE anytime soon.

Alternatively, Arduino has collaborated with programmer Murilo Polese on the Arduino Lab for MicroPython, a cross-platform integrated development environment that heavily mimics the design of the well-known Thonny IDE. Arduino Lab for MicroPython, which was created to be simple to use, provides a method of connecting to Arduino microcontroller boards that are compatible, accessing the read, evaluate, print, loop (REPL) console, and writing programs that can be uploaded to the virtual machine running on the microcontroller.

The Arduino team cautions, "This is not yet an official product." "It's an experimental tool, but we wanted others to play with it, so we made an experimental tool website called "Arduino Labs," where we'll upload tools for people to test out and give us feedback. The likelihood that they will become finished items is not assured. Enjoy and utilize them while you can!"

For hardware running 64-bit versions of Windows, macOS, and Linux on x86 processors, Arduino Lab for MicroPython is currently accessible on labs.arduino.cc. Currently, only for the Arduino Nano 33 BLE Sense, Nano RP2040 Connect, and Portenta H7 boards, the MicroPython firmware is available on the Arduino documentation site along with instructions. At the time of writing, Arduino had not specified a timeframe for bringing it to other models.