Microcontrollers: real-time collaboration in the Arduino Cloud

Arduino, manufacturer of the microcontroller of the same name and the corresponding programming environment, has added a new feature to its cloud: Collaborative Coding. This allows several people to work together on a project at the same time.

This should be helpful for students and professional developers working on a complex Internet of Things (IoT) project, for example, but also in industrial automation. Here, collaboration should increase project efficiency, reduce errors and speed up development cycles. As Arduino explains, pair programming is also the most common way chosen by teachers to promote collaboration in programming among students – this is also possible with the new feature. Other possible use cases include real-time workshops or customer demonstrations of software.

Collaborative coding in the application

If someone makes changes in collaborative coding, these are also displayed to everyone else. If several people are working on the same project, the edited code sections are framed in orange; a message also appears at the bottom right of the screen.

Once you have completed your changes or verified and uploaded a sketch, the next person can start editing the code.

Arduino provides further information in the Cloud Editor documentation.

Prerequisite: Shared space in the Arduino Cloud

Collaborative coding is a feature in the Cloud Editor, an online alternative to the classic Arduino development environment. The Cloud Editor has been available as part of the Arduino Cloud since January 2024 and can work with any microcontroller that is compatible with the Arduino software. Another requirement is that users must use a shared space for their organization or educational institution. Shared Spaces are also located in the Arduino Cloud and are already included with a paid subscription to Arduino Cloud School or Business.

The Arduino blog presents the new feature and possible applications in detail.

(mai)