Should we bring Volumio to the Arduino UNO Q?

Volumio Community Forums Vox Populi
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Hey everyone,

I want to open a discussion with you about a board that has caught our attention lately: the Arduino UNO Q.

For those who haven’t seen it yet: it’s Arduino’s new “dual-brain” board. It pairs a Qualcomm Dragonwing QRB2210 (a quad-core Cortex-A53 running full Debian Linux) with an STM32 microcontroller, WiFi and Bluetooth on board, and it starts at around €39 for the 2GB version and ~€53 for the 4GB one. In other words, a proper little Linux computer in the classic UNO form factor.

We’ve been asking ourselves a simple question: should we port Volumio to it? And instead of deciding behind closed doors, I’d love to hear what you think first.

Here’s where our head is at.

Why yes:

  • On paper, it’s a great platform. A quad-core A53 with 2–4GB of RAM and eMMC on board is more than enough to run Volumio comfortably, and the fact that it ships with Debian makes it a natural fit for us.
  • The price makes sense. At ~€50 it’s very reasonable, especially right now that Raspberry Pi prices are climbing because of the ongoing RAM/memory crisis. Having a solid, affordable alternative in that range matters more than ever.
  • The audio side looks promising. This is the big one. Arduino has released a Media Carrier shield that exposes the audio interfaces integrated in the PMIC — not audiophile-grade codecs, but perfect for software development and for a first proof of concept. More interestingly, it looks like the I2S interface of the Qualcomm SoC is exposed on the high-density connector (GPIO 98 through 101 on the host SoC: BCLK, WS/LRCLK and data lines). If we can confirm this, the door opens to a proper high-quality DAC. We could even imagine a custom Volumio shield with something like the ESS Sabre ES9039Q2M we already use on Primo Plus / Preciso / Primo. One caveat we already know about: those SoC GPIOs run at 1.8V, so any I2S connection would need mandatory level shifting — wiring 3.3V/5V peripherals directly would damage the application processor. So this needs care and, ideally, a generic I2S overlay to activate it.
  • And honestly? Because it’s fun. The DIY scene has felt a bit quiet lately, and Volumio was born exactly there — tinkering, experimenting, building things because they’re cool. We’d love to get back to having some fun with you.
  • It’s a great Italian combo. Arduino and Volumio, both born in Italy. There’s something we really like about that.

Why maybe not:

  • The I2S availability is not yet officially confirmed. We’re planning to get in touch with Arduino directly to verify the exposed I2S and, hopefully, get a generic overlay to enable it. Until then, part of this rests on an assumption.
  • The audio integrated in the PMIC is fine for a PoC, but on its own it’s not the quality our community expects — so a big part of the value depends on that DAC path working out.
  • Every new platform we support is a commitment in maintenance and testing, so we want to make sure the interest is really there before we jump in.

So, over to you:

  • Would you actually want to run Volumio on an Arduino UNO Q? Why yes, why no?
  • Is a board like this something you’d buy and tinker with, or does it not fit how you use Volumio?
  • And more broadly — are there other platforms you’d love to see us support? Now is a great moment to tell us.

As always, honest feedback is the most valuable thing you can give us. Let us know your thoughts! :slightly_smiling_face:

3 Likes
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I’m interested in a “that sounds like a fun project” sort of way.
One of my R Pi 3B+ setups seems to be prone to unexplained slowdowns and non-responsiveness every few weeks. So the opportunity to replace that with a lower cost Arduino board sounds worth a try.

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I think the idea is very good in principle.
Will existing hats still be usable with this?
My beloved Allo DigiOne with and without Signature, or BOSS and BOSS2, will probably no longer be usable. Therefore, it’s not interesting for me personally.
Is it worth maintaining an additional platform?
I think there are other problems to solve. But with a very low priority, why not…

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I think this is a very interesting idea. It would enable Volumio to be run on portable devices. As I’m sure you’re aware, there’s recipes for building mp3 players using Arduino devices. But being able to play bigger, lossless, files on an Arduino-based (networkable) device - using Volumio - takes the idea to a whole new level.

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Hello.
How about the idea of running volumio on an Android TV box (on amlogic s905a, s905x5m) from a SD card?

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Yes, this opens up another option. I like the idea of being able to source different processors and shields. We might see a variety of options that otherwise would not exist.

If it is practical, I’d say go for it.

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Be careful about licensing… Qualcomm acquired Arduino and lots of red lights activated in the diy community…

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I haven’t commented on this topic yet, so here are my thoughts.

The Arduino appears to be a very bare-bones platform that requires additional dongles and expansion boards just to connect something as basic as a DAC.

There are already far more capable boards available, such as the Odroid M1S and RockPi-E. Both have been ported in the past, but development was eventually put aside due to a lack of community interest.

What makes this platform different? Why do you believe this one will gain enough traction within the community to justify the effort and ongoing support?

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Having a little experience with porting Volumio to other devices, I really don’t see the point of tackling such a complex device by the core team and offering it as a supported device. I would rather have current issues with Volumio 4 fixed with current Volumio device collection.
My opinion: as a community driven port, interesting but as a Volumio supported device rather not unless there are no open issues left and the core team runs out of work :wink:

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Seemingly off-topic, but I’m not sure.

How can I make Volumio competitive without changing the hardware?

https://github.com/vercel-labs/scriptc