Nicla Family ARDUINO PRO: Embedded Computing and Advanced Sensing in an Ultra-Compact Form Factor

Architecture, features, and professional applications of the Arduino Pro Nicla family for IoT, edge computing, and low-power systems.

What Is the Nicla Family?

The Nicla Family is Arduino Pro’s line of ultra-compact boards designed for low-power embedded solutions, integrating advanced sensors, processing capabilities, and connectivity. It is ideal for IoT, edge computing, and autonomous applications.

Nicla’s core focus is to deliver a minimal form factor without sacrificing performance, enabling deployment in projects where space constraints, energy efficiency, and autonomy are critical.

Boards in the Nicla family can operate standalone on battery power or act as modules within larger systems through compatible connectors, depending on the application architecture.

Main Nicla Family Versions / Variants

The Nicla Family currently includes several boards, each optimized for specific use cases such as environmental sensing, computer vision, voice recognition, and motion detection.

Nicla Sense ME

Extremely compact (22.86 × 22.86 mm), integrating motion and environmental sensors from Bosch Sensortec, including IMU, pressure, temperature, humidity, and air quality sensors.

It supports motion, vibration, and acceleration detection, environmental monitoring, air quality analysis, and low-power sensor networks.

Ideal for IoT applications, environmental monitoring, industrial and residential automation, wearables, distributed sensor systems, and real-time monitoring.

Nicla Vision

A board equipped with a 2 MP camera, integrated microphone, distance sensor, and 6-axis IMU, designed for edge computer vision.

It features a dual-core processor (ARM Cortex-M7/M4) capable of handling advanced tasks such as image processing, object detection, multimodal sensor fusion, and pattern recognition directly on the device.

Supports Wi-Fi and Bluetooth LE connectivity, full Arduino ecosystem compatibility, and autonomous battery operation. This makes it highly versatile for embedded vision, monitoring systems, smart agriculture, automation, and intelligent control applications.

Nicla Voice

Designed for voice recognition, motion detection, and contextual sensing with extremely low power consumption. It integrates a dedicated AI accelerator (Neural Decision Processor) for running machine learning algorithms at the edge.

Includes a MEMS microphone, IMU, magnetometer, and Bluetooth LE connectivity. Ideal for voice-controlled automation, gesture detection, wearables, always-on IoT sensors, and battery-powered intelligent devices.

Nicla Sense Env

Focused on environmental sensing, including air quality, temperature, humidity, pressure, and gas/pollutant monitoring.

Ideal for indoor and outdoor environmental monitoring, HVAC automation, air quality control, smart agriculture, smart buildings, and Smart City applications.

Architecture and Key Technical Features

The Nicla boards use a compact square form factor optimized for industrial and embedded applications. They feature standardized connectors, headers, and flexible power options including USB, LiPo battery, or compatible I/O power.

They support I/O voltages from 1.8 V to 3.3 V with programmable level shifting, improving system compatibility and integration flexibility.

Multiple usage modes are supported:

• Standalone operation, running the full application locally

• Peripheral module mode, via ESLOV / I²C

• Expansion or companion module for larger Arduino boards (when compatible)

Ultra-low-power consumption with advanced sleep modes and power management enables long-term battery operation, which is essential for IoT sensors, wearables, remote monitoring, and embedded devices.

Thanks to integrated microcontrollers, advanced sensors, and on-device ML capabilities, Nicla boards support sensor fusion and edge processing, transforming raw data into actionable insights locally. This reduces latency, energy consumption, and reliance on cloud infrastructure.

Practical Applications & Use Cases

With its sensor diversity, processing power, and energy efficiency, the Nicla Family fits a wide range of scenarios:

• Intelligent environmental monitoring using Nicla Sense Env or Sense ME to measure air quality, temperature, humidity, and gases in factories, offices, smart homes, agriculture, or urban environments.

• Distributed autonomous IoT sensor networks, operating on battery power and communicating via Bluetooth or Wi-Fi in industrial, urban, or rural settings.

• Edge computing and local analytics, using Nicla Vision or Nicla Voice for image processing, object detection, voice recognition, or gesture control directly on the device without cloud dependency.

• Wearables and compact portable devices, enabled by the small size and low power consumption, suitable for health monitoring, activity tracking, drones, robots, and smart gadgets.

• Rapid prototyping and industrial PoCs, combining sensors, processing, and connectivity on a single board to accelerate proof-of-concept development in IoT, Smart Cities, automation, and R&D projects.

Advantages and Why Choose the Nicla Family

• Ultra-compact form factor with high integration, reducing system complexity and development costs.

• Low power consumption and autonomous operation, ideal for battery-powered and field-deployed solutions.

• Flexible usage models, supporting standalone, modular, or expandable architectures.

• Edge computing, sensor fusion, and on-device AI, enabling low latency, higher privacy, and reduced cloud dependency.

• Arduino ecosystem compatibility, with access to libraries, community support, and integration with MKR and Portenta platforms.

When Does It Make Sense to Use Nicla?

The Nicla Family is a strong choice when your project requires:

• Extremely compact size or limited physical space

• Ultra-low power consumption and battery autonomy

• Multi-modal sensing (environmental, motion, vision, voice)

• Real-time local decision-making (edge computing)

• Modular integration and scalability

• Fast prototyping with a clear path to a production-ready product

Across industrial IoT, automation, smart buildings, Smart Cities, precision agriculture, wearables, and intelligent devices, the Nicla Family offers an excellent balance of performance, flexibility, and energy efficiency.

Technical Integration: Getting Started

1. Select the Nicla board that best fits your sensing, connectivity, and power requirements.

2. Use the Arduino IDE (or compatible environment) and install the Nicla Board core.

3. Leverage official libraries for sensors, vision, voice, or motion. Arduino documentation provides pinouts and examples.

4. For IoT or sensor networks, consider standalone battery operation or ESLOV / I²C integration depending on system architecture.

5. Validate real-world data, measure power consumption, and plan enclosure, protection, and future expansion for final products.

The Nicla Family represents a significant evolution within the Arduino Pro ecosystem, delivering a compact, efficient, and highly integrated platform for advanced sensing, edge AI, local processing, and next-generation IoT applications. By combining sophisticated sensors, low-power microcontrollers, and full support for machine learning and computer vision, Nicla enables scalable, intelligent, and truly autonomous solutions.

For companies, developers, and system integrators, Nicla boards dramatically reduce the time from prototyping → validation → final product, while lowering development complexity and cost.

How Grupo Autcomp Can Help

Grupo Autcomp extends the capabilities of the Nicla Family by offering:

• Custom embedded systems developmentComplete solutions using Nicla Sense ME, Nicla Vision, Nicla Voice, or Sense Env tailored to client needs.

• Professional IoT integrationCloud connectivity, dashboards, industrial protocols, gateways, and distributed architectures.

• Embedded AI (Edge AI) implementationComputer vision models, image analysis, voice recognition, gesture detection, and autonomous processing directly on the device.

• Monitoring, telemetry, and intelligent sensorsCompact, low-power solutions ready for real-world deployment.

• Rapid prototyping and technical validationTransforming ideas into PoCs, MVPs, and industrial pilots.

• Integration with existing systems and automationConnectivity with PLCs, machines, APIs, industrial environments, and enterprise systems.

• Ongoing support and solution evolutionTechnical assistance, maintenance, upgrades, and scalability.

Together, Nicla Family + Grupo Autcomp enable the creation of professional embedded solutions with local intelligence, advanced sensing, and low power consumption, ready for real-world applications in industry, Smart Cities, agriculture, automation, monitoring, and enterprise IoT.