A documentary by Troniction
Two Kings: a history of Arduino and Bluetooth
Two Kings is a documentary about how the two technologies on every maker's bench, Bluetooth and Arduino, were both named after kings: Harald Bluetooth of Denmark and Arduin of Ivrea. It is told in five parts, and each part gets a page here with its narration, every fact with its source, and every image with its credit. The film runs 40 minutes.
Trailer · 1:11
Watch the full film on YouTube · 40:58
40:58Two Kings: a history of Arduino and Bluetooth
The whole film, from the beginning. 40:58 long: two kings, a radio, a board, and how they ended up on the same bench.
Watch the filmThe five parts
Each part has its own page: the narration line by line, the source behind every fact, and every image with its credit.
Act 1 · 2:09–7:17
The king and the radio
How a tenth-century Danish king gave his name to a short-range radio.
/two-kings/bluetooth-history/
Act 2 · 7:17–14:26
The king and the bar
How a lord of Ivrea, a typewriter town and a design school gave Arduino its name.
/two-kings/arduino-history/
Act 3 · 14:26–24:04
The wire-cutting era
The small Bluetooth modules that cut the wire between a board and a phone.
/two-kings/hc-05-bluetooth/
Act 4 · 24:04–33:42
Low Energy changes everything
How Bluetooth Low Energy changed what an Arduino could talk to.
/two-kings/bluetooth-low-energy/
Act 5 · 33:42–38:50
Now and next
Where Bluetooth and Arduino are now, and where they go next.
/two-kings/bluetooth-today/
The research so far
144
facts cited in the 5 parts published
187
sources, 143 primary
20
common claims corrected
26
archival images, each credited
163 facts have been checked for the whole film so far. Each part's page lists the ones it uses.
How the research was done
- Every date, name and number in the narration was checked against a source before it was recorded. A claim that could not be sourced was cut.
- Primary sources come first: the organisation, the person or the document itself. Secondary sources are reputable press and reference works.
- Where the popular version of a story is wrong, the page for that part says what it says and why it is wrong.
- Real photographs and documents are used only with a licence, and each one is credited.
- Places, people and eras for which no footage exists are reconstructed, and marked DRAMATISATION on screen for the whole shot.
Two Kings: a history of Arduino and Bluetooth, by Troniction. The Bluetooth® word mark and logos are registered trademarks owned by Bluetooth SIG, Inc. Arduino® is a trademark of Arduino S.r.l. Neither endorses this film. Image credits and licences are listed with each image.