Abstract
This study presents a systematic literature review examining the implementation and educational impact of Arduino within physical computing and project-based learning in STEM higher education. Although Arduino-related research has expanded rapidly, most studies focus on primary and secondary education, leaving higher education comparatively under-explored. This review identifies distinctive affordances of Arduino as a physical computing platform: it enables students to work with real hardware under authentic failure conditions, supports iterative hardware–software prototyping that reflects professional engineering practice, and provides an accessible end-to-end experimental system, from sensor-based data acquisition to embedded control. Following PRISMA guidelines, a systematic search was conducted across Web of Science, ERIC, and IEEE Xplore, covering peer-reviewed publications from 2015 to 2025. Of 97 identified records, 23 studies met the inclusion criteria and were assessed using the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool (MMAT). The findings show that Arduino is primarily integrated through student-centred approaches, including project-based learning, hands-on laboratory activities, and interdisciplinary STEM frameworks. Across the reviewed studies, Arduino consistently improved technical skills, programming competence, problem-solving ability, and student motivation. Rather than serving as another active-learning tool, Arduino’s combination of affordability, real hardware constraints, and end-to-end system design effectively connects theoretical instruction with authentic engineering practice.