ESP32-CAM is a $10 ESP32 Camera Development Board

ESP32-CAM

Espressif Systems ESP32 has many new interfaces over ESP8266, but still lacks a hardware camera interface like DVP or MIPI CSI. However, it’s still possible to connect a camera to the I2S interface. What? Isn’t I2S used for audio? It turns out there’s more to ESP32’s “I2S  interface” as pointed out in the forums: The I2S subsystem in the ESP32 also provides a high speed bus connected directly to RAM for Direct Memory Access. Putting it simply, you can configure the ESP32 I2S subsystem to send or receive parallel data under hardware control. There were some ESP32 camera boards launched previously such as ESP32-PICO-tinyCAM, but most seem to have been phased out. However not is all lost, as Seeed Studio is now taking pre-orders for the new A.I. Thinker ESP32-CAM board with a 2MP camera for $9.90. ESP32-CAM board specifications: Wireless Module- ESP32-S WiFi 802.11 b/g/n + Bluetooth 4.2 LE […]

Sensything ESP32 Board Supports Multi-sensor Data Acquisition, Wi-Fi & Bluetooth (Crowdfunding)

Sensything Data Acquisition Android App

We’ve previously covered to health related boards from Protocentral with HealthPi Raspberry Pi HAT measuring vitals signs, and HeartyPatch open source ECG patch powered by an ESP32 WiSoC. Today, I’ll write about another of their board – Sensything -, not directly related to health applications, but designed for multiple sensor’s analog and digital (I2C, GPIO) data acquisition, and designed around Espressif Systems ESP32 WiFi & Bluetooth SoC. Sensything specifications: SiP- Espressif Systems ESP32-PICO-D4 system-in-package with 4MB Flash,  Texas Instruments ADS1220 ADC Wireless Connectivity 2.4 GHz WiFi with on-board PCB antenna,  support for Station and Access Point (AP) modes Bluetooth 4.2 / Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) USB – 1x micro USB port with FT230X (USB-CDC) Expansion I/O: Board-edge alligator clip compatible analog input connectors 2x Sparkfun Qwiic-compatible I2C ports 4x general-purpose I/O pins Analog Input details 4 channels single-ended, 2-channel fully differential Full-scale input range: ± 2.048 V to ± 0.016 […]

BlitzWolf Inexpensive & Compact EU & US Smart Sockets Work with ESPurna & Sonoff-Tasmota Open Source Firmware

BlitzWolf US / EU Smart Socket

When I first started to look into WiFi smart sockets a few years, there were some fairly compact models such as the Linux based Kankun KK-SP3 or ESP8266 based Konke Mini K sockets. In recent years, more wireless smart sockets have come to market, but fewer companies have made compact models, and for example Sonoff S26 or Sonoff S31 smart sockets are not exactly small. But this morning I got contacted by a company called BlitzWolf that sells various accessories including low cost and compact smart sockets for the US and EU markets. It could prove to be interesting, so let’s check out the specifications: BlitzWolf BW-SHP1 US Smart Socket Rated Voltage – 110-240V @ 50-60 Hz Rated Current – 10A (Max) Max Total Power Output – 2000W Dimensions – 4.5 cm ∅ (VO fireproof material) Temperature Range – -10 to +60°C BlitzWolf BW-SHP2 EU Smart Socket Rated Voltage – […]

MicroWebSrv Lightweight HTTP Web Server Supports HTML/Python Language Templating

There are many languages that can be used to create a web page: HTML,  HTML5, JavaScript, PHP, etc… But Python? Apparently yes, as MicroWebSrv  lightweight web server – mostly designed for ESP32 platforms running MicroPython such as Pycom boards – supports inserting Python code inside “HTML” files with the extension .pyhtml. The code can be found in Github, and is only comprised of three files. microWebSrv.py – The Web server microWebSocket.py – The optional support of WebSockets microWebTemplate.py – The optional templating language for .pyhtml rendered pages Beside HTML/Python files, the web server can handle GET, POST, … requests, an embedded full REST API, routing handlers, WebSockets, etc… That’s what a mixed HTML + Python .pyhtml file may look like:

You can use double curly braces {{ and }} to insert MicroPython code, if statements, for loops, or includes. I’m not sure if this makes really sense for all […]

How to Make a Cheap Single Channel Gateway with an ESP32 LoRa Board

ESP32 to ESP32 LoRa Communication

Actual LoRaWAN gateways based on Semtech SX1301 concentrator  can be pretty expensive,  and even if you take a LoRa gateway design based on Raspberry Pi for indoor placement or experimentation, price is still around $200. A much cheaper way (~$70)  is to use a single channel LoRa gateway, which as the name implies only support one channel, which limits the number of nodes, and forces you to set the nodes at the same frequency as your gateway. Those are not really suitable for commercial offerings, but if you manage your own gateway and nodes that should be usable. If you only plan to implement a network with a dozen nodes or so, you could even use much cheap ESP32 LoRa board like the ESP32 LoRa 1-Channel Gateway sold on Sparkfun for $29.95. Hardware specifications: Connectivity WiFi and Bluetooth 4.2 LE via ESP32-WROOM-32 module with integrated PCB antenna LoRa @ 868 […]

Pocket Science Lab (PSLab) is an Open Source Hardware Electronics Lab

Last Saturday I created a virtual schedule for the Embedded Linux Conference Europe 2018 where I listed some of the sessions relevant to myself and hopefully regular readers of CNX Software, but due to scheduling conflicts one talk did not make it to the list: “Pocket Science Lab – An Open Source Hardware for Electronics Teaching & Learning” by FOSSASIA. The project is also referred to as PSLab, and aims to  “create an Open Source hardware device that can be used for experiments by teachers, students, and citizen scientists to learn and teach electronics”. It looks interesting enough so let’s have a closer look. The project is inspired by the earlier expEYES project that combines with Raspberry Pi or other Linux platform to create an electronic labs, and the work by the Open Science Hardware community. PSLab key features and specifications: MCU – Microchip PIC24EP256GP204 16-bit microcontroller @ up to […]

$50 Fish32 Seed “Education” ESP32 Board Comes with Plenty of I/Os, Sensors, and Connectivity Options

ESP32 Fish32 Seed Board

Sometimes I feel the word “Education” is sometimes thrown around for marketing purpose, and AnalogLamb Fish32 Seed board for “ESP32 Community Education Board” feels that way to me as so far, I could not see any tutorials or other teaching/ learning resources for the board. Having said that I can see why it could be potentially used for education: the sheer number of features, sensors, and connectivity options should allow students to learn to program my different components around ESP32. It’s just at this stage it may not be such an easy platform to learn on. Fish32 Seed board specifications: Supported ESP32 Modules – ESP32-WROVER, ALB32-WROVER, ESP32-WROOM-32 Connectivity 802.11 b/g/n WiFi and Bluetooth 4.2 via ESP32 10/100M Ethernet (RJ45) via WIZnet W5500 chip with support for up to 8 independent sockets LoRa via SX1278 chip (433 MHz) Sensors NXP MPU-9250 with 3-axis MEMS gyroscope, 3-axis MEMS accelerometer, 3-axis MEMS magnetometer […]

WiFiBoy32 is an ESP32 Portable Game Console and IoT Devkit

WiFiBoy32

I’ve noticed that ever since Hardkernel launched their ODROID-GO “10th anniversary” portable game console based on ESP32 processor, most of the talk on IRC and social media is about this new toy, and people almost seem to have forgotten about the company’s Arm Linux boards 🙂 But recently, I’ve come across a somewhat similar ESP32 device called WiFiBoy32 that acts as both a portable game console and an IoT development kit. WiFIBoy32 specifications: Wireless module – ESP32-WROOM-32 wireless module with 802.11 b/g/n WiFi and Bluetooth 4.2 LE connectivity Display – 2.4″ 240×320 color SPI TFT LCD display Expansion – 2x 8-pin through holes with GPIOs, SPI, DAC, I2S,ADC, VP/VN, and power signals (3.3V, Vin, GND) Misc Top – 6x large gaming buttons, select and start push buttons, buzzer Bottom – PROG and RESET buttons, user LED USB – 1x micro USB port for power and programming (CP2102) Dimensions – 120 […]

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