Arduino introduced its MKR family of breadboard compatible maker boards with MKR1000 featuring an Atmel SAMD21 microcontroller combined with a Microchip WINC1500 WiFi module. The board was followed by MRKZero without wireless connectivity, then MKRFOX1200 Sigfox board, and finally MKR WAN 1300 & MKR GSM 1400 boards at the end of 2017 with LoRaWAN and 3.75G cellular connectivity. The company has now launched two new boards: Espressif ESP32 based MKR WiFi 1010 with WiFi and Bluetooth, and MKR NB 1500 equipped with an NB-IoT & LTE CAT M1 module. Arduino MKR WiFi 1010 MKR WIFI 1010 is an evolution of the MKR1000 board, and is equipped with a U-Blox ESP32 module. Preliminary specifications: MCU – Microchip SAMD21 Cortex-M0+ MCU @ 48 MHz with 32KB SRAM, 256 KB flash memory Wireless Connectivity – 2.4 GHz 802.11 b/g/n WiFi and Bluetooth 4.2 LE via U-blox NINA-W10 Series module based on ESP32 processor. […]
TTGO T5 is an ESP32 WiFi + Bluetooth Board with ePaper Display and Speaker
Lilygo has made another ESP32 board part of their TTGO family with TTGO T5 board powered by Espressif System ESP32 WiFI & Bluetooth SoC, and offering a choice of ePaper displays from 1.54″ to 2.9″, as well as built-in speaker. TTGO T5 board specifications: SoC – Espressif ESP32 dual core Tensilica LX6 processor with WiFi 802.11 b/g/n and Bluetooth 4.1 LE Storage – micro SD card slot Display (one of the other) 1.54″ 200×200 black & white ePaper display; Full refresh time – 2 seconds 2.13″ 250×122 black & white ePaper display; Full refresh time – 2 seconds 2.7″ 264×176 black & white ePaper display; Full refresh time – 6 seconds 2.9″ 296×128 black & white ePaper display; Full refresh time – 2 seconds Viewing angle – >170° Power Consumption – Refresh: 26.4mW(typ.); standby: <0.017mW Connected via SPI interface Audio – Mini Speaker Expansion – 24-pin header with GPIO, UART, […]
ESP32-LyraT Speech Recognition Board Sold for 22 Euros
Just last week, we wrote about Espressif ESP-ADF Audio development framework that can be used to develop smart speakers and other audio applications with ESP32 boards. There was only one board with documentation at the time however: ESP32-Lyra-T. One tiny problem: it was not for sale just yet, but today Olimex has announced the board is in stock, selling it for 22 Euros. Main features: Wireless module – ESP32-WROVER module with WiFi and Bluetooth LE Audio Many audio inputs – Wi-Fi, BT-audio, DLNA, 3.5mm audio Line-in 3.5mm headphone jack 2x microphones Speaker connectors Storage – micro SD slot Debugging – JTGA header, USB UART Misc – Touch sense buttons, function/boot/reset keys, DIP switch for configuration Power – 5V via micro USB port; battery header + charger chip You’ll find documentation on Espressif website (user guide) as well as on Github’s ESP-ADF (getting started guide). Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft)Jean-Luc started CNX Software in […]
Banana Pi BPI-ESP32 Board Follows Arduino UNO Form Factor, Works with Webduino and Arduino IDE
SinoVoIP has been pretty busy those days, as beside launching a BBC Micro:bit clone based on ESP32, and BPI-AI-Voice speech recognition board (also a clone or MicroSemi AcuEdge kit), the company has now started to take orders for Banana Pi BPI-ESP32 board for $10.99 plus shipping on Aliexpress. As the name implies, the based is based on ESP32 WiSoC, supports Arduino shields since it follows Arduino UNO form factor, and can be programming with web based Webduino visual programming IDE, or the Arduino IDE. BPI-ESP32 (aka BPI-UNO32) board specifications: Wireless module – ESP-WROOM-32 WiFi 802.11b/g/n, and Bluetooth 4.2 LE module; 4MB flash Expansion – Arduino headers with GPIOs, ADC, Ethernet, VP/VB, UART, I2C, Touch interface, etc… (See pinout table below) Misc – Buzzer, Tx/Rx LEDs, power LED, RGB LED, buttons Power Supply 5V/1A via micro USB 12V via 5.5mm DC jack Dimensions – 68 x 53 mm The company has […]
Espressif ESP-ADF Audio Development Framework for ESP32 Supports Baidu DuerOS, and Soon Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, etc…
Espressif Systems have been working on audio applications like Smart Speakers based on ESP32 WiSoC with hardware development kits like ESP32-LyraTD-MSC Audio Mic HDK, and I could test it with Baidu DuerOS using Mandarin language. However, at the time (February 2018), there was not much else that could be done with the hardware kit, since no corresponding ESP32 audio software development kit had been made available. This has now changes since Espressif has just released ESP-ADF Audio Development Framework on Github. The framework will support the development of audio applications for the Espressif Systems ESP32 chip such as: Music player or recorder handling MP3, AAC, WAV, OGG, AMR, SPEEX … audio formats Play music from network (HTTP), storage (SD card), Bluetooth A2DP/HFP Integration with Media services such as DLNA, Wechat, etc.. Internet Radio Voice recognition and integration with voice services such as Alexa, DuerOS, Google Assistant As we can see […]
$19.50 BPI:bit ESP32 Board is Inspired by BBC Micro:bit, Compatible with Webduino and Arduino IDE
BBC micro:bit board for education was first unveiled in 2015, before starting to be given away to UK students, and later sold for about $19 in 2016. The board supports Bluetooth connectivity, includes an array of 25 LEDs, as well as a specific 20-pin edge connector also featuring 5 large holes (rings) for 3 I/Os and power. So far I had not seen any clones or alternative boards inspired from the design, as we see for Arduino or Raspberry Pi boards. But SinoVoIP (Banana Pi) has changed that with their BPI:bit clearly inspired from the Micro:bit, but offering both WiFi and Bluetooth connectivity via an ESP32 module. Hardware specifications: Wireless module – ESP-WROOM-32 module with WiFi and Bluetooth LE connectivity LEDs – 25x RGB LED array Sensors – 2x light sensors, thermistor, 9-axis accelerometer / gyroscope / compass (MPU-9250) Expansion – 3 digital/analog I/O rings, 3V/GND ring, 20-pin edge connector […]
ESP32-WROOM-32D / ESP32-WROOM-32U WiFi & Bluetooth Modules Deliver Better RF Performance
ESP-WROOM-32 is likely the most popular ESP32 WiFi + Bluetooth module on the market, but a few months ago, Espressif Systems unveiled two variants named ESP32-WROOM-32D / ESP32-WROOM-32U, which are based on ESP32-D0WD (5x5mm package) instead of ESP32-D0WDQ6 (6x6mm package), and are said to offer better RF performance ESP32-WROOM-32D is the most similar to ESP-WROOM-32 since it also comes with a PCB antenna, while ESP32-WROOM-32U is much smaller as it relies on an external WiFi/Bluetooth antenna via a u.FL connector. Both new modules are pin-to-pin compatible with ESP-WROOM-32 Key features: CPU – Espressif ESP32-D0WD dual core Tensilica processor Storage – 32Mbit SPI flash Crystal – 40 MHz Connectivity – Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n up to 150 Mbps, Bluetooth 4.2 LE I/Os – 38- catellagated pin with I/Os + GND plane Antenna ESP32-WROOM-32D – on-board antenna ESP32-WROOM-32U – u.FL connector for external IPEX antenna Dimensions ESP32-WROOM-32D – 18 x 25.5 x 3.1 […]
ALB32-WROVER is an ESP-WROOM-32 Compatible Module with 32 Mbit PSRAM, up to 128 Mbit Flash
ESP-WROOM-32 is one of the most commonly ESP32 WiFi + Bluetooth module, and does the job for many applications. However, it only includes 4MB (32Mbit) flash, and no external PSRAM, while Espressif ESP32 chip itself supports up to 128 Mbit (16MB) NOR flash and up to 32Mbit (4MB) PSRAM, so for applications demanding more resources (e.g. MicroPython), or for initial development it would good to have a module maxing out memory and storage capabilities of the chip. Analog Lamb ALB32-WROVER does exactly that with 32 Mbit PSRAM, and 32 to 128 Mbit flash, in a form factor compatible with ESP-WROOM-32 module. ALB32-WROVER specifications: WiSoC – Espressif ESP32 (Rev0?) Wi-Fi and Bluetooth combo chip External Memory – 32Mb PSRAM Storage – 32, 64, or 128Mbit Flash Dimensions – 18 x 25 x 3 mm Compatible with ESP-WROOM-32, except for GPIO16 & 17 (used for PSRAM) It’s very odd the company claims the […]