micropython News - Page 11 of 27 - CNX Software

December 23, 2022December 23, 2022 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 6 Comments

Merlot is an open-source hardware tricolor wireless E-paper display

paperd.ink Merlot is a tricolor E-paper display with an open-source hardware control board based on ESP32 wireless SoC that is programmable with Arduino, MicroPython, or the ESP-IDF framework. We first wrote about the paperd.ink 4.2-inch ESP32-based monochrome e-Paper display last year, but the company has now refined its design with the “paperd.ink Classic” replacing the 3D printed enclosure with a vacuum cast enclosure and adding a 1,900 mAh battery. They also launched a new model, the Merlot, based on the same design but with a display supporting three colors: black, white, and red. Merlot specifications: Wireless module – ESP32-WROOM-32 module with ESP32 dual-core processor, 4 MB SPI flash, 2.4 GHz WiFi 4 & Bluetooth LE connectivity Storage – MicroSD card slot for storing images, files, etc Display – 4.2″ tricolor e-Paper display with 400 x 300 resolution; full refresh: ~ 17 seconds; partial update: also 17 seconds… USB – 1x […]

December 22, 2022December 21, 2022 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

Banana BPI-Bit-S2 BBC Micro:bit compatible board supports WiFi

Banana BPI-Bit-S2 is a board for the education market that’s compatible with the BBC Micro:bit V2, but offers WiFi connectivity instead of Bluetooth LE through an Espressif Systems ESP32-S2 wireless microcontroller. The BPI-Bit-S2 succeeds the earlier Banana Pi BPI-Bit with ESP32 WiFi & BLE microcontroller that was a closer match to the original BBC Micro:bit than the new ESP32-S2 board for which I see little benefit, except for the slightly lower price tag. Banana BPI-Bit-S2 specifications: Wireless MCU – Espressif Systems ESP32-S2FN4R2 single core LX7 microcontroller with 320 kB SRAM, 2MB PSRAM, 4MB flash, 2.4 GHz WiFi connectivity LEDs – 25x RGB LED matrix USB – 1x USB Type-C port for power and programming Sensors – 2x light sensors, 1x thermistor sensor Expansion – 3x I/O rings, 3V/GND rings, 20-pin edge connector (compatible with BBC Micro:bit V2 design) with up to 16x GPIO, I2C, SPI, 3.3V, and GND Misc – […]

December 5, 2022December 5, 2022 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

Getting Started with CrowBot BOLT smart robot car

Elecrow CrowBot BOLT & Game Controller Assembled

CrowBot BOLT is a smart robot car based on an ESP32 wireless microcontroller and designed for the education market with the ability to program the robot with visual programming, Arduino, or MicroPython. Elecrow sent me a sample of the CrowBot BOLT kit for evaluation so I’ll have a look at the hardware, show how to assemble it, showcase the features of the built-in firmware, and demonstrate how to program the robot with visual programming, Arduino, and MicroPython using some of the provided code samples. CrowBot BOLT unboxing The package lists some of the highlights with 16 teaching courses, support for multiple programming platforms, scalability with Grove connectors, and the inclusion of the Joystick that’s also programmable. The CrowBot BOLT comes as a kit so there will need to be some work to do to assemble the robot, but no soldering is required (in normal cases, more on that later). The […]

December 1, 2022December 1, 2022 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 12 Comments

Inkplate 2 is a 2.13-inch WiFi ePaper display programmable with Arduino or MicroPython (Crowdfunding)

Inkplate 2 wireless ePaper display is by far the smallest display from Soldered Electronics with a 2.13-inch 3-color ePaper display while previous Inkplate models rely on 6-inch to 9.7-inch ePaper displays. The tiny display board integrates an ESP32 dual-core wireless microcontroller that drives the display, provides WiFi and Bluetooth connectivity plus some I/Os, and can be programmed with the Arduino IDE or MicroPython. Inkplate 2 specifications: Wireless module – ESP32-WROVER-E module with ESP32 dual-core microcontroller with Wi-Fi 4 & Bluetooth 4.0 connectivity, 8MB PSRAM, 4MB flash (Note: The product’s description lists 8MB flash, and 4MB RAM, but there’s no ESP32-WROVER-E in this configuration) Antenna- External IPX antenna Display – 2.13-inch ePaper display with 212×104 resolution (111 DPI) Red, black, and white colors 15 seconds full refresh time (no partial update) USB – 1x USB Type-C port for power and programming via CH340 USB to TLL chip Expansion 20-pin header with […]

November 28, 2022November 28, 2022 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

Raspberry Pi RP2040 development board doubles as a magnetic rotary encoder

Raspberry Pi RP2040 rotary encoder board

PICO DEV M3 is a round-shaped development board based on a Raspberry Pi RP2040 dual-core microcontroller and serves as a magnetic rotary encoder with a few 3D printed parts. Designed by Ahmsville Labs, the board comes with 2MB QSPI flash, various through holes for GPIOs, a USB-C port, and the magnetic rotary encoder supports up to 36,000 steps per revolution and comes with 18 individually addressable LEDs. PICO DEV M3 development board specifications: Microcontroller – Raspberry Pi RP2040 dual-core Arm Cortex-M0+ MCU at 133 MHz with 264kB on-chip SRAM Storage – 2MB QSPI flash USB – 1x USB 1.1 Type-C host/device port Encoder Base resolution of 36 steps, extending up to 36,000 steps per revolution. Ring of 18x individually addressable LEDs Encoder button Ball bearing for a smoother feel compared to traditional rotary encoders Customizable 3D printed encoder Expansion – Through holes placed on the edge of the board for: […]

November 28, 2022 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 6 Comments

LOLIN S3 Pro ESP32-S3 board offers display port, MicroSD card slot

LOLIN S3 Pro is a WiFi & Bluetooth LE IoT board built around the ESP32-S3-WROOM-1 modules with various I/Os including a display port, a microSD card slot, and a LOLIN I2C connector. The wireless module ships with 16MB QSPI flash and 8MB PSRAM, and the board also features two 16-pin headers with ADC, DAC, I2C, SPI, UART, etc…, a USB Type-C port, and support for a LiPo batteries with 500mA charging. LOLIN S3 Pro specifications: Wireless module – ESP32-S3-WROOM-1 module with: Espressif Systems ESP32-S3 dual-core Tensilica LX7 @ up to 240 MHz with vector instructions for AI acceleration, 512KB RAM, 2.4 GHz WiFi 4 and Bluetooth 5.0 LE with support for long-range, up to 2Mbps data rate, mesh networking 16MB QSPI flash 8MB PSRAM PCB antenna Storage – MicroSD card socket Display I/F – Display port for “TFT and EPD” displays USB – 1x USB Type-C port Expansion 2x […]

November 11, 2022November 23, 2022 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 5 Comments

Arduino Lab for MicroPython – An experimental cross-platform MicroPython IDE for Arduino boards

Arduino boards have traditionally been programmed with C-like language in the Arduino IDE, but with the Arduino Lab for MicroPython, Arduino added MicroPython to several official Arduino boards. In the words of the Arduino Team, “not an official product yet, an experimental tool”, but I would not be surprised if it becomes an official IDE eventually as the company collaborated with Damien George, the creator of MicroPython, to port the official the virtual machine to a number of Arduino products, and Murilo Polese to develop the Arduino Lab for MicroPython cross-platform IDE for MicroPython. The IDE looks familiar… Oh yes, I see it now, it’s basically the Arduino IDE, but for MicroPython… 😉 and many of the same features including supporting connection with a board, code upload, file transfer, plus a Python-specific interactive REPL shell. Arduino Lab for MicroPython features so far: MicroPython’s Read Eval Print Loop (REPL) Enter […]

October 31, 2022November 2, 2022 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 12 Comments

LILYGO T7-S3 ESP32-S3 board with 16MB flash, 8MB PSRAM, LiPo battery support sells for under $10 (Promo)

LILYGO has launched another ESP32-S3 development board. The T7-S3 is equipped with an ESP32-S3-WROOM-1 module with 16MB flash, 8MB PSRAM, and a PCB antenna. The board is fairly compact at 3.9×3.1 cm, can be powered through a USB-C port or a LiPo battery with charging support, and offers 40 through holes plus a Qwicc/QT I2C connector for expansion. LILYGO T7-S3 specifications: Wireless module – ESP32-S3-WROOM-1-N16R8 module with SoC – Espressif Systems ESP32-S3 dual-core Xtensa LX7 processor @ up to 240 MHz integrating vector instructions for AI acceleration, 512 KB SRAM, WiFi 4 and Bluetooth 5.0 LE & Mesh connectivity Memory – 8MB PSRAM Storage – 16MB SPI Flash USB – USB Type-C port Expansion 2x 20-pin headers with up to 29x GPIOs, 20x ADC, UART, SPI, Touch interface, 5V, 3.3V, and GND 4-pin Qwiic/QT I2C connector Misc – User LED, charging LED (blue), reset and boot buttons, power on/off switch […]