esp32 News - Page 2 of 110 - CNX Software

January 27, 2026 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 6 Comments

SONOFF Dongle Max (Dongle-M) Review – A Zigbee/Thread PoE, USB, and WiFi adapter tested with Home Assistant

SONOFF Dongle Max Dongle-M review with Home Assistant Zigbee2MQTT ZHA

SONOFF sent us a sample of the SONOFF Dongle Max (also known as Dongle-M) Zigbee/Thread adapter with PoE support for review. It is based on Espressif ESP32-D0WDR2-V3 and Silicon Labs EFR32MG24 SoCs, and can serve as both a Zigbee coordinator and Thread Border Router, with connectivity options including Ethernet, Wi-Fi, and USB. The dongle is specifically designed for popular smart home platforms like Home Assistant, Zigbee2MQTT, ioBroker, and OpenHAB. Key advantages of the Dongle Max over the recently reviewed Dongle Plus MG24 include built-in Wi-Fi and Ethernet support (in addition to USB), Power over Ethernet (PoE), and a convenient Web Console for easier device configuration. It basically provides more flexibility thanks to a wider range of connection options, and it’s easier to place it in strategic locations since it doesn’t need to be connected directly to your Home Assistant server. In this review, we’ll go through the unboxing, initial setup, […]

January 27, 2026January 26, 2026 by Debashis Das - 2 Comments

Hiwonder WonderLLM – An ESP32-S3 smart chat module with 2-inch touch display, 2MP camera, and dedicated voice chip

Hiwonder has introduced the WonderLLM, an ESP32-S3-based smart chat module that combines a 2MP camera, a 2.0-inch touch display, a speaker, and a microphone array to support both offline computer vision tasks and cloud-based Large Language Models (LLMs) via the XiaoZhi AI platform. The device ships with a dedicated voice chip (CI1302) that enables always-on wake-word detection, and a 4-pin I2C interface allows it to act as a smart vision/voice sensor for external controllers like Arduino, STM32, or other ESP32 boards. Typical applications include small robots, STEM education kits, interactive assistants, and vision-enabled projects where this device handles perception and interaction, and another MCU manages motion and control logic. Hiwonder WonderLLM specifications: Wireless Module – ESP32-S3-WROOM-1 SoC – Espressif Systems ESP32-S3 CPU – Dual-core Tensilica LX7 up to 240 MHz with vector extension for AI/ML workloads RAM – 512KB SRAM Storage – TBD Wireless – WiFi 4 and Bluetooth LE 5 […]

January 26, 2026 by Debashis Das - 1 Comment

ACEBOTT QD023 ESP32-based gesture control glove tracks finger movements with potentiometers

ACEBOTT QD023 ESP32 Motion Sensing Glove

ACEBOTT QD023 is an ESP32-based wearable gesture control glove that tracks finger movements with potentiometers instead of more traditional flex sensors. The glove transmits data via Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) to control various robotics kits, such as bipedal walkers, mecanum-wheeled cars, and robotic arms. The glove integrates five potentiometers for finger bending detection, and a 6-axis MPU6050 IMU for wrist rotation, tilt, and hand posture detection in real time. Other Hardware features include a USB Type-C port for programming and debugging, four AAA batteries for power, buttons, LEDs, and more. Tutorials and assembly guides make it suitable for K-12 education, classrooms, and hobbyist robotics projects. ACEBOTT QD023 specifications: Wireless Module – ESP32-WROOM-32D (soldered on the backside of the PCB) SoC – ESP32 dual-core wireless microcontroller CPU – Dual-core Xtensa 32-bit microprocessor @ 240MHz Memory – 520KB internal SRAM Wireless – Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n, and Bluetooth (4.2 and BLE) PCB antenna USB – […]

January 24, 2026 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

FOSDEM 2026 schedule – Embedded, RISC-V, Robotics, Rust, Open Hardware, and more

FOSDEM 2026 will take place on January 31-February 1, with thousands of developers meeting in Brussels to discuss open-source software & hardware projects. The free-to-attend “Free and Open Source Software Developers’ European Meeting” gets more traction every year, and in 2026, there will be at least 1,113 speakers, 1,016 events, 70 tracks, and potentially close to 10,000 attendees. As usual, I’ll create a virtual schedule with sessions most relevant to the topics covered on CNX Software from the “Embedded, Mobile and Automotive” and “Open Hardware and CAD/CAM” devrooms, but also other devrooms, including “RISC-V”, “Robotics and simulation”, and “FOSS on Mobile”, among others. I’m aware some of the talks overlap by a couple of minutes or so… FOSDEM 2026 Day 1 – Saturday, January 31 10:40 – 11:15 – RISC-V Vector optimisations in FFmpeg by Rémi Denis-Courmont FFmpeg is the most versatile multimedia codec and format support library, and was […]

January 23, 2026January 23, 2026 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

M5Stack StickS3 ESP32-S3 Mini IoT Dev Kit features 1.14-inch color display, speaker and mic for voice interaction

M5Stack StickS3 is a miniature ESP32-S3 WiFi and BLE IoT development kit/controller powered by an Espressif Systems ESP32-S3-PICO-1-N8R8 system-in-package with 8MB flash and 8MB PSRAM, and equipped with a 1.14-inch display, built-in microphone and speaker, as well as an integrated IR receiver and transmitter. It’s an update to the ESP32-PICO-V3 based StickC-Plus2 with a more powerful ESP32-S3 module, a USB Type-C OTG port, improved audio integrating an ES8311 mono audio codec, a slightly larger 250 mAh battery, as well as a 4-pin Grove connector and a 16-pin female GPIO header for expansion. M5Stack StickS3 specifications: SiP – Espressif ESP32-S3-PICO-1-N8R8 as found on the M5Stack ATOMS3R and ATOMS3R Cam IoT controllers SoC – ESP32-S3 CPU – Dual-core Tensilica LX7 up to 240 MHz Memory – 512KB SRAM, 16 KB RTC SRAM Wireless – 2.4 GHz WiFi 4 and Bluetooth 5 LE + Mesh Memory – 8MB QSPI PSRAM Storage – 8MB QSPI […]

January 23, 2026 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 8 Comments

3D printed breadboards optimized for Raspberry Pi Pico and ESP32 boards

Raspberry Pi Pico ESP32 board 3d printed breadboards

We’ve seen people try to make MCU development boards as breadboard-friendly as possible by leaving plenty of space to connect wires and components. lhm0 tackled the issue from the opposite direction and designed 3D printed breadboards optimized for Raspberry Pi Pico and ESP32 development boards. The Pico typically only leaves two rows of each side of a typical breadboard, and some ESP32 boards are wide enough to take all rows and, as a result, are unusable. The trick here was to design the breadboard for each board with an opening in the middle, so that they only take two rows (one on each side) on the 3D printed breadboard, and the user still has four rows on each side to play with, plus the top and bottom rows. We only have photos for two variants of the breadboard (highlighted in bold below), but a total of five breadboard designs are […]

January 21, 2026 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

ESPHome 2026.1.0 optimizes memory usage on ESP32/ESP8266, adds Zigbee support on nRF52, WiFi roaming, and more

ESPHome 2026.1.0 open-source firmware has just been released with new features like automatic WiFi roaming and Zigbee support for Nordic Semi nRF52 targets, as well as memory optimization for ESP32/ESP8266 hardware, among many other changes. Other notable changes include security updates with the project replacing API password authentication with API encryption and requiring SHA256 authentication for OTA updates, better support for non-ASCII configuration, and updates to LibreTiny platforms (BK72xx, RTL87xx, LN882x), which received thread-safe WiFi, atomics, and deep sleep support. ESPHome developers used to advise users not to use ESP8266, not because it was not suitable for the task, but because the runtime heap on ESP8266 routinely dropped below 10k, and devices were unreliable. Since millions of ESP8266 devices were already deployed in homes, they decided to do something about it. The project was greatly helped thanks to increased support from the Open Home Foundation, which allows the project to […]

January 21, 2026January 21, 2026 by Debashis Das - No Comments

LilyGO T-Display S3 Pro LR1121 devkit adds Sub-GHz and 2.4GHz LoRa, audio support

LilyGO has recently released the T-Display S3 Pro LR1121, a new ESP32-S3 development kit with a Semtech LR1121 transceiver for universal LoRa connectivity across the sub-GHz and 2.4GHz bands. The board is an update to the earlier T-Display S3 Pro, which features a slimmer design and a 2.33-inch touchscreen display, but this new LR1121 variant adds sub-GHz and 2.4 GHz LoRa/(G)FSK support along with a voice communication kit that includes a MAX98357A I2S speaker amplifier, a PDM/I2S digital microphone, vibration motor, and a RTC. There are also programmable buttons, Qwiic connectors, and a 1/4-inch tripod mount, as well as a 2000 mAh Li-ion battery, USB-C for power, and ultra-low sleep current. These features make it suitable for applications such as LoRa walkie-talkies, Meshtastic nodes, voice-enabled IoT devices, portable dashboards, and experimental long-range wireless systems. T-Display S3 Pro LR1121 specifications: Wireless MCU – Espressif ESP32-S3R8 CPU – Dual-core Tensilica LX7 microcontroller […]