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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 – […]

October 19, 2025October 18, 2025 by Debashis Das - 7 Comments

RP2350 Tiny and Tiny XL boards clone Solder Party’s RP2350 stamp layouts at nearly half the price

While searching Aliexpress, I stumbled upon the RP2350 Tiny and Tiny XL, both of which are RP2350-based low-cost stamp-size development boards that look exactly like the Solder Party’s “RP2350 Stamp” modules, but are available at nearly half the price. Both modules feature the Raspberry Pi RP2350 dual-core Arm Cortex-M33 microcontroller and an integrated LiPo charging circuitry. The RP2350 Tiny offers 30x GPIOs, while the larger RP2350 Tiny XL breaks out 48x GPIOs, adds PSRAM, and includes SWD/UART JST connectors. Key interfaces include USB host/device, UART, SPI, I²C, PWM, ADC, and PIO state machines, along with Secure Boot and Arm TrustZone. These features make this board suitable for rapid prototyping and testing with CircuitPython support. RP2350 Tiny and Tiny XL specifications: Microcontroller RP2350 Tiny – Raspberry Pi RP2350A MCU, QFN-60; 7×7 mm RP2350 Tiny XL – Raspberry Pi RP2350B MCU,QFN-80; 10×10 mm Memory – 520KB internal RAM, 8KB OTP storage Storage – 16MB […]

September 29, 2025November 2, 2025 by Debashis Das - No Comments

Olimex RP2350-PICO2 open hardware boards expose all 48 GPIOs for breadboard prototyping

Olimex RP2350 PICO2 BB48 Open Source Development Board

Olimex RP2350-PICO2-BB48 and RP2350-PICO2-BB48R open hardware development boards are built around the Raspberry Pi RP2350B MCU, and expose all 48 GPIOs in a 0.6-inch dual-inline PCB layout. Compared to the earlier PICO2-XL and PICO2-XXL boards, this new board features a breadboard-friendly design with options for PSRAM and microSD on the BB48R version. Other features include USB-C power/data, BOOT and RESET buttons, a 2A 3.3V regulator, UEXT and Qwiic/Stemma connectors, status LED, and debug pads. With pre-soldered headers, it can be plugged directly into a breadboard, making it ideal for DIY projects, IoT, retro computing, and hardware prototyping. Olimex RP2350-PICO2-BB48 and RP2350-PICO2-BB48R specifications: MCU – Raspberry Pi RP2350B CPU Dual-core Arm Cortex-M33 @ 150 MHz with Arm Trustzone, Secure boot OR Dual-core RISC-V Hazard3 @ 150 MHz Either two cores can be used. Memory – 520 KB on-chip SRAM Package – QFN-80 Memory – 8 MB external QSPI PSRAM (only on […]

September 12, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

WiFIRCard – A credit card-sized WiFi and IR-controlled dual relay board (Crowdfunding)

WiFIRCard is a credit card-sized ESP32-S3 board designed for home automation with two relays and a few GPIOs (headers and screw terminals) that can be controlled over WiFi 4 or an IR (infrared) remote control. The board also features a microSD card slot for data logging or other storage uses, a buzzer for audio feedback, a USB-C port for power and programming, and a few buttons and LEDs. WiFiRCard specifications: Wireless module – ESP32-S3-WROOM-1 with Xtensa® LX7 dual-core 32-bit SoC – Espressif Systems ESP32-S3 CPU – Dual-core Tensilica LX7 up to 240 MHz with vector extension for AI/ML workloads RAM – 512KB SRAM, up to 8MB PSRAM Storage – Up to 16MB flash Wireless – WiFi 4 and Bluetooth LE 5 Antenna – PCB antenna Storage – MicroSD card slot for data logging/storage USB – 1x USB Type-C port for power and programming Relays 2x HLS8L-DC5V-S-C relays 10A/250V AC, 15A/120V AC, […]

August 22, 2025August 22, 2025 by Debashis Das - 2 Comments

Genesis IoT Discovery Lab is a modular ESP32-S3-based wire-free prototyping platform (Crowdfunding)

Genesis IoT Discovery Lab ESP32 S3 prototyping platform

Developed by Axiometa in Lithuania, the Genesis IoT Discovery Lab is a modular Wi-Fi-enabled prototyping platform built around the ESP32-S3 and a standardized module with AX22 connectors, designed to replace messy breadboards with a structured, plug-and-play system. Designed to simplify hardware development and education, this prototyping module features eight universal AX22 ports, a USB OTG Type-C port, a battery module with charging, and support for over 50 sensors and peripherals. Modules include sensors, buttons, motors, LEDs, relays, and displays, all secured with robust connectors. With open-source hardware and various expansion add-ons, it’s suitable for education, IoT prototyping, and fast hardware iterations. Genesis IoT Discovery Lab 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 – 8MB flash Wireless – WiFi 4 and Bluetooth LE 5 Antenna – PCB antenna USB […]

July 21, 2025July 22, 2025 by Debashis Das - 2 Comments

Unexpected Maker launches Series[D] ESP32-S3 boards with dual antenna, software RF switch

Unexpected Maker has recently released the Series[D], a lineup of four new ESP32-S3 development boards: the EdgeS3[D], TinyS3[D], FeatherS3[D], and ProS3[D]. The boards feature dual antenna support (onboard and u.FL) and are available in various form factors for different applications. Other features across the series include USB-C with native USB and USB Serial JTAG, LiPo battery charging, ultra-low deep sleep current, 8MB to 16MB of QSPI Flash, up to 8MB of PSRAM, and a new I2C battery fuel gauge chip. Additionally, ProS3[D] comes with ESD protection, castellated headers, and it’s also compatible with TinyS3 shields. The EdgeS3[D] module, on the other hand, uses an M.2 B-Key edge connector and an IO expander for some extra I/O access. EdgeS3[D], TinyS3[D], FeatherS3[D], and ProS3[D] share the following features: SoC – Espressif Systems ESP32-S3 CPU – Xtensa Dual-core 32-bit LX7 Microprocessor with up to 240MHz clock speed Memory – 512KB SRAM, 8MB PSRAM Storage […]

July 12, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 6 Comments

TermDriver 2 is a USB-to-serial adapter with a built-in color display (Crowdfunding)

TermDriver 2 USB-to-serial debug board display

USB-to-serial debug boards are commonly used for board bring-up, checking for issues when a board does not boot, or accessing the serial console in systems without networking or video output. You’d just connect GND, Tx, and Rx wires to the target board, and a USB cable to the host, before running a terminal program like Putty, Minicom, or Bootterm with the correct parameters, and you should be good to go. That’s the theory, but sometimes Tx and Rx may be inverted, the baudrate is not advertised, and so on. So Excamera Labs decided to make the TermDriver 2, an improved USB-to-serial with a small built-in display to more easily debug those issues. It can also be used in standalone mode, showing the serial console output on the tiny screen without having to connect it to a host. TermDriver 2 specifications: MCU – Raspberry Pi RP2040 dual-core Arm Cortex-M0+ MCU @ […]

May 30, 2025May 30, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments

Battery-powered SQUiXL devkit pairs 4-inch touchscreen display with ESP32-S3 WiFi and Bluetooth SoC

Unexpected Maker’s SQUiXL is a battery-powered ESP32-S3 WiFi and Bluetooth IoT controller and development platform with a 4-inch touchscreen display with 480×480 resolution. Designed for makers, hardware engineers, embedded developers, and home automation enthusiasts, the SQUiXL integrates with 8MB PSRAM and a 16MB SPI flash for plenty of resources for the firmware. Other features include a microSD card, an amplifier with speaker connector, a haptic driver and motor, an RTC, and a STEMMA/Qt connector for expansion. SQUiXL specifications: WiSoC – Espressif Systems ESP32-S3 CPU – Dual-core Tensilica LX7 @ up to 240 MHz with vector instructions for AI acceleration Memory – 512KB RAM Wireless – 2.4 GHz WiFi 4 and Bluetooth 5.0 LE + Mesh Memory – 8MB octal PSRAM Storage 16MB QSPI flash MicroSD card slot (multiplexed with audio amplified) Display – 4-inch 480×480 RGB display with capacitive touch (GT911) Audio MAX98357A I2S Audio Amplifier (multiplexed with microSD card […]