ODROID-GO is an Arduino Compatible, ESP32 based Portable Gaming Console Kit

ODROID-GO

When I first saw Hardkernel made ODROID-GO portable gaming console, I immediately thought they did a Linux device ala PocketCHIP, since so far the company has only designed Android & Linux development board. But ODROID-GO game console is actually based on Espressif ESP32 WiSoC,  programmable with the Arduino IDE, and launched to celebrate Hardkernel’s 10-year anniversary. ODROID-GO specifications: SoC – Custom ESP32-WROVER module with ESP32 SoC @ up to 240 MHz, 16 MB Flash, and 4MP PSRAM Storage – micro SD card slot connected via SPI Display –  2.4″ 320×240 TFT LCD (SPI) Connectivity – WiFi 802.11 b/g/n 2.4GHz – 2.5GHz, Bluetooth 4.2 BR/EDR, BLE Speaker – 0.5Watt 8Ω Mono USB – 1x micro USB port for charging (500mA) and USB-UART communication Expansion Port – 10-pin header with  I2C, GPIO, IRQ at 3.3Volt Misc – Buttons: Menu, Volume, Select, Start, A, B, Direction Pad Battery –  3.7V/1,200mAh Li-Polymer good for […]

Wemos LOLIN D32 Pro ESP32 Board Supports TFT Displays, Comes with a micro SD Card Slot

Wemos LOLIN D32 Pro

Wemos is popular for their low cost WiFi board based on Espressif SoCs. Their most popular board is ESP8266 based Wemos D1 mini  thanks to its compact form factor, low price ($5 shipped), and available add-on boards. But they’ve also launched some ESP32 in the last year or so with development boards such as Wemos LOLIN32 Lite. Their latest ESP32 board – LOLIN D32 Pro v2.00 – features ESP32-WROVER module, and beside exposing I/Os via breadboard compatible headers, also offers a micro SD card slot, a TFT display connector, and an I2C header. LOLIN D32 Pro specifications: Wireless module – ESP32-WROVER 802.11 b/g/n WiFi + Bluetooth 4.1 LE module with 4MB Flash, 4MB PSRAM Storage – micro SD card slot supporting SPI mode Display I/F – TFT display connector USB – 1x micro USB port for programming and power Expansion 2x 16-pin headers with GPIOs, SPI, I2C, UART, ADC, DAC, […]

My Attempt at Getting Started with Zephyr Project OS on ESP32

Zephyr Project is a real-time operating systems for the Internet of Things (IoT) that was introduced in early 2016, and supported/hosted by the Linux Foundation. It runs on a fairly large number of MCU boards from different architecture (x86, Arm, RISC-V, etc..), and Linaro even launched 96boards IoT compliant hardware like BLE Carbon board that are designed to run Zephyr Project. More recently, Linaro CEO revealed several commercial products are shipping with Zephyr Project OS, so I thought it might be a good time to give it a try. Target Board – Wemos Lolin32 I only had STM32 Bluepill, and some ESP32 boards, so I went with the latter since it comes with WiFi. But instead of re-using some of my existing boards, I asked Banggood whether they could send Wemos Lolin32, which they did. They sell it for $7.99 shipped, but any other ESP32 board should do. The board […]

ESP32-Sense Kit Lets You Experiment with ESP32 Touch Interface

Beside support for Bluetooth, one the other extra benefits of Espressif ESP32 over ESP8266 is the presence of a touch interface in the newer processor. If you are interested in that specific features, Espressif Systems has worked on ESP32-Sense kit that provides a main board with ESP32, and several touch enabled daughter boards. Board descriptions in the kit: Motherboard with ESP32 module (ESP-WROOM-32),  a 3-digit display unit,  a debug unit, USB port for power, switches, an RGB LED, and expansion headers. 5 daughterboard: linear slider duplex slider wheel slider matrix buttons spring buttons. Developers could even design and add their own daughterboards to connect to the motherboard’s touch header. A good way to get started with your own board is to check out ESP32 Sense Kit reference design files with Cadence/OrCAD Capture V16.6 schematics, and Mentor Graphics/Pads VⅩ.2 PCB layout files. But if you are just interested in the software […]

Arduino Introduces Two New IoT Boards – MKR WiFi 1010 (ESP32) and MKR NB 1500 (NB-IoT + eMTC)

MKR-NB-1500

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

BPI-UNO32

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 […]

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