espressif News - CNX Software - Embedded Systems News

November 15, 2022November 15, 2022 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 4 Comments

Matter compatible ESP-ZeroCode modules enable plug-and-play automation solutions

Espressif Systems has just announced the Matter-compatible ESP-ZeroCode modules with Wi-Fi and/or Thread (802.15.4) wireless connectivity that are designed as plug-and-play solutions for LED lights, outlets, switches, dimmers, relays, fans, and other lighting and electrical devices. I was only recently introduced to no-code programming in a recent post by Ninephon Kongangkab explaining how to use SenseCraft firmware for no-code programming on Wio Terminal. Basically, there’s no need to know Arduino, MicroPython, or any programming language, as the user just has to press a few buttons to configure an IoT device to meet his/her requirements. With the ESP-ZeroCode modules, Espressif offers something similar using several of their ESP32 chips. The first ESP-ZeroCode modules will be offered with either ESP32-C3 (aka ESP8685) or ESP32-C2 (aka ESP8684) WiFi & BLE RISC-V SoCs, or ESP32-H2 802.15.4 & BLE RISC-V microcontroller, and ships with a Matter compatible firmware that enables “near-zero investment in development”. Not […]

October 18, 2022October 18, 2022 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 7 Comments

Espressif ESP8684 RISC-V WiFi & BLE MCU embeds up to 4MB flash in a 4x4mm package

Espressif Systems ESP8684 is a single-core RISC-V microcontroller with 2.4 GHz WiFi 4 and Bluetooth 5.0 LE (BLE) connectivity that also integrates 1, 2, or 4MB flash into a tiny 4x4mm QFN package. The SoC is listed under the ESP32-C2 product family on the Espressif website and can be found in MINI and WROOM modules, as well as the ESP8684-DevKitM-1 development kit. All three parts, namely ESP8684H1, ESP8684H2, and ESP8684H4, are designed to work in the -40 to 105°C temperature range, ESP8684 specifications: CPU – 32-bit RISC-V processor up to 120 MHz; 305.42 CoreMark; 2.55 CoreMark/MHz Memory – 272 KB SRAM (16 KB for cache) Storage – 576 KB ROM, 1 to 4MB flash (SiP) Wireless 802.11 b/g/n-compliant WiFi 4 1T1R Up to 72.2 Mbps link rate Support for 20 MHz bandwidth Station mode, SoftAP mode, Station + SoftAP mode Wi-Fi Multimedia (WMM) Antenna diversity Bluetooth 5 LE up to […]

July 10, 2022July 10, 2022 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 15 Comments

Espressif unveils “One-Stop Matter Solution” for ESP32 wireless SoC’s

Espressif Systems have announced their one-stop Matter solution that features their ESP32, ESP32-C, and ESP32-S series wireless microcontrollers with WiFi and/or Bluetooth LE connectivity, as well as the ESP32-H series with an 802.15.4 radio for Thread and Zigbee connectivity. Matter, which was first introduced in 2019 as Project CHIP, aims to improve interoperability among Smart Home products, has a focus on security, and the protocol is supposed to work on top of the most popular communication standards like Ethernet, Thread, 802.15.4, WiFI, Bluetooth, and so on, but more on that later. The first commercial products with support for Matter are scheduled for the end of the year, so all major vendors of wireless chips have already introduced Matter-ready solutions including NXP, Silicon Labs, Nordic Semi, and others. Espressif had actually already talked about Matter support with the announcement of the ESP32-C2 chip. But the recent announcement targets all Espressif’s ESP32 […]

February 10, 2020February 16, 2020 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 10 Comments

Coronavirus Update: Many Chinese Companies to Stay Closed at Least until February 17

About 10 days ago, I wrote a post about the impact of the coronavirus on manufacturing and shipping from China. At the time, we knew the Chinese New Year “holiday” was extended until February 10 in order for the authorities to contain the outbreak. That meant manufacturing would be impacted, and not much will ship from China during that time period. At the time, we were also told packages shipped from China were safe as it took several days and the virus would just die off on the way. But there have been some updates since then. First, a new study shows the coronavirus may stay alive on surfaces like metal, glass or plastic for up to 9 days at room temperature. So I’m not sure what that means for packages sent via courier services like FedEx or DHL. The previous link offers some solutions: … but can be efficiently […]

September 3, 2019September 3, 2019 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 9 Comments

ESP32-S2 Processor Datasheet Released, Development Boards Unveiled

Last may Espressif Systems unveiled ESP32-S2 secure WiFi processor with a single Xtensa LX7 core clocked at 240 MHz, and the first ESP32 processor to come with a built-in USB (OTG) interface, as well as some new features such as WiFi Time-of-Flight (ToF), hardware security, LCD RGB & camera interfaces, and more. Note that contrary to other ESP32 processors launched so far, ESP32-S2 does not support Bluetooth. ESP32-S2 Datasheet The processor is still not available, but there has been some interesting development in recent weeks. First the datasheet (PDF) has been released, so we’ve got to check more technical details including the processor diagram below. The main specifications have not changed, so I won’t reproduce them here, and you can check out ESP32-S2 announcement for specs. ESP32-S2 Development Boards The first ESP32-S2 development boards are also available… in Espressif Systems’ offices that is, but not quite publicly. The board above […]

July 29, 2019 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

Espressif to Launch ESP8285 WiSoC Variants with Extended Industrial Temperature Range

Espressif Systems first introduced ESP8285 WiFi SoC in 2016. The chip is similar to ESP8266 WiFi chip but includes 1MB flash making it more suitable for space-constrained applications since an external flash chip is not required. Since the launch, we’ve seen several modules and final products based on the solution including ESP-WROOM-5C and PSF-A85 modules, as well as Sonoff B1 WiFI RGB light bulb. The original chip (ESP8285N08) would work in -40°C to 85°C industrial temperature range, but in their recent newsletter, the company announced plans to launch two new variants in the ESP8285 series with an extended temperature range up to 105°C and different flash capacities: ESP8285H16 with 2 MB flash, -40°C to +105°C operating temperature range ESP8285H08 with a 1 MB flash, -40°C to +105°C operating temperature range ESP8285H16 is slated to launch at the end of August 2019, and the company plans to provide more details next month, […]

July 25, 2019July 26, 2019 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 10 Comments

Espressif Systems Gets Listed on the Shanghai Stock Market

Espressif Systems is widely popular community thanks to their low-cost ESP8266 and ESP32 WiFi & Bluetooth SoC, modules, and development kit as well as their extensive software ecosystem, and community support. If you wonder how they did outside of the maker sphere, you don’t need to worry, as the company founded in 2008 is already profitable ($23 US million profit in 2018), and even launched an IPO on the new STAR market for science and technology sectors on the Shanghai stock market that was completed on July 9 and oversubscribed around 2,880 times. A bank source informed me the IPO was only available to local Chinese people, and the IPO price was set to 62.60 CNY ($9.1). Listing started this Monday (July 22, 2019), and the stock has done extremely well with the price having reached 161.54 CNY at the time of writing. For reference, the stock code is 688018, […]

May 21, 2019May 21, 2019 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 20 Comments

Espressif ESP32-S2 Secure WiFi MCU Comes with an Xtensa LX7 Core @ 240 MHz

Espressif Systems has unveiled a new ESP32 WiFi MCU based on Cadence (previously Tensilica) Xtensa LX7 core instead of the usual Xtensa LX6 core(s). ESP32-S2 is powered by a single Xtensa LX7 core clocked at 240 MHz, supports Wi-Fi HT40 @ 2.4 GHz, and provides up to 43 GPIOs. Espressif ESP32-S2 specifications: CPU – Cadence Xtensa single-core 32-bit LX7 microcontroller @ up to 240 MHz, and ultra-low-power co-processor System Memory – 320 kB SRAM, external SPIRAM support up to 128 MB in total, 16 KB RTC memory Storage – 128 kB ROM, up to 1 GB of external flash support Connectivity Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n 1×1 transmit and receive with HT40 support with data rate up to 150 Mbps Support for TCP/IP networking, ESP-MESH networking, TLS 1.0, 1.1 and 1.2 and other networking protocols over Wi-Fi Support Time-of-Flight (TOF) measurements with normal Wi-Fi packets I/O & peripherals 43x programmable GPIOs 14x […]