Espressif ESP32-P4 – A 400 MHz general-purpose dual-core RISC-V microcontroller

ESP32-P4

Espressif ESP32-P4 is a general-purpose dual-core RISC-V microcontroller clocked at up to 400 MHz with AI instructions extension, numerous I/Os, and security features. It also happens to be the first microcontroller from Espressif Systems without wireless connectivity, and as such, it should probably be seen as an alternative to STM32F7/H7 or NXP i.RT Arm Cortex-M7 microcontrollers/crossover processors, and likely offered at a significantly lower cost. It should also offer lower power consumption than other ESP32 chips thanks in part to a third RISC-V core clocked at 40 MHz that can keep the system running while the other two high-performance cores are down. ESP32-P4 key features and specifications: MCU subsystems Dual-core RISC-V HP (High-performance) CPU @ up to 400 MHz with AI instructions extension and single-precision FPU, 768KB of on-chip SRAM Single-RISC-V LP (Low-power) MCU core @ up to 40 MHz with 8KB of zero-wait TCM RAM Memory & Storage I/F […]

Walter ESP32-S3 board supports NB-IoT, LTE-M, and GPS

ESP32-S3 board NB-IoT LTE-M GPS

QuickSpot Walter is an ESP32-S3 development board with built-in WiFi 4 and Bluetooth LE/Mesh connectivity, as well as NB-IoT, LTE-M, and GNSS support through a Sequans GM02SP 5G IoT modem that appears to be a variant of the Sequans Monarch 2 GM02S with GNSS support. Walter specifications: Wireless modules ESP32-S3-WROOM-1-N16R2 module ESP32-S3 dual-core LX7 microcontroller 2MB QSPI PSRAM 16MB QSPI flash 802.11 b/g/n WiFi 4 up to 150 Mbps  with on-board antenna Bluetooth 5 LE up to 2Mbps, Bluetooth Mesh Sequans GM02SP modem LTE Cat M1 (LTE-M) and NB1/NB2 (NB-IoT) GNSS and assisted GNSS using GPS and Galileo constellations NanoSIM for cellular connectivity I/Os 2x 14-pin headers with up to 24x GPIO, UART, VIN, 3.3V, and GND 23x test points 3.3V I/O voltage Power Supply 5V (3.0 to 5.5V) DC via VIN pin 5V via USB Type-C port Dimensions – 55 x 24.8 mm Temperature Range – -40°C to +85°C […]

Year 2022 in review – Top 10 posts and statistics

CNX Software Happy New Year 2023

It’s the last day of the year and the time to look at some of the highlights of 2022, some traffic statistics from CNX Software website, and speculate on what 2023 may bring us. The semiconductors shortage continued in 2022, but things are looking brighter in 2023 with the full reopening of the world mixed with forecasts of difficult economic times that should keep the demand/supply equation in check. On the Arm processor front the biggest news of the year, at least in this corner of the Internet, was the launch of the Rockchip RK3588 octa-core Cortex-A76/A55 processor together with interesting single board computers that we’ll discuss below. Announced last year, the Amlogic A311D2 octa-core Cortex-A73/A53 was finally made available in a few SBC’s, and we finally got some news about the Amlogic S928X Cortex-A76/A55 SoC showcased in 8K TV boxes, but we have yet to see it in action. […]

M5Stack T-Lite Wi-Fi thermal camera integrates 1.14-inch color display

M5Stack T-Lite Thermal Imager

M5Stack T-Lite is a Wi-Fi thermal imager with the same MLX90640 IR array thermal camera found in the M5Stack Thermal Camera 2 Unit plus a 1.14-inch color display to visualize the results on the device itself. Based on the ESP32-PICO-D4 system-in-package with WiFi and Bluetooth, the solution allows the user to access the 32×24 pixels thermal image either on the built-in display, or streamed to the local network or the cloud. M5Stack T-Lite specifications: SiP – ESP32-PICO-D4 system-in-package with ESP32 dual-core Tensilica LX6 microcontroller with 448 KB ROM and 520 KB SRAM, 2.4 GHz  WiFi 4 and Bluetooth 4.2, and a 4MB SPI flash Thermal camera – Melexis MLX90640 infrared (IR) sensor with 32×24 pixels IR array, range: -40°C to 300°C with +/-1.5°C resolution, FoV: 110°x75° (See datasheet) Display – 1.14 inch color TFT LCD with 240×135 resolution, ST7789v2 driver Expansion – 4-pin Grove HY2.0-4P interface (“Port A”) with I2C, […]

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

Merlot tricolor 4.2 inch epaper 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 […]

Meadow F7v2 Feather STM32F7 MCU board supports .NET, C# programing

STM32 Microsoft .Net

Wilderness Labs Meadow F7v2 Feather is an STM32F7 Arm Cortex-M7 development board following the Adafruit Feather form factor and programmable with C# through a lightweight implementation of the .NET framework. We had previously seen the .NET Framework running on Android and Linux thanks to Xamarin’s Mono, but I don’t think I had ever a microcontroller-class board supporting the .NET framework and C# programming. But that’s exactly what the Meadow F7v2 Feather does. Meadow F7v2 Feather specifications: MCU – STMicro STM32F7 Arm Cortex-M7 microcontroller @ 216 MHz with 2D graphics and JPEG accelerators Memory – 32MB RAM Storage – 64MB flash Connectivity – 2.4 GHz WiFi and BLE (ESP32) with onboard and external u.FL antennas USB – 1x Micro USB port for power and programming Expansion with through and castellated holes with up to 25x GPIO, 12x PWM, 6x analog inputs, 2x DAC, I2C, I2S input/output, SPI, UART, CAN Bus Misc […]

DROPLET irrigation system works with ESPhome and Home assistant

DROPLET irrigation system

When PricelessToolkit failed to find an affordable (indoor) irrigation system that works with Home Assistant and ESPHome, he built the DROPLET board based on ESP32 wireless SoC and supporting up to five micro-pumps and soil moisture sensors. The board also comes with switches to manually control the pump, a built-in DS18B20 temperature sensor, a buzzer, and a I/O header to connect an expansion header for relay control, I2C, GPIOs, and an external DS18B20 temperature sensor. DROPLET specifications: Wireless module – ESP32-S with ESP32 dual-core 32-bit microcontroller @ 240 MHz with 2.4 GHz WiFi and Bluetooth connectivity, 4MB SPI flash Display – I2C header for 5V/3.3V OLED display Pump interfaces – 5x 2-pin connectors for micropumps Sensors and sensor interfaces DS18B20 temperature sensor 5x 3-pin connectors for soil moisture sensors; pulled low with a 1 MΩ resistor. Expansion – 2x 16-pin right-angle female header with GPIOs, UART, 5V, and GND Debugging […]

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

ESP32-S2 Micro:Bit board

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 – […]

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