ESP32 boards

Overview

Another famous microcontroller branch is the ESP8286/ESP32 from Expressif. The ESP8266 is a low-cost Wi-Fi microchip, with built-in TCP/IP networking software, and microcontroller capability. The ESP32 is the successor of the ESP8286 and “employs either a Tensilica Xtensa LX6 microprocessor in both dual-core and single-core variations, Xtensa LX7 dual-core microprocessor or a single-core RISC-V microprocessor and includes built-in antenna switches, RF balun, power amplifier, low-noise receive amplifier, filters, and power-management modules”, quoted from wikipedia. They are therefore not following and using the ARM Cortex-M architecture but the Tensilica Xtensa LX6/7 architecture.

esp32-wroom

Many ESP32-based boards are available on the market and their embedded WiFi make them very easy to be connected to the Internet. Below are very common NodeMCU based on ESP32-WROOM and the Heltec WiFi LoRa 32 with a small embedded OLED screen.

Listed boards

New to Arduino and microcontroller boards? Look at our tutorial on Arduino, Sensors, IoT and LoRa technologies and discover a whole world of embedded applications with microcontrollers.

Look at the Advanced boards/Boards with WiFi section of our Arduino, Sensors, IoT and LoRa technologies for an example on how to use the embedded WiFi features.

Programming

Programming an ESP32 board can be realized from the Arduino IDE and most programs written for Arduino work on these boards.

Solution Lab: All ESP32 boards software packages are already installed in the Arduino IDE environment. Select the correct ESP32 board in the Tools/Board/ESP32 Arduino or Tools/Board/Heltec ESP32 Arduino menu section.

Usage

The listed ESP32 boards can be selected according to the IoT prototyping profile, for instance:

  • ESP32 WROOM: to quickly test embedded WiFi connectivity
  • HELTEC WiFi LoRa 32: to benefit from a prototyping board with easy access to WiFi, easy support of OLED screen and to test/prototype LPWAN IoT connectivity

Note however that true low-power IoT applications can be hard to be developed with these boards that are more prototyping-oriented.

Links & Resources

2021 - Congduc Pham