📺 ESP32 Software Battle: AWS IoT Core vs Blink for Cloud Control

Over a month has passed since the second ✈️ PCB Design Duel was posted on this channel. In a new episode, the format stayed the same but instead of hardware developers, the author has invited two embedded software engineers.

In his video, they compete to program an 🇨🇳 ESP32 microcontroller in just two hours, using AWS with PlatformIO and Blink with PlatformIO, respectively. The challenge highlights how cloud integrations differ between AWS IoT Core and Blink's user-friendly interface for IoT control.

Despite encountering setup and debugging obstacles, both participants successfully sync their ESP32 devices to cloud interfaces, demonstrating the unique advantages of each platform for real-time IoT applications.

⛓ https://youtu.be/-caKi39nF64

#video #esp32 #programming #IoT

🖥 Open-Source Portable Air Quality Meter

This device designed to monitor environmental air quality using the MQ135 sensor. This project provides an easy-to-build solution for detecting specific hazardous gases, offering a portable and affordable tool for personal air quality awareness.

Features of the device:
➡️MQ135 sensor, FireBeetle 2 ESP32 microcontroller, SSD1306 OLED screen, and a rechargeable 14500 Li-ion battery.
➡️3D-printed housing with ergonomic handles, a hook for portability, and color accents for aesthetics.
➡️Measures CO2, benzene, ammonia, smoke, and nitrogen oxides; outputs readings visually and categorizes air quality.
➡️Built-in charging circuit for the lithium battery and I2C communication for efficient display control.

The project provides the ♾ Arduino framework firmware code, the diagram of element's connections and 3D models of the case.

⛓ More information...

#projects #esp32

👉 OpenHeat – Open-Source Smart Heating Pad

The OpenHeat project is a smart, open-source heating pad designed for PCB reflow soldering. It boasts a sleek design and powerful functionality, potentially making it one of the most visually appealing and feature-rich heating pads available.

Key features of the device:
➡️A sleek, compact design.
➡️High power and temperature capabilities (200W, up to 300°C).
➡️Bluetooth connectivity for future mobile app integration.
➡️Aluminum substrate PCB for efficient heat dissipation.
➡️Customizable firmware for advanced temperature control.

This project is ideal for electronics enthusiasts looking for a cost-effective, high-performance heating pad with a modern design. The creator plans to release additional resources, such as 3D printing files and complete firmware, in the future.

⛓ More information...

#projects #esp32

🇨🇳 Undocumented Backdoor Found in Popular ESP32 Bluetooth Chip, Raising Security Concerns

Researchers have discovered an undocumented backdoor in the ESP32 chip, used in over a billion devices worldwide. This vulnerability could allow attackers to access data, spoof devices, and infiltrate networks.

Spanish security experts found 29 hidden commands in the chip’s Bluetooth firmware. These commands enable memory manipulation, MAC address spoofing, and advanced Bluetooth attacks. Hackers could potentially exploit these functions to take full control of affected devices and move laterally within networks.

If exploited, this backdoor could enable long-term persistence and spread to other devices. The lack of public documentation from Espressif raises concerns about security risks and potential misuse.

⛓ More information...

#news #esp32 #security

🪟 Windows 95 running on ESP32 (Tiny386 Emulator)

Tiny386 is a lightweight x86 PC emulator that transforms the low-cost 🇨🇳 ESP32-S3 microcontroller into a fully functional retro desktop computer capable of running classic operating systems like Microsoft Windows 95 and various 16- and 32-bit software. The project showcases the surprising power of modern microcontrollers when paired with efficient emulation techniques.

The features of the project:
➡️Written in C99 with only around 6,000 lines of code for the CPU emulator.
➡️Emulates an Intel i386 CPU, supporting most 16/32-bit software with added 486/586 instructions for newer OS compatibility.
➡️Runs directly on the ESP32-S3 (dual 240 MHz cores) with optional external PSRAM for memory expansion.
➡️Features include VGA graphics, Ethernet emulation, and multiple sound options (PC Speaker, AdLib OPL2, Sound Blaster 16).
➡️Incorporates SeaBIOS firmware for BIOS/VGABIOS functionality, with the option to boot Linux kernels directly.
➡️Fully open-source under the BSD 3-Clause license, with browser-based and hardware demos available.

Tiny386 impressively demonstrates how modern embedded hardware can recreate classic computing environments once reserved for full-sized PCs.

More information:
🔗 The main article
😹 The GitHub repository

#projects #esp32 #windows95 #emulator

💻 The smallest ESP32 board (Open-Source)

The f32 is an ultra-miniature open-source ESP32-C3 development board measuring just slightly larger than a USB-C connector. It integrates an ESP32-C3FH4 MCU with USB-C power and programming in an extremely compact form factor.

Features of the project:
➡️ESP32-C3FH4 RISC-V SoC with 400 KB SRAM and 4 MB flash
➡️2.4 GHz Wi-Fi 4 and Bluetooth 5.0
➡️USB-C port for power/programming
➡️Single GPIO connected to an onboard LED
➡️Ceramic antenna with tested wireless range up to ~38 m
➡️Open-source PCB design using very small components

This board is ideal for advanced makers who need Wi-Fi connectivity in the smallest possible footprint. Its minimal I/O and challenging assembly make it best suited for experimental ultra-compact devices rather than general-purpose IoT development.

⛓ More information...

#projects #esp32

🌊 Waveshare has released ESP32-C6-Touch-AMOLED-1.8

The Waveshare ESP32-C6-Touch-AMOLED-1.8 is a compact development board built around 🇨🇳 Espressif’s ESP32-C6 wireless SoC. It combines modern wireless connectivity with a high-quality AMOLED touch display and a rich set of onboard peripherals, making it well suited for interactive IoT and HMI-focused projects.

Key features of the board:
➡️ESP32-C6 SoC with single-core RISC-V CPU, Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth LE, Zigbee, and Thread
➡️1.8-inch capacitive AMOLED display (368 × 448, 16.7M colors)
➡️Built-in microphone, speaker, and low-power audio codec
➡️6-axis IMU, real-time clock with backup support, and microSD card slot
➡️USB-C for power and programming, Li-ion battery support with PMIC

Overall, this development board stands out as a highly integrated, display-centric ESP32-C6 platform. It would be especially interesting for developers working on smart home panels, wearable or handheld IoT devices and portable dashboards.

⛓ More information...

#boards #esp32

🇨🇳 Espressif Unveils ESP32-S31: A Feature-Rich Next-Gen Wireless SoC

Espressif announces the ESP32-S31, a new high-performance System-on-Chip designed for advanced IoT devices. The chip combines modern connectivity, processing power, and multimedia support in a single solution.

Features of the chip:
➡️Dual-core RISC-V CPU running up to 320 MHz
➡️Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.4, Thread/Zigbee, and Ethernet connectivity
➡️Built-in support for displays, cameras, and touch input
➡️Hardware acceleration for graphics, audio, and AI workloads
➡️Strong built-in security with encryption and secure execution

Overall, the ESP32-S31 is likely the most powerful wireless SoC released by Espressif so far, offering a strong balance of performance, connectivity, and I/O capabilities such as a high GPIO count and Gigabit Ethernet. While its multimedia features are more limited compared to some higher-end variants, it remains a compelling choice for developers building advanced smart home, voice-enabled, and industrial IoT applications.

⛓ More information...

#news #esp32

🧠 ClawdMeter Token Dashboard

Clawdmeter is a desk dashboard built around the ESP32-S3 and the Waveshare ESP32-S3-Touch-AMOLED-2.16 board. It monitors Claude Code token usage in real time on a 2.16-inch AMOLED display, helping users keep track of their limits through animated visuals and live statistics.

Features of the project:
➡️ESP32-S3-powered dashboard with a 480×480 AMOLED touchscreen display
➡️Real-time Claude Code token usage monitoring with animated pixel-art visuals
➡️Bluetooth LE connectivity using the NimBLE stack
➡️Built-in BLE HID keyboard support for Claude Code shortcuts
➡️Firmware written in C with 🇳🇱 LVGL-based graphical interface
➡️Portable hardware with WiFi, Bluetooth 5.0, microSD slot, IMU, microphones, and optional battery support
➡️Easily portable firmware thanks to clean code structure and resolution-independent constants

Clawdmeter is an interesting project for developers, makers, and Claude Code power users who want a dedicated physical monitor for tracking AI usage. Since it relies mostly on firmware and off-the-shelf hardware, it’s also a practical and approachable ESP32 project for embedded and UI development enthusiasts.

⛓ More information...

#projects #esp32 #claude

🧑‍🚀 ESP32-based Plane Radar

Plane Radar is an open-source ESP32 firmware that transforms an ESP32-C3 with a 1.28-inch round display into a live ADS-B aircraft radar. It visualizes nearby aircraft in a sonar-style interface, showing their position, distance and flight details in real time.

Features of the project:
➡️Live ADS-B aircraft tracking
➡️Sonar-style radar display
➡️Flight context and weather
➡️Wireless OTA firmware updates

Plane Radar is a compact and easy-to-build project for aviation enthusiasts and ESP32 makers. The materials are available on ☁️ GitHub. Its combination of real-time aircraft tracking, customizable firmware and convenient wireless updates makes it an appealing choice for anyone interested in embedded hardware or flight monitoring.

⛓ More information...

#projects #esp32

💻 Barely Adequate Browser ESP32

Babe32 is a lightweight text-based web browser for ESP32-S3 touchscreen boards such as the Cheap Black Display. It renders a subset of HTML with 🇳🇱 LVGL library, supports optional image loading, and focuses on practical browsing without JavaScript.

Features of the project:
➡️Direct browsing with proxy fallback
➡️HTML rendering and forms
➡️Touchscreen navigation and keyboard
➡️WiFi, history and power management

Babe32 delivers a surprisingly capable browsing experience on inexpensive ESP32 hardware while remaining lightweight and resource-conscious.

More information:
🔗 The main article
😹 The GitHub repository

#projects #esp32 #lvgl

🧠 Qapla': Training AI on ESP32 microcontroller

Qapla' is an open-source project that demonstrates training a transformer model entirely from scratch on an inexpensive ESP32-S3 microcontroller.

Instead of running a pre-trained model, it performs the complete training process—including backpropagation and weight updates—directly on the device.

Features of the project:
➡️Full on-device transformer training
➡️Handwritten C backpropagation
➡️No pre-trained model required
➡️Open and reproducible setup

Qapla' proves that even low-cost microcontrollers can train small transformer models without GPUs or cloud infrastructure. It is an interesting project for embedded AI developers, TinyML enthusiasts, and researchers exploring on-device learning under extreme hardware constraints.

⛓ More information...

#projects #esp32 #artificial_intelligence

🐧 Linux Comes to ESP32-S31

The Chinese company 🇨🇳 Espressif Systems has released a developer preview of its Linux BSP for the 🇳🇱 ESP32-S31, bringing Linux support to the dual-core RISC-V microprocessor. The chip’s MMU and 16MB of PSRAM make running a minimal Linux system possible, while the official Board Support Package (BSP) uses Buildroot and a Linux 6.18-based kernel. Those are available on ☁️ this GitHub repository.

The BSP is currently intended for experimentation rather than production, with limited features, possible breaking changes, and irregular updates. Meanwhile, community developers are also working on Linux ports for the ESP32-S31, with projects exploring newer kernels and features such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and dual-core support.

⛓ More information...

#news #esp32 #linux