This tutorial is about introduction to ESP32. ESP32 is a series of low-cost and low-power System on Chip (Soc) microcontrollers that has great massive popularity nowadays in the field of digital projects. It is developed by Espressif that includes Bluetooth and Wi-Fi modules and a dual-core processor. The popularity of the ESP32 microcontroller grew because of the growth of IoT because the introduction of ESP32 is debatable.
ESP8266 updated and become the ESP32. The ESP8266’s capabilities were very few because it had very few English documents ESP8266. Documentation was translated into English many projects soon became aware of the power of the ESP8266.
The ESP32 was designed in various ways to improve its capabilities. It offers both Bluetooth and Wi-Fi whereas the ESP8266 only has WiFi. It is available in a dual-core design so it is faster than the ESP8266. Power consumption is the ultra-low-power mode, ideal for battery-powered applications.
Features of ESP32 Microcontroller
- It has Up to 18 12-bit Analog to Digital converters.
- Two 8-bit Digital to Analog converters.
- 10 capacitive touch switch sensors.
- Four SPI channels.
- Two I2C interfaces.
- Two I2S interfaces (for digital audio).
- Three UARTs for communications.
- Up to 8 channels of IR remote control.
- Up to 16 channels of LED PWM (pulse width modulation).
- An integrated Hall-effect sensor.
- An ultra-low-power analog preamp.
- An internal low-dropout regulator.
ESP32 Specifications
If you want to get all specifications in detail then please check the datasheet of ESP32 SoC.
- Connectivity WiFi: 150.0 Mbps data rate
- Bluetooth: BLE and Bluetooth Classic
- Processor: Dual-Core 32-bit LX6 microprocessor, running at 160 /240 MHz.
- Memory:
- ROM: 448KB for booting & core functions
- SRAM: 520KB for data and instructions process
- RTC fas SRAM: 8KB for data storage
- RTC slow SRAM: 8KB for co-processor accessing
- eFuse: 1 Kbit and the remaining 768 bits are reserved for customer applications.
- Embedded flash: flash connected internally via IO16, IO17, SD_CMD.
- 2 MiB (ESP32-D2WD chip)
- 4 MiB (ESP32-PICO-D4 SiP module)
- Low Power consumption ensures that you can still use ADC conversions, for example, during deep sleep.
- Dimensions – 75 x 54 mm
Difference between the ESP8266 and ESP32
Technical specifications differences between the ESP8266 and ESP32 are given below.
| CHARACTERISTICS | ESP8266 | ESP32 |
|---|---|---|
| Microprocessor | Xtensa Single-core 32-bit L106 procesoor | Xtensa Dual-Core 32-bit LX6 con 600 DMIPS Processor |
| Wi-Fi (802.11 b/g/n) | HT20 | HT40 |
| Bluetooth | Does not have | Bluetooth 4.2 y BLE |
| Operating frequency (typical value) | 80 MHz | 160 MHz |
| SHAME | Not Available | 448 KB |
| Flash | Not Available | 520 KB |
| GPIO | 17 | 34 |
| PWM (hardware) | NA | NA |
| PWM (software) | 8 channels | 16 channels |
| SPI | 2 | 4 |
| I2C | 1 | 2 |
| I2S | 2 | 2 |
| UART | 2 | 2 |
| ADC | 10-bit resolution | 12-bit resolution |
| CAN | No | Yes |
| Interface MAC Ethernet | No | Yes |
| Touch sensor | No | Yes |
| Temperature sensor | No | Yes (only the old versions) |
| Hall effect sensor | No | Yes |
| Work temperature | -40ºC to 125ºC | -40ºC to 125ºC |
ESP32 Architectural Block diagram
The block diagram of the ESP32 Microcontroller is given below.
Wireless Connectivity:
The ESP32 System on Chip chip has WiFi connectivity that is compatible with 802.11 b / g / n in the 2.4GHz band with speeds of up to 150 Mbits/s. It includes Bluetooth communication compatibility.