All About ESP32

THE ESP32

ESP32 is a low-cost, low-power microcontroller with built-in Wife and Bluetooth, making it perfect for IOT (Internet of things) and embedded system. It is developed by Espressif System and is widely used in automation, robotics, and wireless communication projects. Compared to its predecessor, the ESP8266, ESP32 offers more power, more GPIO pins, dual-core processing, rich peripheral interfaces and advanced/robust security features.

Key Features:

1. Processor - Tensillica Xtensa LX6 (Single or dual core) typically running at 160-240 MHz or RISC-v in newer variant and allowed to handle multiple task efficiently.
2. Performance - Up to 600 DMIP (DMIPS i.e. Dhrystone MIPS is a standard benchmark for measuring CPU performance.)
3. Clock Speed - up to 240 MHz
4. Ultra-low-power co-processor

Memory:

1. RAM - 520 KB SRAM and supports external flash memory. Typically of 4MB or more that sufficient for most IoT program. (The ESP32 chip typically has 520KiB (Kilobyte) of internal SRAM of data & instruction. 320KiB DRAM and 200KiB)
2. ROM - 448 KiB FOR Booting and Core Function

Wireless Connectivity:

1. Wi-Fi - It supports 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi
2. Bluetooth - Dual-mode (Classic & BLE) v4.2 and making it ideal for wireless communication projects.

Peripheral Surface:

1. 34 GPIO (General Purpose Input/output) pins (up to 36, depending on the model), which can be used for connecting the sensor.
2. Capacitive touch sensor, ADC (Analog-to-digital convertor), DAC (Digital-to-Analog Convertor) I2C (Integrated circuit), SPI(Serial peripheral interface), UART(Universal Asynchronous Receiver-Transmitter), PWN(Pulse Width Modulation), and even touch sensor interface.

Security:

1. WPA(Wi-Fi Protected Access)/WPA2/WPA3 which are the Wi-Fi security protocols.
2. Secure boot and flash encryption and Hardware-accelerated encryption.

Power Management:

1. Deep sleep mode with a current as low as 5uA
2. Wakeup capabilities via GPIO interrupts, timers, ADC measurement, or touch sensor.

Applications:

1. IoT Device: Smart home system, Weather station,
2. Wireless Communication & Networking
3. Robotics & Automation
4. Smart Healthcare & wearables
5. Security & Environmental monitoring
6. Prototyping

I started ESP32 with simple code which I have given below:

Components:

1. ESP32 Microcontroller
2. LED
3. Jumper wires
4. Resister (220 ohm)
5. Breadboard
6. USB Cable

Connections:

1. LED (+) = D2
2. LED (-) = GND
3. LED (+) to 220ohm to GND

Why I used 220 ohm resistor:

1. The 220 ohm resistor is used to limit the current flowing through the LED. Without it, the LED could draw too much current, possibly burning out the LED or damaging the ESP32 GPIO pins.

What if we use a different resistor:

1. 100 ohm resistor > Bright LED (More current, but still safe)
2. 330 ohm resistor > Dimmer LED (Less current, Longer LED life)
3. 1 k ohm resistor > Very dim (but still works)

This is the simple code for ESP32 Test and LED Blink. Before handling any project of ESP32 microcontroller the basic things we should know for better performance.

I used ARDUINO IDE where I face ESP32 Board installation issue and the other problem was Port Not Detecting. So I am going to share you my simple keynotes of step by step guide of ho to overcome these common issues. See, whenever you use Arduino IDE it will ask you for Board and port. Finding Board might be easy but the problem of 'Port is not detecting' is very hard to face. With 2 days of self learning I got to know how to solve this issue.

1) How to install the ESP32 Board in Arduino IDE:

1. Open Arduino IDE 2.3
2. Tool > Boards Manager
3. Type > ESP32 by Espressif System > Install
4. Go to select board > ESP32 Dev Module

Now you can see the ESP32 Dev Module in your Board

2) Port Not Detecting (ESP32):

Once you install ESP32 Dev Module Board,

1. Go to Web Browser
2. Type > ESP32 Drivers
3. Click > CP210x USB to UART Bridge VCP Drivers
4. Download > Go to Downloads
5. Click > CP210x USB to UART Bridge VCP Drivers
6. File Manager > Downloads
7. Copy > CP210x USB to UART Bridge VCP Drivers
8. Go to Desktop > paste in window
9. Click > Extract all
10. File Manager > Open Driver
11. Silabser (Setup Information) > Install (Right click)
12. Click > YES (INF Default Install)
13. Go to Arduino IDE > Port Detect

1. Define GPIO 4 as the LED connected to the pin

Serial.begin(115200); - Starts Serial communication at 115200 baud rate for debugging

pinMode(ledPin, OUTPUT); - set the GPIO 4 as the LED connected to the pin

Serial.println("ESP32 is working!"); - Print this message to the Serial Monitor

digitalWrite(ledPin, HIGH); - Turn ON the LED

delay(5000); - Wait 5 seconds

digitalWrite(ledPin, LOW); - Turn OFF the LED

delay(5000); - Wait for 5 Seconds

I watched some videos and blogs that really help me during the working with ESP32. I understand the all working of ESP32 with those videos and blogs. So put the link below as reference:

1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NGQ4pLDD8sw (Hindi Language)
2. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QUNKY87Da7A&t=131s (English Language)
3. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9-jwGV-OAc (For PORT problem)
4. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MMGUM8k8uAw&t=181s

I got to learn so many new things from the beginning. Now I can properly handle and work with ESP32 Microcontroller.

The ESP32 is a powerful, feature-rich microcontroller and cost effective that has IoT, automation and embedded system, with built in Wi-Fi & Bluetooth, Multiple communication protocol (I2C, SPI, UART, PWN).

As I continue working with ESP32, I'll get hands-on experience in embedded system, IoT. `The ESP32 provides endless possibilities.