ESP32 is an upgraded version of the famous ESP8266 module developed by Espressif Systems. The newly added features like an additional core, faster Wi-Fi, and, dual-mode Bluetooth (4.2 and BLE) made it preferable for IoT applications.
Today, many enthusiasts prefer this tiny yet powerful SoC (System on Chip) over other development boards. This article presents some new ESP32 projects for such enthusiasts that they can try this year.
ESP32 features
Before we start our discussion on ESP32 projects, let us see some technical details of the board.
| Processor | Tensilica Xtensa 32-bit LX6 microprocessor |
| Number of cores | 2 |
| Clock frequency | up to 240 MHz |
| Performance | up to 600 DMIPS |
| Wi-Fi | 802.11 b/g/n/e/i (802.11n @ 2.4 GHz up to 150 Mbit/s) |
| Bluetooth | v4.2 BR/EDR and Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) |
| ROM | 448 KB – For booting and core functions |
| SRAM | 520 KB – For data and instruction |
| Flash | Extern QSPI – 16MB |
| GPIO | 22 |
| DAC | 2 |
| ADC | 18 |
- ESP32 features
- LED matrix clock
- ESP32-OLED scrolling message display
- IoT weather station
- ESP32 & MPU-9250: 3D orientation visualisation
- ESP32-CAM SmartCam
- Small quadruped robot
- DIY BLE Gamepad
- VGA Arcade Games and Joystick
- Ghosty and Skully Halloween Robots
- 4WD car
- E-paper photo frame
- Simple AI robot
- GPS tracker
- MS Paint on ESP32
- Portable Wireless touch remote
- Cafeino: The Barista Robot
- Macro keypad
- Wi-Fi remote with TFT display
- Discord security camera
- ESP32 Handheld Game console
LED matrix clock
Our first project is a LED matrix clock housed inside an old plastic jar. It uses an 8×8 MAX7219 LED Matrix as the display. Apart from displaying date and time, it also shows the temperature and humidity of the ambient. For this, it uses a DHT11 sensor.
It also uses a KY-018 Photoresistor Module to measure the light intensity. Its resistance is inversely proportional to the outside light. So, if the light intensity is more, its resistance will be low and vice-versa.
One part of the jar is covered with a solar film for the display, while the other side is open for the visibility of the components.
**To know more about the project, follow this link:
ESP32-OLED scrolling message display
For displaying a message, how many displays will you choose? One, or a maximum of two, right? But, in this project, Maker Moekoe has selected eight OLEDs to display a single message. Isn’t it amazing?
The OLEDs are arranged in a circle to give the text a scrolling effect. These displays are placed around a PCB and controlled by a single ESP32.
The Blynk app lets you display a message as well as alter the speed of the moving text. Moreover, it can show data like battery state, temperature, and more.
**To know more about the project, follow this link:
IoT weather station
What is the easiest way to get an update on the weather stats? A smartphone or a smartwatch, right? But is the data accurate enough? Does it accurately give the weather conditions around your house? Because this project can do that.
This wireless outdoor weather station takes temperature, humidity, barometric pressure, light, wind speed readings and regularly updates them to a cloud.
Now, all you need is an active internet connection, and you can access these readings through a Thingspeak dashboard. Whether it be your computer, mobile, or tablet, you can access the exact weather stats around your house, anytime.
**To know more about the project, follow this link:
ESP32 & MPU-9250: 3D orientation visualisation
MPU-9250 is a nine-axis Motion Processing Unit suitable for any motion-tracking device. It is a combination of two chips:
- MPU-6500
- AK8963
The MPU-6500 contains a 3-axis gyroscope, a 3-axis accelerometer, and an onboard DMP (Digital Motion Processor), while the AK8963 is a 3-axis digital compass.
A DMP can perform complex MotionFusion algorithms. And can read orientation data in the form of Euler angles or quaternions directly from the chip.
So, this project visualizes a 3D cube orientation using an MPU-9250. An ESP32 hosts the webpage and visualizes the cube in real-time.
**To know more about the project, follow this link:
ESP32-CAM SmartCam
The ESP32 based video surveillance robot is one of the handy projects in the ESP32 projects list. You can either mount this camera on a wall or attach it with an RC car for a portable version. The i-Robbie app lets you control all the movements of the camera.
With its pan and tilt advantage, its range gets increased beyond the line of sight. The servo motors can move the camera in any direction as per the instruction. The portable version of the robot comes with a more exciting feature like night-mode vision.
**To know more about the project, follow this link:
Small quadruped robot
A quadruped robot is a four-legged robot that follows the gait patterns of quadruped animals. The robot dog designed here requires an ESP32 and an Arduino module. Using a mobile phone and a Wi-Fi connection, you can control the movements of the robot dog.
The complete body of the robot dog is 3d printed. It can walk easily on most surfaces, even the elevated ones. The configurable gait sequence lets you teach some more tricks to this robot dog.
**To know more about the project, follow this link:
DIY BLE Gamepad
After some techy ESP32 projects, let us see a unique homemade gamepad.
Most gaming boards use an Arduino because it supports HID (human interface devices). HID provides an interface between the user and the computers.
But, as we know, an ESP32 is not equipped with such an aspect. Hence, to operate this gamepad using an ESP32, we will use the wireless feature of ESP32. The gamepad consists of:
- Two analog joysticks
- Two trigger buttons
- two D-pads
- six addressable LEDs
- one I2C port
- one 3way switch
The gamepad runs on two 18650 Li-Ion cells, which gives ample playtime on a single charge.
**To know more about the project, follow this link:
VGA Arcade Games and Joystick
Are you a die-hard fan of the Arcade games? To bring back the joy of arcade gaming, we have selected an ESP32 based Arcade game project. With the arcade controller joystick, you can play four games using this setup.
These are Tetris, Snake, Breakout, and Bomber. Despite a low resolution of 320×200 pixels, it gives a remarkable game-playing experience.
**To know more about the project, follow this link:
Ghosty and Skully Halloween Robots
This Halloween, scare your friends with two new homemade robots, Ghosty and Skully. The robots track your face and give a smile back at you if you smile at them. Scary, right?
All you need are some cheap Halloween decorations and an iRobbie app. The iRobbie app lets you control Arduino, ESP8266, or ESP32-CAM robots with your iPhone. The app gives you numerous features like object tracker, face and smile recognition, object finder, voice control, remote control, video surveillance, etc.
The app capture and processes the video and sends X, Y coordinates, and smile status to the Arduino via the HM-10 Bluetooth module. The robots respond to the input by following your face and giving a scary laugh.
**To know more about the project, follow this link:
4WD car
Our next project is a tiny, fast and versatile robot car. It uses two photodiodes on either side and a line tracking module in the middle. With this, it can follow a line, track any object, avoid obstacles, and much more. It has multi-colored LEDs around it, which gives it a sparkling look in the dark.
Moreover, you can also control this car like any other RC car using an IR remote. It captures real-time video and transmits it to the Bluetooth-controlled app on your smartphone.
**To know more about the project, follow this link:
E-paper photo frame
Pictures are the best way to recall good memories, Right? And what would be better than a photo frame that displays your favorite moments?
The project uses an E-Ink display. These displays mimic the appearance of ink on paper. They don’t require a continuous power supply to display the data on the screen. Hence, it can display the last content for long hours even after the power is off.
The concept of the project is to display an image taken at a particular location. For this, the PCB consists of a silkscreen layer that shows the layout of a map. The copper touchpad looks like a location symbol. So, as you press the capacitive touchpad, an image gets displayed on the e-paper.
**To know more about the project, follow this link:
Simple AI robot
If you are looking for some basic ESP32 projects for image processing, you must start with this one. This project will guide you in building a simple robot that can detect and track objects.
You can control the robot using a smartphone or run it in an autonomous mode. Moreover, the requirements for this project are not much. All you need is:
- 1:120 DC geared motors x2
- ESP32-CAM module
- L298N motor driver
- Wheels x2
- Ball castor wheel x1
- Some ice cream sticks
- Cardboard
- Power bank
And that’s it. You now have your first AI robot in front of you.
**To know more about the project, follow this link:
GPS tracker
GPS (Global Positioning System) is a satellite-based navigation system to determine the precise location of an object. It uses a technique (called trilateration) to calculate the position, velocity, and elevation of the target.
This project uses an AI-Thinker A7 module as the GPS module. To determine any location, connect the device with the Blynk app. Once the connection gets established, you can request a random position or the GPS position from the tracker.
**To know more about the project, follow this link:
MS Paint on ESP32
All the above ESP32 projects either control something or run something. But this project lets you paint. Yes, you heard it right. It uses an ESP32 board and a 240×240 TFT display.
Using the two potentiometers on either side of the display, you can move the cursor in your available workspace.
One potentiometer controls the X-axis(horizontal) movement while the other controls the Y-axis(vertical) movement. It also has four pushbuttons, three on the side and one at the top.
The pushbuttons on the side select a shape and color to draw in the workspace, while the top one is to undo the last drawn object on the workspace.
**To know more about the project, follow this link:
Portable Wireless touch remote
ESP32 comes with ten capacitive touch GPIOs. These pins can detect electrical signals. For example, it can respond to human touch and give output depending on the electrical charge on the finger.
Hence, you can use this feature to make ESP32 a mouse for your PC, a remote for your smartphone camera, or a switch to use as a home automation device.
**To know more about the project, follow this link:
Cafeino: The Barista Robot
If you are a coffee lover and want freshly brewed coffee anytime you want, then try the Barista robot. This robot makes high-end artisanal coffee (coffee made traditionally by a skilled person). Now, you might think, how a machine can do that. Right?
So, the answer is that Cafeino mimics the hand pouring technique of a skilled human barista. It has three brewing stations, and you can customize the brewing recipes like:
- Customizing the brewing and resting time
- Water quantity
- Hand pouring pattern used
- Or add any new brewing step
And all this, with just a web app. So, with the Barista robot, make a cup of freshly brewed coffee according to your taste.
**To know more about the project, follow this link:
Macro keypad
In computing, using hotkeys/ macros is a great way to save time and speed up the workflow. Now, whether it be video editing or playing games, these shortcuts are a must. But, if you look for a dedicated macro keypad for this on the web, you might change your mind as the cost associated with it is too high.
So, what can you do? Well, use this project, FreeTouchDeck, and save a fortune. All it uses is an ESP32 and a 3.5″ touch screen.
FreeTouchDesk allows you to customize menus, buttons, logos, and colors. You can even create buttons and upload them using the configurator (A Webpage hosted on ESP32).
**To know more about the project, follow this link:
Wi-Fi remote with TFT display
It is a tiny remote that uses an ESP32 Pico D4. The ultra-small size of ESP32 Pico D4 and low-energy consumption gives it an additional advantage for low-spaced applications.
A TFT display (160×80 pixels) on the remote gives it a fabulous look. It becomes helpful to visualize GIFs, display temperature and humidity readings, etc.
The board has an additional feature of Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, which opens the door to many IoT applications.
**To know more about the project, follow this link:
Discord security camera
A PIR, or Passive Infrared Sensor, detects the infrared radiation in the surrounding environment. Inside it lies a pair of pyroelectric sensors. So, when someone enters the vicinity of the sensor, a signal difference occurs between the two pyroelectric sensors.
Thus, the sensor engages and notifies us by sending a message or triggering an alarm.
This security camera uses a PIR sensor and an ESP32-CAM. As the sensor detects any movement, The ESP32-CAM takes a picture of the intruder and post it to a Discord channel.
**To know more about the project, follow this link:
ESP32 Handheld Game console
With a 2.4″ LCD and a 454262 LiPo battery, you can create a handheld game console that can run your favorite games. Although the resolution is 320×240, the experience it gives during the gameplay is fantastic.
The console requires 2 PCBs.
- One 0.4mm thick to support the display.
- One 1.2mm thick for an I2C gamepad.
**To know more about the project, follow this link:
So, which among the following ESP32 projects was your favorite? Tell us in the comment section below. If you have any good ESP32 projects with you, do share them with us.
