Reviewing development boards-based ESP32

Since ESP32 has two forms, in chip and module, there are some development boards with an ESP32 chip or ESP32 module. In this book, we will not learn how to make a board-based ESP32. Instead, we will use pre-existing, ready development boards available on the market.

We can categorize boards-based ESP32 into two models. The first board models are the development boards officially manufactured by Espressif. The second models are from their partners or personal makers.

Let's review some available ESP32 development boards on the market.

The official ESP32 development kit

In general, Espressif provides an ESP32 development kit board that we can use directly. We don't need to take any effort to make a PCB board and do soldering of the ESP32 chip. A list of ESP32 boards from Espressif can be found at this link: https://www.espressif.com/en/products/hardware/development-boards. We will review the two ESP32 boards: ESP32-PICO-KIT and ESP-WROVER-KIT boards.

ESP32-PICO-KIT is a basic development board that is small in size. This board fits on breadboard PCB, so you can do wiring on it. The board consists of EPS32 chips such as serial USB CP2102 (version 4.0)/CP2102N (version 4.1). You can connect this board to a computer through USB.

ESP-WROVER-KIT is a complete development board. This consists of various sensors and modules. The board uses ESP32-WROVER for ESP32 board implementation. The following are the main features from ESP-WROVER-KIT:

• JTAG interface on FT2232HL
• Camera connector
• I/O connector
• RGB LED
• Micro SD card slot
• LCD

A form of ESP-WROVER-KIT can be seen in this photo:

ESP-WROVER-KIT

Third-party boards-based ESP32

We can buy ESP32 chips and modules from Espressif and their distributors. Then, we can make our own development board for ESP32. Sometimes, these boards-based ESP32 boards are sold to the public. In this section, we will review two ESP32 development boards.

SparkFun ESP32 Thing is one of the ESP32 development boards from SparkFun. This board uses the ESP32 chip. The board provides TTL USB to make it possible to communicate with the ESP32 chip. In addition, SparkFun ESP32 Thing has an LiPo connector so we can run the board with a battery. For further information about SparkFun ESP32 Thing, you can visit on this site: https://www.sparkfun.com/products/13907. A form of the SparkFun ESP32 Thing board is shown in the following photo:

SparkFun ESP32 Thing

Adafruit is an electronic manufacturer and electronic product online store. They make a development board-based ESP32 called Adafruit HUZZAH32 – ESP32 Feather Board. This board uses the ESP32 module. Adafruit HUZZAH32 has a TTL USB and LiPo connector like the SparkFun ESP32 Thing board. You can visit https://www.adafruit.com/product/3405 to purchase this board:

Adafruit HUZZAH32 – ESP32 Feather Board

Other board-based ESP32 boards can be found on Alibaba and AliExpress. You can search for ESP32 board as keywords. There are many custom development boards with ESP32 chips or modules.

In this book, I use ESP-WROVER-KIT for testing.