User's Manual

8. Introduction to ESP32-JCI-R
8.1. ESP32-JCI-R
ESP32-JCI-R is a powerful, generic Wi-Fi+BT+BLE MCU module that targets a wide
variety of applications, ranging from low-power sensor networks to the most
demanding tasks, such as voice encoding, music streaming and MP3 decoding.
At the core of this module is the ESP32-D0WD-V3 chip. The chip embedded is
designed to be scalable and adaptive. There are two CPU cores that can be
individually controlled, and the CPU clock frequency is adjustable from 80 MHz to 240
MHz. The user may also power off the CPU and make use of the low-power co-
processor to constantly monitor the peripherals for changes or crossing of thresholds.
ESP32 integrates a rich set of peripherals, ranging from capacitive touch sensors, Hall
sensors, SD card interface, Ethernet, high-speed SPI,UART, I
2
S and I
2
C.
The integration of Bluetooth, Bluetooth LE and Wi-Fi ensures that a wide range of
applications can be targeted, and that the module is future proof: using Wi-Fi allows a
large physical range and direct connection to the internet through a Wi-Fi router, while
using Bluetooth allows the user to conveniently connect to the phone or broadcast low
energy beacons for its detection. The sleep current of the ESP32 chip is less than 5
μA, making it suitable for battery powered and wearable electronics applications.
ESP32 supports a data rate of up to 150 Mbps, and 20 dBm output power at the
antenna to ensure the widest physical range. As such the chip does offer industry-
leading specifications and the best performance for electronic integration, range,
power consumption, and connectivity.
The operating system chosen for ESP32 is freeRTOS with LwIP; TLS 1.2 with
hardware acceleration is built in as well. Secure (encrypted) over the air (OTA) upgrade
is also supported, so that developers can continually upgrade their products even after
their release.
8.2. ESP-IDF
The Espressif IoT Development Framework (ESP-IDF for short) is a framework for
developing applications based on the Espressif ESP32. Users can develop
applications in Windows/Linux/MacOS based on ESP-IDF.
8.3. Preparation
To develop applications for ESP32-JCI-R you need:
• PC loaded with either Windows, Linux or Mac operating system
• Toolchain to build the Application for ESP32
•
ESP-IDF that essentially contains API for ESP32 and scripts to operate the
toolchain
• A text editor to write programs (Projects) in C, e.g., Eclipse
•
The ESP32 board itself and a USB cable to connect it to the PC!