Espressif has announced a pair of new development kits for those looking to get to grips with the ESP32-S31, a dual-heterogeneous-core RISC-V microcontroller running at up to 320MHz — and targeting, the company says, more advanced Internet of Things (IoT) projects than models lower down the performance scale.
"ESP32-S31 is a high-performance dual-core 32-bit RISC-V microcontroller running at up to 320MHz, built for advanced IoT applications requiring comprehensive multi-protocol connectivity and rich human-machine interfaces," Espressif says of the chip. "With 60 GPIOs [General-Purpose Input/Output pins], it offers outstanding flexibility for complex designs that integrate multiple wireless protocols, diverse display interfaces, and a wide range of peripherals. ESP32-S31 is particularly well suited for edge AI [Artificial Intelligence] and machine learning workloads, including neural network inference, advanced signal processing, computer vision, and intelligent audio applications, while maintaining the efficiency of an embedded platform."
In addition to its two RISC-V cores, one of which runs at up to 320MHz for performance-centric workloads while the other draws less power for microcontroller-centric tasks, the ESP32-S31 includes single-band 2.4GHz Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.4 Classic/Low Energy (BLE) radios, along with an IEEE 802.15.4 radio with Thread and Zigbee support. Somewhat unusually for an ESP32 family member, it also includes an integrated gigabit Ethernet MAC for wired connectivity. There's 512kB of static RAM (SRAM) on-chip, with an eight-bit 250MHz DDR bus for optional pseudo-static RAM (PSRAM) that can be accessed simultaneously alongside external flash. Espressif also boasts of boosted parallel processing capabilities, with one of the two cores boasting a 128-bit data path with single-instruction multiple-data (SIMD) support.
To help people get started with the chip, Espressif has announced two development boards: the ESP32-S31-Korvo-1 and ESP32-S31-Function-CoreBoard-1, both brought to our attention by CNX Software. The CoreBoard comes with 16MB of PSRAM, a choice of 8MB, 16MB, or 32MB of flash storage, an on-board microphone, mono audio codec with amplified speaker output, a wired Ethernet port, USB 2.0 High Speed Type-A and USB 2.0 Full Speed Type-C ports, a 40-GPIO header, built-in current measurement header, and a user-addressable RGB LED.
The CoreBoard, as the name suggests, offers a general-purpose development board, while the Korvo (above) targets HMI projects. (📷: Espressif)
The Korvo, by contrast, moves away from general experimentation towards a design specifically targeting human-machine interfaces (HMIs). The same module, with 16MB of flash, is connected to an Omnivision OV3660 camera module and a 4.3" 800×480 LCD display. There are two independent speaker outputs, plus two analog microphones, plus USB Type-A and Type-C connectivity, four user-addressable buttons beneath the screen, an RGB LED, and a microSD slot for storage — but no wired Ethernet port this time around.
More information on the CoreBoard and the Korvo are available on their respective documentation pages; at the time of writing, Espressif had not confirmed pricing nor its schedule for general availability.