SparkFun has launched a brand new growth board based mostly on the Espressif ESP32-C6, packing Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5 Low Power (BLE), and Matter-compliant IEEE 802.15.4 radio connectivity right into a 1″ sq. — with room for a Qwiic connector for straightforward enlargement, too.
“Our latest growth board is available in a brand new form-factor and is supplied with the brand new ESP32-C6,” writes SparkFun’s Chris McCarty of the freshly-launched dinky dev board. “The Qwiic Pocket Growth Board is able to speaking through Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5 LE, and Thread, and it is Matter-compliant all on a 1″ by 1″ board footprint!”
SparkFun’s newest dev board could be the most compact method to begin experimenting with Matter but. (📷: SparkFun)
The brand new board, which is barely taller than the Espressif ESP32-C6-MINI-1 module and USB Kind-C connector adorning its higher aspect, is the primary to slot in what the corporate calls the “Qwiic Normal Measurement” — which means it stacks onto current 1×1″ Qwiic breakout boards for a compact mission footprint.
The ESP32-C6 system-on-chip at its coronary heart gives a single 32-bit RISC-V core operating at as much as 160MHz, 400kB of static RAM (SRAM), 384kB of flash ROM plus 4MB off-chip SPI flash, and 23 multi-function general-purpose enter/output (GPIO) pins — a subset of which is introduced out to eight unpopulated 0.1″ pin headers on both aspect of the board, plus a Qwiic connector hidden on the underside.
The reverse of the board hides extra than simply the Qwiic connector, too: there is a Microchip MCP73831 battery charging chip on there, which might cost a lithium-polymer battery linked to the board’s two-pin JST connector at as much as 213mA, There are two bodily buttons — one boot mode choice and one reset — and three standing LEDs displaying energy, battery charging, and standing.
The underside of the board hides the Qwiic connector, a JST connector for a battery, and the 2 bodily buttons. (📷: SparkFun)
It is the compact board’s radio performance which actually makes it stand out. The ESP32-C6 is Espressif’s first to assist IEEE 802.11ax Wi-Fi 6, albeit solely on the two.4GHz spectrum, and the radio additionally gives Bluetooth 5 Low Power (BLE) connectivity. For sensible dwelling and different Web of Issues (IoT) tasks, in the meantime, there’s an IEEE 802.15.4 radio able to speaking each Zigbee and Thread — and providing full compliance with the brand new cross-vendor Matter commonplace.
The SparkFun Qwiic Pocket Growth Board ESP32-C6 — which is more likely to be solely the primary in a variety of microcontroller boards boasting the identical compact format — is now out there on the SparkFun retailer at $14.95 earlier than quantity reductions.
