The range of difference in capabilities of different boards branded ESP32 is getting larger. Makes it tricky to figure out when someone says ‘you can run this on an ESP32’ what level of hardware investment is required.
Ah, the Lord Giveth and the Lord Taketh Away. P4 didn't have enough raw speed for camera applications but had MIPI CSI, S31 has enough raw speed but no CSI.
I imagine that most of these (like almost all embedded chips) are designed primarily for some specific customer or two, and then they dump them on the market generally on the off chance someone else wants them too now that they're essentially capitalized.
I have esp32’s in every room for tracking down The Who in home automation via home assistant and Bermuda. I soldered some headers for the first time and now I’m making custom pcb boards. I added a fog machine for my halloweeen decorations and I’m just having fun. I could see how a much powerful esp32 could eliminate the dozen have and allow to switch between the outlet and battery.
With all the capabilities, video and audio output, it might be an excellent platform for software emulation of older devices. There is plenty of GPIO that can be driven by the 40 MHz core while the other two work on nobler things.
It is a great platform for this, considering the cost. There have been several decent ESP based emulators already, including many consoles, a ZX Spectrum emulator, and even a 386 emulator.
Sorry for the staple "duh AI article" but the product would be interesting, XDA-Devs is an established name, and then reading chapter titles like "Peripherals already change how it looks" is appaling. Like, ok, you pump up the text with AI, but at least proofread that sentences make sense? At least the titles?
That why I don't read the news part of xda-developers. Their staff seem to make a lot of basic technical errors despite what xda-developers is known for.
(Although xda-developers forum isn't exactly a great place for technical discussions either. Not following standard software engineering practice and instead using forum posts to track bugs and announce releases in 2020s is beyond me.)
I'm sorry to be asking this, but what is that supposed to mean?
Smart homes are dumb unless you are presence aware. Looking at your phone to do a thing is just moving a light switch to your hand.
The Who is — does the automation make sense for one or many people. If two people are in a room what happens? If one person leaves what happens?
Esp32’s are pivotal in actually making a smart home predict what you want making the home more of a friend, “get on up there Peter Townsend.”
https://github.com/foky26/Retro-Gamer
https://github.com/EremusOne/ESPectrum
https://github.com/hchunhui/tiny386
New chips like the one in the article should be even more capable. 486 won’t be out of reach for long.
One of the big problems has been handling peripheral emulation, multiple controllers, etc. USB plus the other cores should help with this.
(Although xda-developers forum isn't exactly a great place for technical discussions either. Not following standard software engineering practice and instead using forum posts to track bugs and announce releases in 2020s is beyond me.)