ESP32-S31: 320MHz 2C RV32IMAFCP+CLIC, 512KB SRAM, GbE, 802.11ax, 61 GPIO
Espressif has announced the ESP32-S31, a new dual-core RISC-V SoC packed with cutting-edge connectivity and HMI features. This chip promises to be a powerful, secure, and versatile option for the next generation of IoT and edge AI applications. Its rich feature set, including Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.4, and gigabit Ethernet, makes it highly relevant for developers always seeking advanced embedded solutions.
The Lowdown
Espressif Systems has officially unveiled the ESP32-S31, a high-performance dual-core System-on-Chip (SoC) designed to meet the escalating demands of advanced Internet of Things (IoT) applications. This new entry builds on Espressif's reputation for versatile and powerful embedded solutions, aiming to serve markets such as smart appliances, voice-controlled devices, industrial automation, and multimedia IoT.
- Processing Power: Features a dual-core, 32-bit RISC-V microcontroller running at 320MHz with MMU support, a 128-bit data path, and SIMD instructions for parallel processing.
- Memory: Includes 512 KB SRAM and supports high-speed 250 MHz 8-bit DDR PSRAM with concurrent flash and PSRAM access, plus multiple SPI interfaces for external memory expansion.
- Wireless Connectivity: Boasts comprehensive Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax 2.4 GHz), Bluetooth 5.4 (LE and Classic with LE Audio, direction finding, Bluetooth Mesh 1.1), and an IEEE 802.15.4 radio for Thread and Zigbee protocols, ensuring Matter protocol support.
- Wired Connectivity: Integrates a 1000 Mbps Ethernet MAC for high-bandwidth wired networking needs.
- Human-Machine Interface (HMI): Offers a DVP camera interface (8-16 bit), versatile LCD support (8-24 bit parallel) with hardware color space conversion, up to 14 capacitive touch channels, and dedicated hardware accelerators for JPEG and 2D graphics.
- Audio Capabilities: Equipped with Bluetooth 5.4 LE Audio for high-quality, low-power streaming and dual I2S controllers with hardware-level Bluetooth audio synchronization for precise timing.
- Robust Security: Incorporates hardware-based security features like RAM-based PUF for secure key management, secure boot, flash/PSRAM encryption, a digital signature peripheral, cryptographic hardware acceleration, side-channel attack protection, and a Trusted Execution Environment (TEE).
- Rich Peripherals: Provides a wide array of peripherals including USB OTG (high speed), TWAI (CAN 2.0 compatible), I2C, I2S, SPI, UART, LED PWM, ADC, SDIO, Timers, and DMA.
- Development Ecosystem: Will be supported by Espressif's open-source IoT Development Framework (ESP-IDF), ESP-Matter, ESP-GMF, ESP-Hosted, ESP-AT, and can directly interact with common LLMs for AI agent-based applications.
With its extensive feature set encompassing advanced connectivity, robust security, and powerful processing, the ESP32-S31 is positioned as a highly versatile and compelling choice for developers looking to build sophisticated, intelligent, and connected devices for various modern IoT deployments.