Hello readers, hope you all are doing great. This is our 3rd tutorial in the ESP32 programming series. In our previous tutorial, we discussed the ESP32 Web server, where we created the ESP32 web server in STA mode.
ESP32 can be operated as an access point (AP) or a Wi-Fi station (STA mode). So, in this tutorial, we will create an ESP32 web server in access point (AP) mode. Here's the video demonstration of ESP32 WebServer in Access Point Mode:
As I mentioned above, in our 2nd tutorial, we already discussed the basics of the ESP32 web server. So, in this tutorial, we will only discuss how to create the ESP32 in access point mode.
For detailed information about the basics of the ESP32 web server and how client-server communication takes place, follow our previous tutorial (i.e., Create a Web Server with ESP32).
In Access Point Mode the ESP32 creates its own wireless Wi-Fi network in this mode, similar to the one provided by your existing router. In access point mode, we don't need to connect the ESP2 to a Wi-Fi network. In the Wi-Fi network it creates, the ESP32 Wi-Fi board can connect up to 5 devices.
Fig 1 ESP32 as an Access Point
So, in access point mode, nearby Wi-Fi devices such as mobile phones, laptops, or a secondary ESP32 module acting as a station can connect directly to the AP (ESP32 module) without the need for an external Wi-Fi router.
On the other hand, in Stationmode, the ESP32 wi-fi module connects to your Wi-Fi network through a router. The router acts as a conduit for communication between the web client and the ESP32. The Wi-Fi router provides the IP address. This IP address can be used by web clients to connect to the Web server on a local network.
To know about how to set up/operate Arduino IDE for ESP32 compilation, follow our first tutorial i.e., Introduction to ESP32 programming series.
ESP32 Web Server in Access Point (AP) Mode
Here we are using an inbuilt example from Arduino IDE(ESP32). You can modify the example code as per your requirements or can write your own code.
To find the Wi-Fi Access Point example in Arduino IDE :
Click on File from the top menu bar.
Place the mouse cursor on the example option from the list.
Look for the WiFi option.
There you will find the WiFiAccessPoint option, click on that and compile the program.
A screenshot is attached below to help you find the example code in Arduino IDE.
Fig 2 Wi-Fi access point example
The first task while writing the WiFi code is to add the required wifi header files or libraries in the code.
Here we are adding three libraries.
WiFi.h: This header file contains all the functions related to Wi-Fi activities like enabling the Wi_Fi, connecting to a wi-fi network etc.
WiFiClient.h: This header file is used to create a client that can connect with a specific IP address.
WiFiAP.h: This header file is used to configure and manage ESP32’s wifi module in Access Point (AP) mode.
Fig 3: Libraries
Define the LED pin or a GPIO (for peripheral interface) which we going to control through web server. Here we are using the inbuilt LED which is internally connected with GPIO2
Give a name (SSID) to the ESP32 Access Point and set the password for security purpose ( if you wish to).
While creating a web server we also need to assign a port and usually port 80 is used for local web server.
Arduino Setup() function
Inside the setup function, the LED pin is initialized as an output one and then initialized the serial monitor with a baud rate of 115200.
The next task is to configure the ESP32 Wi-Fi module in access point mode. For that, here we are calling a function called WiFi.softAP. Where we are passing two parameters, ssid and password, respectively.
After configuring the AP mode, we need to fetch the IP address of the access point by calling the WiFi.softAPIP() function and printing it on the serial monitor.
Then, after fetching the IP address, we will start the server using the server. perform.
Arduino Loop() function
After configuring the Access Point mode and initializing the server, the server will next wait for the station or client connection, which can be a mobile phone, a laptop, or another ESP32 board configured in STA mode.
Once the connection is established between the access point and the client device, the access point will wait for the data input.
A string type variable called currentLine has been defined to hold the incoming data from the client.
If there is a byte to be read from the client, then it will be stored inside the char type variable c.
HTTP header always starts with a response code e.g.: HTTP/1.1 200 ok
An HTML page will be created on the client’s browser, from where the client device can control (ON/OFF) the LED.
Different URLs will be created to turn ON and OFF the LED depending upon the HTML input received from the client device i.e., H (to turn ON the LED) and L ( to turn OFF the LED).
Client.stop() function is responsible for closing the connection between Access Point and client or station device.
Note: If you need any guidance regarding how to upload or compile a code for the ESP32 module in Arduino IDE, follow our first tutorial on the ESP32 programming series.
Testing ESP32 web server with hardware in Access Point with Arduino IDE
Here we are going to control the ESP32’s inbuilt LED through an ESP32 web server (AP mode).
We will connect our station or client device through Wi-Fi to the ESP32 module, which (ESP32) is currently acting as an access point (AP).
To establish the connection go to your mobile phone’s Wi-Fi setting.
The Access Point is advertising itself with a pre-defined SSID so that the station devices or clients can find the AP device and can communicate with each other.
If you find a wi-fi device (AP) named ESP32_AP (or as per your SSID) connect to that after entering the assigned password.
Fig. Scanning for available Wi-Fi devices in mobile phone
Fig. Connected with ESP32 AP
As we are using the inbuilt LED, no external components are required.
After connecting to the access point, you can find the IP address of the AP device printed on the Serial Monitor. As shown in the image below:
Fig.: Serial Monitor
Enter the IP address in the browser. Now you can turn the LED ON or OFF using the web page as shown in the images below.
A web page with URL 192.168.4.1/H will be displayed on the browser when LED is turned ON
Fig.: URL when LED is turned ON
LED is blue color represents the inbuilt LED which is connected to GPIO_2.
Fig.: ESP32 LED ON
Another web page with URL 192.168.4.1/L will be created when the AP will receive the input to turn OFF the inbuilt LED. As shown in the image below:
Fig.: Web page displaying the LED off state.
This concludes today’s tutorial. We hope you find it helpful.
In our next tutorial, we will discuss another ESP32 feature that is BLE (Bluetooth low energy).
Hello readers, I hope you all are doing well. Welcome to the Section 2 (ESP32 Features) of the ESP32 Programming Series. ESP32 is equipped with numerous built-in features and in each chapter of this Section 2, we will explore one of these ESP32 features in detail.
In the previous Section(Section 1: ESP32 IDEs), we installed different software IDEs to program ESP32 boards. Among these IDEs, we are going to use Arduino IDE for programming ESP32. So, I hope all of your tools are configured properly and you are ready to explore the built-in features of ESP32.
Today's the 1st Chapter of Section 2, and here we will discuss How to communicate with ESP32 Bluetooth Classic from a smartphone using Arduino IDE.
Here's the video tutorial for ESP32 Bluetooth Classic:
ESP32 is equipped with 3 wireless communication protocols:
Bluetooth Classic
Bluetooth Low Energy(BLE)
Wi-Fi
Before going forward, let's first have a look at the basic features of BT Classic:
What is Bluetooth Classic?
Bluetooth is a short-range communication(wireless) technology, used in electronic devices(i.e. mobile phones, computers, LED, headphones, speakers etc.) for wireless communication over a short distance, approximately 15m. Bluetooth operates at a 2.4GHz ISM band. Bluetooth uses low-energy radio waves for data communication between Bluetooth-enabled devices.
Now, let's design the code to communicate over ESP32 Classic BT:
ESP32 Bluetooth Classic
We are using Arduino IDE for code compiling and uploading to the ESP32 module. I hope you have already installed ESP32 Boards in Arduino IDE. So, let's design a simple project to understand the working of ESP32 Bluetooth Classic:
Project Description
First of all, we will install a "Serial BluetoothTerminal" App from the Google Play Store to communicate with the ESP32 Classic BT.
In this project, we will first enable the ESP32 Classic Bluetooth, so that we can connect it to our smartphone. After a successful connection, we will send data from our smartphone(Serial Bluetooth Terminal App) to the ESP32 Serial Terminal and vice versa.
So, let's first understand the ESP32 BT Code and then will install the Serial Bluetooth App from the Google Play Store:
Code for ESP32 Classic BT
Open Arduino IDE and navigate to "File > Examples > BluetoothSerial > SerialtoSerialBT".
This code utilizes BluetoothSerial Library, it's pre-installed with Arduino IDE but if you can't find it in the Examples, you can manually Download Bluetooth Serial Library and add it from Library Manager in Arduino IDE.
Upload this code to your ESP32 Microcontroller Board.
Here's the complete code:
#include "BluetoothSerial.h"
#if !defined(CONFIG_BT_ENABLED) || !defined(CONFIG_BLUEDROID_ENABLED)
#error Bluetooth is not enabled! Please run `make menuconfig` to enable it
#endif
BluetoothSerial SerialBT;
void setup() {
Serial.begin(115200);
SerialBT.begin("TEP_ESP32_BT"); //Bluetooth device name
Serial.println("The device started, now you can pair it with bluetooth!");
}
void loop() {
if (Serial.available()) {
SerialBT.write(Serial.read());
}
if (SerialBT.available()) {
Serial.write(SerialBT.read());
}
delay(20);
}
Let's understand the code working:
How the Code Works
First of all, we added the Classic Bluetooth Library named "BluetoothSerial", it has all the routines/functions required to enable Bluetooth and to communicate with other devices.
#include "BluetoothSerial.h"
Next, we placed a check to ensure that Classic Bluetooth is configured properly and is discoverable to other devices:
#if !defined(CONFIG_BT_ENABLED) || !defined(CONFIG_BLUEDROID_ENABLED)
#error Bluetooth is not enabled! Please run `make menuconfig` to enable it
#endif
Next, we created a Bluetooth object "SerialBT" of class BluetoothSerial to initialize the Bluetooth stack and communicate serially with ESP32 Classic Bluetooth:
BluetoothSerial SerialBT;
Setup() Function
Initial Configurations of the project are added in the Setup() function. In our code:
First, we initialized the Serial Port at a baud rate of 115200.
Next, we initialized the SerialBT object and assigned a unique name "TEP_ES32_BT" to our Bluetooth device, this name will appear in the Bluetooth Search List.
Finally, printed a welcome message on the Serial Monitor.
void setup() {
Serial.begin(115200);
SerialBT.begin("TEP_ESP32_BT"); //Bluetooth device name
Serial.println("The device started, now you can pair it with bluetooth!");
}
Loop() Function
The Loop() Function is an infinite loop and is equivalent to while(1) in normal C Language. In our code, we have placed two if checks:
The first "IF Check" is monitoring the ESP32 Serial Terminal.
If we send any data from the Serial Terminal, this data will be transmitted to the SerialBT.
The second "IF Check" is monitoring the SerialBT.
If we receive any data via ESP32 Classic Bluetooth, we will print it on the Serial Terminal.
void loop() {
if (Serial.available()) {
SerialBT.write(Serial.read());
}
if (SerialBT.available()) {
Serial.write(SerialBT.read());
}
delay(20);
}
So, I hope you have understood the working of this ESP32 Classic Bluetooth code. Now, let's install the Serial Bluetooth Terminal App from the Google Play Store:
Serial Bluetooth Terminal App
Make sure your mobile's Bluetooth is enabled.
Open the Google Play Store on your Smartphone and make a search for "Serial Bluetooth Terminal" and install it.
If we are connecting with the ESP32 BT for the first time, we need to pair it first.
Open the Serial Bluetooth Terminal app and click on the "Devices" tab.
It will scan the list of all the available Bluetooth devices:
[Image]
Now, Pair with the ESP32 Classic BT device named "TEP_ESP32_BT".
Click on Pair.
We have successfully paired the ESP32 BT with the smartphone's Bluetooth.
ESP32 BT to Smartphone - Data Testing
Open the Bluetooth Terminal App and click on the Connect Button at the top:
[Image]
Open the Serial Monitor in the Arduino IDE and set the baud rate to 115200:
[Image]
As shown in the below figure, when we send data from the Serial Monitor, it communicates over Classic Bluetooth and appears in the BT Terminal App.
Similarly, when we send data from the BT Terminal App, it appears on the Serial Monitor of Arduino IDE.
So, that's how we can communicate between ESP32 and smartphones over Classic Bluetooth. In today's lecture, we communicated simple text data to understand the working principle. In the upcoming lectures, we will send complex data(i.e. commands & sensor values) via Classic Bluetooth.
Now, let's have a look at some theoretical knowledge about Classic Bluetooth:
BLE vs Bluetooth Classic
Fig: BLE vs Classic Bluetooth
Bandwidth: Bluetooth can send a large amount of data, while BLE sends small chunks of data.
Compatibility: Classic Bluetooth and BLE are not compatible with each other. A Bluetooth-supported device can’t communicate with BLE supported device.
But, a device having BT V4 (Bluetooth version 4) can discover both BLE and Classic Bluetooth devices.
Power consumption: The classic Bluetooth consumes more power than BLE.
Pairing: In Bluetooth classic pairing is necessary before sharing data between Bluetooth devices for security purposes. On the other hand, BLE technology doesn't ask for pairing before data transmission.
Number of active devices: In traditional Bluetooth, a maximum of 7 slave devices can be connected with the master Bluetooth at a time. Though classic Bluetooth can connect with multiple nodes/slave devices at a time but it can exchange data with only a single node at a time.
Bluetooth Evolution
The initial Bluetooth version (V1.0) was riddled with bugs and limitations.
Bluetooth 2.0 was created as a result of various modifications and improvements to the basic version 1.0.
Bluetooth 2.0's most notable feature was the enhanced data rate (EDR).
Fast modulation technology and a data rate of up to 3Mbps are used in Enhanced Data Rate mode.
Despite improvements in the basic version, Bluetooth 2.0 lacks a security feature.
Bluetooth 2.1 added a security feature called "Pairing" as well as a faster data rate.
Another updated version, Bluetooth 3.0, included a Wi-Fi feature, but it was rarely used, and when it was, the features were similar to the Bluetooth 2.1 version.
Bluetooth 4.0 was the first version to include the Bluetooth low energy feature (BLE).
The most recent Bluetooth version is v5.2, which supports both Classic Bluetooth and BLE and consists of the following features:
EATT (enhanced attribute protocol)
LE (Low Energy) power control feature (LEPCF)
LE Audio
Bluetooth Network topology
Classic Bluetooth forms a piconet. A piconet has a single master and multiple(max 7) slaves. Each piconet has its own hopping sequence.
Fig: Classic Bluetooth Network topology
Classic Bluetooth can operate on both point-to-point and point-to-multi-point network topology. In traditional Bluetooth, a maximum of 7 slave devices can be connected with the master Bluetooth at a time. Though, classic Bluetooth can connect with multiple nodes/slave devices at a time, but it can exchange data with only a single node at a time.
Bluetooth Clock
In classic Bluetooth, the piconets are not synchronized.
The clock is one of the most important aspects of Bluetooth. In a Bluetooth connection, the master device has a clock that is used to split the time on each physical channel. Clocks on all slaves in a connection are synchronized to the master clock.
Bluetooth clock synchronization is essential because the radios must agree on when to transmit. Because Bluetooth uses precise timeslots for transmissions with devices alternating, if the clocks are not synchronized, there may be issues with devices transmitting at the incorrect time.
Classic Bluetooth transmitting power
It is defined in multiple classes:
Class 1: +20dBm maximum.
Class 2: Up to +4dBm.
Class 3: Up to +0dBm.
Classic Bluetooth Data transmission modes
Generally, there are two data transmission modes:
Basic Rate (BR): BR is the first Bluetooth protocol which is implemented in Bluetooth v1.0. It uses one of the FSK (frequency shift keying) modulation techniques known as Gaussian frequency-shift keying (GFSK) and communicates data at the 2.4 GHz ISM band.
Enhanced Data Rate (EDR): It's a Bluetooth specification that allows for a higher data rate or speed. It is not available in all Bluetooth versions, and its availability is dependent on the Bluetooth version and profile. EDR uses pi/4-DQPSK (differential quadrature phase-shift keying) and 8DPSK (differential phase-shift keying) modulation techniques with data rates of 2Mbps and 3Mbps respectively.
Bluetooth packet format
When two devices communicate data over Classic Bluetooth, they use SPP (Serial Port Profile)
Fig. Bluetooth packet format
Enhanced data rate packet sends the Access code and header using the basic rate and this process uses GFSK (Gaussian Frequency Shift Keying). The guard gives the time to change the modulation to EDR modulation and then the synch word (64 bits), payload, and Trailer (4 bits) bits are sent using EDR (enhanced data rate) modulation.
So, that was all for today. In the next lecture, we will communicate between ESP32 and smartphones via BLE(Bluetooth Low Energy). Till then take care. Have a good day!!!
Hello readers, today we will learn about the messaging protocol supported by ESP32(called MQTT protocol), which is used for IoT applications. The communication protocol to be used for data transmission and connectivity in web-enabled devices depends upon the type of IoT application.
The Internet of Things (IoT) is a network of interconnected computing devices like digital machines, automobiles with inbuilt sensors, having unique identifiers and the ability to communicate data over a network without the need for human intervention.
Before implementation, let's first have a look at what is MQTT Protocol?
MQTT stands for Message Queuing Telemetry Protocol and is a messaging or communication protocol used for IoT applications.
In MQTT protocol, a publisher sends a message to the broker with a specific topic tag, and the broker forwards this message to all the Subscribers of that mentioned topic.
So, in order to understand MQTT Protocol, we need to discuss these 4 terms:
MQTT Topic
MQTT Publisher
MQTT Broker
MQTT Subscriber
Note:
The OASIS technical committee is the in-charge of MQTT specifications. The OASIS or the Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards is a non-profit organization dedicated to the development, convergence, and implementation of electronic business standards.
Fig 1: ESP32 MQTT Protocol
MQTT Topic
In MQTT protocol, a Topic is simply a UTF-8 string i.e. "Arduino", "ESP32", "Beginner Tutorials" etc.
MQTT Clients can subscribe to these Topics and are called Subscribers to that Topic.
MQTT Broker sends messages to the Clients based on their Topic subscription.
A topic may have multiple levels, separated by a forward slash.
MQTT Publisher
MQTT Publisher(also called MQTT client), as the name suggests, publishes the message on a specific topic and sends it to the broker.
In simple words, a publisher sends a message(normally a string) to the MQTT Broker, and this message also contains the Topic information.
MQTT Broker
MQTT Broker(also called MQTT server) acts as a coordinator between the subscriber and the publisher in order to create communication.
The broker's job description is as follows:
Receiving messages from the publisher
Filtering received messages based on assigned Topics from the publisher.
Determining the interested subscriber in each message based on the assigned Topic
Finally forwarding the messages to subscribers
MQTT Subscriber
MQTT Subscriber(also called MQTT client), subscribes to the MQTT Topics and receives the messages from the MQTT broker, sent by the Publisher.
How does MQTT Work
This messaging protocol follows the Publish and Subscribe model. The Publisher and Subscribers of the message, communicate via Topics and are separated from one another. The broker is in charge of their communication. The broker's job is to filter all incoming messages and distribute them to the subscribers in the most efficient way possible. The broker pushes the information to the client whenever something new becomes available, so the client doesn't have to pull the information.
Because there are so many ready-to-use brokers and client applications, getting started with MQTT is a breeze.
Fig 2: MQTT Publish and Subscribe architecture
MQTT Features
Light Weight
It is a lightweight and versatile IoT communication and data transfer protocol aimed at IoT developers who want to strike a compromise between flexibility and network resources.
All the MQTT messages have a small footprint which adds a lightweight feature to this protocol.
In MQTT every message has:
2-byte header (fixed)
A 256 MB message payload
A 2-byte variable header (optional)
Security
MQTT protocol implementation will allow you to use your User name and password for security purposes. If you added the authentication feature while creating the MQTT server then stranger clients can’t communicate to your MQTT server.
Bidirectional communication
There is no direct link between clients in MQTT.
A broker connects the subscriber and the publisher in this messaging protocol. As a result, the subscriber and publisher can converse about any issue that the broker handles.
Eliminate polling
Polling is a procedure in which the controlling devices wait for input from an external device to determine whether the device is ready to broadcast data. MQTT protocol follows instantaneous push-based delivery. So there is no need to continuously check or poll before sending data which results in reduced network traffic.
Storage and forwarding
MQTT supports the storage and forwarding of persistent messages on the broker. Clients can ask for the broker to keep messages after they've been published. When this feature is used, any persisted message will be broadcast to a client who has subscribed to a topic. The most recent persistent message is the only one that gets saved. Unlike typical messaging queues, however, the MQTT broker prevents these persisted messages from being backed up inside the server.
Decouple and scale
It enables changes in communication patterns and functionality without causing a system-wide ripple effect.
Simplifies communication
As we have already discussed that MQTT follows Subscriber and Publisher architecture where the broker acts as an interface between the clients. So there is no need of computer to computer interface hence providing simplified communication.
Dynamic targeting
It also supports authentication, publishing, subscribing, keep-alive pings.
It runs on top of Internet protocol and TCP.
Quality of service
Quality of service is a kind of indicator which ensures that messages are exchanged between the sender and the receiver. There are three levels of QoS:
just once - this level is not reliable but is the fastest one
at least once - this level is the default mode
just once - this level is the most reliable, but slowest
MQTT Applications
MQTT protocol is mostly used in IoT(internet of things) applications for data transmission. The data can be read from some sensors or some temperature value.
Fig 3: MQTT Applications
Some other applications where you can use it are :
Security and surveillance
Industries & energy
Logistics
Medical & healthcare
How to Publish a message using ESP32 MQTT?
The MQTT protocol is another functionality supported by the ESP32 module. To implement MQTT, we're utilizing the Arduino IDE.
If you're not sure where to begin coding with the ESP32, check out our prior tutorial, Introduction to the ESP32 Microcontroller Series.
Code Description
Global Declarations
Adding libraries will be the initial stage.
To use ESP32 MQTT to send a message, you'll need two libraries.
#include <WiFi.h>#include <PubSubClient.h>
PubSubClient library is not available in ESP32’s library list. You need to download the library first and add the library into Arduino IDE.
Fig 4: Adding library to Arduino IDE.
Click on Add. Zip Library.
Browse for the downloaded library file and add.
PubSubClient library and Wi-Fi library
We covered Wi-Fi in detail in our previous tutorial, ESP32 web server.
PubSubClient is a client library that may be used with MQTT applications.
Add your SSID and Password to create a wi-fi connection. Follow our previous tutorial, ESP32 web server, to learn more about ESP32 Wi-Fi.
const char* ssid = "public"; //add your SSIDconst char* password = "ESP32@123";// add your password
Initialize the Wi-Fi. (follow the previous tutorial for more details about (ESP32 Wi-Fi)
Serial.begin(115200); WiFi.begin(ssid, password); while (WiFi.status() != WL_CONNECTED) { delay(1000); Serial.println("Connecting to WiFi.."); }
Print Wi-Fi status on serial monitor
Serial.println("Connected to the Wi-Fi network");
Define the MQTT server's address and port address.
To do so, we use the PubSubClient object's setServer function.
The address and port, both defined early in global variables declaration, will be passed to this procedure as the first and second arguments, respectively.
setCallback method to define a handling function.
When a MQTT message is received on a subscribed topic, this handling function is called. This function's code will be saved for later.
client.setServer(mqttServer, mqttPort); while (!client.connected()) { Serial.println("Connecting to MQTT..."); if (client.connect("ESP32Client", mqttUser, mqttPassword )) { Serial.println("connected to MQTT"); } else { Serial.print("failed to connect "); Serial.print(client.state()); delay(2000); } }
Publish a topic
client.publish("esp/test", "ESP32");
Subscribe for the topic you want to.
client.subscribe("esp/test");
Finally, we'll subscribe to the topic we're interested in. Other clients' communications will be published on that topic, and we will receive them this way. For that purpose, we use the subscribe method, which takes the name of the topic we want to subscribe to as an argument.
Arduino loop() Function
The next task will be to connect with the MQTT server which will happen in the main loop
Here, the device will keep trying to connect with the server unless it establishes a connection.
In order for the client to process incoming messages and maintain the connection to the MQTT server, the function should be invoked on a regular basis.
MQTT Testing
For testing purposes, we will use MQTT_lens which is a Google Chrome application to establish a connection with the broker.
Here are some screenshots of the MQTT lens broker:
Create a connection after adding the following details:
Connection, Hostname, Port etc.
Fig: MQTT_lens broker
This concludes today’s tutorial, hope you find it helpful.
Hello readers, I hope you all are having fun in your lives. Welcome to the 2nd Chapter of Section-2 in the ESP32 Programming Series. In today's lesson, we'll go over another built-in feature of the esp32 module that helps it stand out from the competition: BLE or Bluetooth Low Energy.
In the previous tutorial, we discussed the Classic Bluetooth in ESP32, which is considered the predecessor of Bluetooth Low Energy(which we are going to discuss today). We will first look at, what is BLE? and why is it used?, and then will design some examples to utilize the ESP32 BLE in Arduino IDE.
There have been numerous adjustments and upgrades to Bluetooth's characteristics since its inception, where Bluetooth 4.0(also called BLE or Bluetooth Smart) is the most influential.
BLE or Bluetooth Smart is also known as Wibree. The Wibree protocol was designed by Nokia in 2006 and was later included in Bluetooth 4.0 as Bluetooth Low Energy in December 2009.
Bluetooth Low Energy is a slightly different protocol from Classic Bluetooth, which is used in phones, headphones, TVs etc. Rather than continuously streaming data, BLE "servers" can "notify" clients to send the data chunks on a regular basis(which makes it preferable over traditional Bluetooth). As a result, BLE is better suited to low-power IoT applications that don't require significant volumes of data.
Both the server and clients now utilize a "service UUID", to determine which server and client needs to be connected. There are various "characteristics" that can be found inside these services.
Bluetooth Low Energy was developed and promoted by the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) for use in healthcare, beacons, fitness, home entertainment etc. It does not work with standard Bluetooth and does not have any compatibility, although it can coexist with BR/EDR and LE.
The Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) recognizes several industries for low-energy technology, including smart homes, health, sport, and fitness.
Difference b/w traditional Bluetooth and BLE
Bluetooth Technology was created with the intention of allowing data to be streamed indefinitely. That implies you can send and receive a large amount of data over a short distance with Bluetooth.
It's crucial to discuss power usage while discussing the differences between Bluetooth and Bluetooth Low Energy. Bluetooth Low Energy is intended to transfer data only when the client is available to receive the data from the server; otherwise, the BLE device will go into low energy or sleep mode. Thus, use significantly less power as compared to traditional Bluetooth, while retaining a similar communication range.
Bluetooth Low Energy uses the same 2.4 GHz radio frequencies as traditional Bluetooth, but a different FHSS (Frequency Hopping Spread Spectrum) technique.
Classic Bluetooth uses Scatter-net topology whereas BLE uses Star topology.
Although Bluetooth Low Energy differs from the previous Bluetooth Basic Rate/Enhanced Data Rate protocol, both can be supported by the same device: the Bluetooth 4.0 specification allows devices to implement any or both of the LE and BR/EDR systems.
Because both, Bluetooth Low Energy and traditional Bluetooth use the same 2.4 GHz radio frequencies, allowing dual-mode devices to use a single radio antenna.
How does BLE work?
BLE Client & Server
Any BLE device can operate as both a server and a client.
Server ESP32 will announce its presence to nearby clients so that clients can establish a connection with the BLE server for communication.
Broadcast mode and mesh networks both are also supported by BLE.
In broadcast mode, only the BLE server transmits data to all the connected clients.
In mesh mode, all the devices are connected to each other. Therefore, all devices can communicate with all other available devices.
GATT
GATT is an acronym for Generic Attributes.
It defines a data structure that is visible to all BLE devices linked to it. GATT defines how BLE devices can communicate with each other. Understanding this structure is crucial to understand the working of BLE.
The GATT protocol includes a set of commands that allow the client to learn more about the server.
Read through all of the descriptors for a specific characteristic.
Find out everything there is to know about a specific service.
Find qualities that match a UUID.
Find UUIDs for all major services.
Find a service using a UUID.
For a particular principal service, locate subsidiary services.
BLE Service
A service is nothing more than a collection of data, such as data from a temperature sensor.
A profile, which is made up of multiple services, is at the top of the structure. Typically, a BLE-supported device will have multiple services.
The SIG has preset services for a variety of data kinds, such as battery level, weight, blood pressure, heart rate, and so on.
Every service has at least a single feature and can also refer to different services.
BLE Characteristics
The characteristic attribute is always held by a particular service, and it is where the hierarchy's real data is stored.
The characteristic has two attributes:
Characteristic value.
The characteristic declaration contains the metadata.
It essentially consists of the operations that can be used like Indicate, read, write, notify, broadcast etc.
UUID or Universally Unique Identifier
In a Generic Attribute (GATT) profile, the UUID is a universally unique 128-bit or 16-byte integer that is used to identify profiles, services, and data kinds.
Note:
In the code description, we will provide a link where you can generate a new UUID.
BLE network topology
BLE uses Star and mesh topology for communication.
A Broadcast Type or a Connection Type communication between two BLE devices is possible. The 'broadcaster' BLE Device sends data to any 'observer' BLE Device in broadcasting. It's a data transfer that only goes one way.
A 'Connection' between the BLE Devices is required for two-way communication. A Central (Master) BLE Device continuously checks for advertising data packets sent by a Peripheral (Slave) BLE Device.
BLE Applications
BLE is ideal for applications that need to exchange modest amounts of data on a regular basis.
BLE is used extensively in healthcare, fitness, tracking, beacons, security, and home automation etc.
Bluetooth Low Energy is natively supported by mobile operating systems such as iOS, Android, and Windows Phone, as well as macOS, Linux, Windows 8 & 10.
ESP32 BLE
You can use ESP32 BLE either as a BLE server or a client.
Examples are available in the ESP32 BLE library(Arduino IDE) which you can use to implement BLE services.
Note:
The Arduino IDE must have the ESP32 board manager file and libraries installed. If you haven't previously prepared your Arduino IDE to operate with the ESP32, then read our previous tutorial, i.e., Introduction to ESP32 Programming Series.
BLE Server Code Description
For coding, we are using Arduino IDE’s inbuilt example and will make the required changes in that code only.
I will also explain the code in detail for beginners to understand.
In this code, ESP32, BLE will be used as a server.
Import the necessary/required libraries for the BLE application.
Define a UUID for the Service and Characteristic.
To generate UUIDs, go to the following link:
https://www.uuidgenerator.net/
You can either use the default UUIDs if you wish to or go to the above link to generate random UUIDs as per your services and attributes.
Call back or acknowledge the server whether the client is connected or not
Arduino Setup() Function
Serial Communication at a baud rate of 115200.
Create a name for your BLE device for identification, we named it Wibree.
Set the BLE device as a server.
Create a service for the BLE server with the UUID defined earlier.
The characteristic for that service is then set. As you can see, you're still using the UUID you created previously, and you'll need to supply the properties of the characters as arguments. It's read and write in this scenario.
You can also add other services like battery, indicate, notify etc.
The setValue() method can be used to set the value of a characteristic.
The above value can be changed to whatever you like. This could be a sensor reading.
Finally, activate the service and advertising so that other BLE devices can scan and locate this BLE device.
Arduino Loop() Function
Here we can check if the device is connected to the client or not
If connected then do some tasks like transmitting data or receiving input from the client.
Data Size Per Packet
20 bytes per packet.
Unfortunately, BLE isn't built to handle large amounts of data. The maximum data size per packet in the BLE specification is 20 bytes, so if you wish to communicate more, you'll have to divide it up into many packets. Fortunately, this isn't a challenging task. Simply put, use a delimiter like "!" or "*" or something unique at the end of your whole message to signal the app that the message is done and to start listening for future communications. If you want to send + > 20 bytes cumulatively, for example, you can send and then proceed with the next message if needed.
Testing ESP32 BLE Server
After creating a BLE server using ESP32, we can use a BLE application available on the Play store for testing purposes.
Demonstration with BLE scanner app:
Go to the play store
Search for the BLE scanner and download the app
After installing the app turn on the Bluetooth.
Open the app and search for nearby devices.
Now connect to ESP32 BLE by clicking on the ESP32 device.
In our case, we named the device ‘Wibree’.
Now you can use the various services provided by BLE like writing and reading data packets, checking battery levels etc. and a lot more.
This concludes the tutorial. I hope you find it helpful.
Hello readers, I hope you all are doing great. Today, we are going to start the second section of the ESP32 tutorial series and today's our first tutorial, where we will have a look at How to Create a Web Server with ESP32. In our previous tutorial, we introduced you to the basics of the ESP32 microcontroller. where we discuss How to set up Arduino IDE to program ESP32. In this tutorial, we will discuss creating a web server using the ESP32 module.
One of the most interesting features of the ESP microcontroller series is its wireless connectivity via WiFi & Bluetooth. Wireless connectivity protocols supported by ESP32 are:
A web server is software or hardware that stores, processes, and delivers web pages to users on request. In other words, it serves users all over the World Wide Web (www). The web server uses the hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP or HTTPS) for communication with the clients(normally, web browsers). We know that HTTP is a set of rules to format and exchange messages.
The following are some important features of a web server:
Features of a Web Server
A web server, either physical or virtual, is a computer that hosts one or more websites.
The HTTP protocol is the foundation of any data exchange within the network when using the server. So a web server uses it to communicate with the client.
The web server uses static content and the files do not change dynamically. Some such files used in a web service are:
HTML files
Images
Stylesheets
JavaScript files
The web server has multiple settings to avoid unnecessary attacks. This helps to maintain the health and integrity of a website. There are multiple types of web security attacks, such as:
DDoS attacks
SQL injection
Cross-site scripting (XSS)
Hence, a web server has multiple features to serve the users on the web.
Web Server & Client Communication
A client is an entity that initiates communication with the web
server and then the server provides the information required. In simple
words, the client is a program, device, or user that requests services
or resources from the devices, such as the web server. The communication
and relationship between these two is called the server-client model.
The following are the general server-client model steps that will help
to understand the whole scenario:
The client sends an HTTP request to the server. The request includes the URL of the web page that the client wants to retrieve.
The
client (when the user requires data) sends an HTTP request to the
server. This request may include the URL of the web page from which the
client wants to retrieve the information.
The server receives
the request instantly and processes it. It does it when it looks up the
URL saved in its database to find the corresponding web page file a
client requires.
If the web page file is found, the server sends
it back to the client in the form of an HTTP response. This response
also includes other important types of information, such as the page's
content type and expiration date, etc.
The client then receives
the response and renders the web page on the user's screen. The client
uses the content type information to determine how to display the web
page.
If the page is not found in the URL database, the server shows the error.
Web browsers like Chrome, Firefox, and Safari are examples of clients.
ESP32 as a Web Server
The ESP32 is a microcontroller famous for its wireless capabilities, which makes it ideal for a large number of fields, especially IoT. We are talking about WiFi connectivity as a web server and here are the key features of this module related to it:
The ESP32 is made under the IEEE 802.11b/g/n standards; therefore it has a 2.4 GHz frequency band. Therefore, it can be used as:
Common WiFi routers
Access point
The built-in WiFi capabilities of the ESP32 allow it to be used as a server and carry out the easiest and most effective communication at a distance without any physical connection.
It has three operating modes:
In station mode, the ESP32 is operated as a WiFi client. It means it can be connected to the existing Wi-Fi network. (We are covering today)
In access point mode, it is operated as a WiFi access point; therefore it allows other devices to create a connection with it. (will be covered in the next lecture)
In dual mode, it can act as a server and as a client and allow the features of both at the same time. (will be covered in the 3rd lecture of section 2)
It has a dual processor that helps in handling multiple tasks at the same time. Therefore, ESP32 is more capable of managing a large network of devices and making it responsive for concurrent connections.
It has asynchronous web server libraries, such as “ESPAsyncWebServe” to handle the HTTP requests asynchronously. These are useful because they allow it to effectively manage the connections without blocking the execution of other tasks.
ESP32 has multiple security protocols that are used when creating the web server. As a result, it provides secure and protective communication between the devices.
It has over-the-air updates, which means it can update the device's firmware without physically accessing it. It helps with remote updates and maintenance.
The ESP32 is suitable for use as a server because of its multiple features, including:
It can serve static files
It can handle different HTTP methods (GET, POST, etc.)
It supports features like server-side scripting
The WebSockets feature of ESP32 allows it to carry out bi-directional communication between servers and clients. You will learn about both of these in just a bit.
The ESP32 supports WiFi Direct, which is also referred to as the Peer to Peer (P2P); therefore, it can form a direct connection with other devices with no need for an external WiFi network.
ESP32 WebServer Working Principle
We know that the ESP32 has a built-in WiFi feature. This makes it suitable to use as a server. The example of the server-client relationship we have just discussed shows the internet connection of the whole world. The ESP32 can be used for the intranet connection, which is defined as:
"An intranet is a private network that has limited functionalities and is only accessible to users within a specific organization/location."
Usually, this network may consist of different devices, such as mobile phones, computers, laptops and tablets. The Arduino IDE is for the programming of the ESP32, just like we have done in the previous session. If your Arduino IDE is ready with the boards and ports, then let us try the built-in example of the ESP32 to use as a server.
What is an SSID?
An SSID is a service set identifier that is the unique name of a wireless local area network (WLAN).
It can be 32 characters long.
It may include numbers, letters, and signs.
The SSID can be set by the user as well.
In simple words, the SSID is the name of the WiFi connection people use for their connection.
In the experiment we are just performing, the user has to replace the SSID with their own SSID to connect with the ESP32.
Using the ESP32 Server Built-in Example
Using the ESP32 as a server is easy with the web server example. It has the basics, and here are the steps to follow:
Open the Arduino IDE.
Connect the esp32 to your system through the cable. Make sure the ESP32 is connected accurately.
Click on tools>boards>ESP32>Node32s. This is my board and you can choose according to the model of ESP32.
Go to the files> examples>examples of Nose32s>WiFi and from the side menu, choose “SimpleWifiServer".
It will create a new project with the code in it to run the ESP32 (connected to your system) as a server.
Press the encoder (EN) button of the ESP32.
Change the SSID and password according to your choice. In my case, it is PTCL-BB.
Go to lines 38, 103, and 106 by one and replace the pin “5” digit with pin “2” because the built-in light is at pin 2.
Replace lines 70 and 71 with the following:
client.print("Click <a href=\"/H\">here</a> to turn the LED on pin 2 on.<br>");
client.print("Click <a href=\"/L\">here</a> to turn turn the LED on pin 2 off.<br>");
All the instructions are given in the code. Go to line 30 and place your SSID there.
Go to line 31 and enter the password of your choice.
Read the code carefully and hit the “verify” button.
Once the code is compiled, press "Boot" on the ESP32 when the uploading process is carried out.
Wait for the loading to complete.
Click on the “Serial Monitor” button at the upper right corner of the screen to open the monitor. You can go to Tool>Serial Monitor for the same task.
Choose the baud rate of 115200 from the drop-down menu at the right corner of the monitor.
Right now, the monitor is blank:
Click the EN button on the EPS32 to see the information.
Now that the monitor has data and is loading, it starts to connect with the WiFi connection of the system.
Once the loading is complete, it will provide the IP address. Copy this address.
Go to the new tab in the browser and paste the address there.
You will see that merely placing the “H” or “L” just after the IP address (as given in the code comment) will turn on and off the LED on ESP32 according to the URL.
Note: Make sure you have installed the port and board before you try this code and have selected all the right options; otherwise, you can face errors.
ESP32 Server as Messenger
The ESP32 can be used to send the message through the browser.
The microcontroller connects to the internet connection of the system.
The serial monitor shows the IP address.
The ESP32 acts as a server and through the URL of the browser, the user will send the message to the Arduino IDE.
This message will be shown on the serial monitor.
The user can change the message through the URL pasted in the web browser.
Material Required
Internet connection
System (e,g, laptop)
ESP32 microcontroller
Connecting cable
Code for ESP32 as Server
#include <WiFi.h>
const char *ssid = "My-SSID";
const char *password = "My-Password";
WiFiServer server(80);
void setup() {
Serial.begin(115200);
WiFi.begin(ssid, password);
while (WiFi.status() != WL_CONNECTED) {
delay(1000);
Serial.println("Connecting to WiFi...");
}
Serial.println("Connected to WiFi");
Serial.println("IP address: ");
Serial.println(WiFi.localIP());
server.begin();
}
void loop() {
WiFiClient client = server.available();
if (client) {
Serial.println("New Client.");
while (client.connected()) {
if (client.available()) {
String request = client.readStringUntil('\r');
client.flush();
// Check if the request contains a specific message
Make sure you have the respective port and board installed successfully.
Connect the right port and board.
Paste the code given above into the new project.
"Verify" the code by using the button.
Once verified, compile and upload the code.
Once the code is compiled, press the Boot button.
Once the installation is completed, go to the serial monitor.
Press the EN button.
The serial monitor will show the information. Copy the IP address shown on the end of loading.
The general ULR for sending the message through the server is given as: http://esp32-ip-address/message?message=Hello
To send the “Hello” message to the ESP32 through the browser, use your IP address and the message. In my case, I am pasting the following URL in the browser: http://192.168.43.251/message?message=Hello
Once reloaded, go to the serial monitor and check for the message:
For the demonstration purpose, we will create a webpage and will launch it through our ESP32 module, so ESP32 will be acting as a web server, serving the page.
This webpage will have 3 Buttons on it, which will be controlling three LEDs, we will turn ON or OFF respective LEDs using these buttons.
WebServer Page is shown in the below figure:
Now the question arises, how will ESP32 understand which Button has been pressed?
For that, we have created multiple links i.e. the HomePage Url will look like:
http://192.168.43.188/
When a user will click on LED 26 ON Button, we will redirect the user to:
http://192.168.43.188/26/on
Now, when the client wants to turn OFF the LED, we will redirect to:
http://192.168.43.188/26/off
So, actually, we are checking the request from the client and based on that request we are turning ON or OFF the respective LED.
Moreover, we are providing the same webpage to all the links but with the change in the state of each button i.e. if it's ON then Blue, otherwise Green.
If it looks too complicated, don't worry. These things will get more clear when we will cover the Arduino coding.
ESP32 Wi-Fi module includes a number of useful characteristics, including the ability to use a soft access point mode, a station mode, or both modes at the same time. Only station mode will be discussed in this session. I'll also cover how to use this board in soft access mode in future tutorials.
Station Mode: The ESP32 board connects to your Wi-Fi network via a router in Station mode. The router serves as the communication channel between the web client and the ESP32. The IP address is obtained from the Wi-Fi router. Web clients can connect to the Web server using this IP address across a local network.
Access Point Mode: In this mode, the ESP32 creates its own wireless Wi-Fi network, similar to the one provided by your existing router. We don't need to connect the ESP2 to a Wi-Fi network in this mode. This Wi-Fi board can link up to 5 devices to the Wifi network it creates.
Controlling peripherals Using ESP32 Web Server
Connect the peripherals to the ESP32 board which you want to control through the ESP32 Web Server.
Here, we are going to control two external LEDs connected to LED1 (GPIO 26), LED2 (GPIO 27), and an inbuilt LED.
The following are the requirements for creating an ESP32 webserver to control peripherals:
ESP32 module
Internet connection
LEDs
Resistors
Connecting Wires
Arduino IDE Code
Using the Arduino IDE, upload the following code to the ESP32 module:
#include
// Replace with your network credentials
char* ssid = "ESP32"; //enter SSID
char* passphrase = "asdfgf@123"; // enter the password
// Set web server port number to 80
WiFiServer server(80);
// Variable to store the HTTP request
String header;
// Auxiliar variables to store the current output state
String output26State = "off";
String output27State = "off";
String builtin_led_state = "off";
// Assign output variables to GPIO pins
const int output26 = 26;
const int output27 = 27;
// Current time
unsigned long currentTime = millis();
// Previous time
unsigned long previousTime = 0;
// Define timeout time in milliseconds (example: 2000ms = 2s)
const long timeoutTime = 2000;
void setup() {
Serial.begin(115200);
// Initialize the output variables as outputs
pinMode(output26, OUTPUT);
pinMode(output27, OUTPUT);
pinMode(LED_BUILTIN, OUTPUT);
// Set outputs to LOW
digitalWrite(output26, LOW);
digitalWrite(output27, LOW);
digitalWrite(LED_BUILTIN, LOW);
// Connect to Wi-Fi network with SSID and password
Serial.print("Connecting to ");
Serial.println(ssid);
WiFi.begin(ssid, passphrase);
while (WiFi.status() != WL_CONNECTED) {
delay(500);
Serial.print(".");
}
// Print local IP address and start web server
Serial.println("");
Serial.println("WiFi connected.");
Serial.println("IP address: ");
Serial.println(WiFi.localIP());
server.begin();
}
void loop(){
WiFiClient client = server.available(); // Listen for incoming clients
if (client) {
// If a new client connects,
currentTime = millis();
previousTime = currentTime;
Serial.println("New Client."); // print a message out in the serial port
String currentLine = ""; // make a String to hold incoming data from the client
while (client.connected() && currentTime - previousTime <= timeoutTime) { // loop while the client's connected
currentTime = millis();
if (client.available()) { // if there's bytes to read from the client,
char c = client.read(); // read a byte, then
Serial.write(c); // print it out the serial monitor
header += c;
if (c == '\n') { // if the byte is a newline character
// if the current line is blank, you got two newline characters in a row.
// that's the end of the client HTTP request, so send a response:
if (currentLine.length() == 0) {
// HTTP headers always start with a response code (e.g. HTTP/1.1 200 OK)
// and a content-type so the client knows what's coming, then a blank line:
client.println("HTTP/1.1 200 OK");
client.println("Content-type:text/html");
client.println("Connection: close");
client.println();
// turns the GPIOs on and off
if (header.indexOf("GET /26/on") >= 0)
{
Serial.println("GPIO 26 on");
output26State = "on";
digitalWrite(output26, HIGH);
}
else if (header.indexOf("GET /26/off") >= 0)
{
Serial.println("GPIO 26 off");
output26State = "off";
digitalWrite(output26, LOW);
}
else if (header.indexOf("GET /27/on") >= 0)
{
Serial.println("GPIO 27 on");
output27State = "on";
digitalWrite(output27, HIGH);
}
else if (header.indexOf("GET /27/off") >= 0)
{
Serial.println("GPIO 27 off");
output27State = "off";
digitalWrite(output27, LOW);
}
else if (header.indexOf("GET /LED_BUILTIN/on") >= 0)
{
Serial.println("BUILTIN LED on");
builtin_led_state = "on";
digitalWrite(LED_BUILTIN, HIGH);
}
else if (header.indexOf("GET /LED_BUILTIN/off") >= 0)
{
Serial.println("BUILTIN_LED off");
builtin_led_state = "off";
digitalWrite(LED_BUILTIN, LOW);
}
// Display the HTML web page
client.println("");
client.println("");
client.println("");
// CSS to style the on/off buttons
// Feel free to change the background-color and font-size attributes to fit your preferences
client.println("");
// Web Page Heading
client.println("
ESP32 Web Server
");
// Display current state, and ON/OFF buttons for builtin led
client.println("
LED_BUILTIN - State " + builtin_led_state + "
");
// If the LED is off, it displays the ON button
if (builtin_led_state=="off")
{
client.println("
");
}
else
{
client.println("
");
}
// Display current state, and ON/OFF buttons for GPIO 26
client.println("
LED_1 - State " + output26State + "
");
// If the output26State is off, it displays the ON button
if (output26State=="off")
{
client.println("
");
}
else
{
client.println("
");
}
// Display current state, and ON/OFF buttons for GPIO 27
client.println("
LED_2 - State " + output27State + "
");
// If the output27State is off, it displays the ON button
if (output27State=="off")
{
client.println("
");
}
else
{
client.println("
");
}
client.println("");
// The HTTP response ends with another blank line
client.println();
// Break out of the while loop
break;
} else { // if you got a newline, then clear currentLine
currentLine = "";
}
} else if (c != '\r') { // if you got anything else but a carriage return character,
currentLine += c; // add it to the end of the currentLine
}
}
}
// Clear the header variable
header = "";
// Close the connection
client.stop();
Serial.println("Client disconnected.");
Serial.println("");
}
}
Note:
You need to modify the SSID and password with your network credentials.
Code Description:
Here, we'll take a closer look at the code to see how it works.
The first task is to add a Wi-Fi library.
As mentioned previously, you must type your SSID and password inside the double quotes in the following lines.
As we are creating a web server, so we need to assign a port to it and normally we use port 80 for a local webserver.
So, in the below code, Port 80 is assigned to the webserver and then initialized a few variables:
String header: variable to store the header of the HTTP request.
Below the header variable, we have variables to store the current state of connected peripheral LEDs and built-in LED. If you wish to add more peripherals and save their states, you need to create more variables. By default, all LEDs are in the OFF state.
Next, assigned GPIOs to each peripheral device or component. Here we are using GPIO 26(LED1) and GPIO 27(LED2). You can use any other suitable GPIOs.
Lastly, we have initialized a few variables to check the connection timeout, we will check their working soon.
Arduino Setup() Function
Now let's first have a look at the Arduino setup loop.
First, we have initialized our Serial Port at a baud rate of 115200, so that we could monitor the results at the serial terminal.
Define the GPIOs as OUTPUTs and set them to LOW, as by default LEDs will be off.
To set up a wifi connection, we called the WiFI.begin() and here we have provided our SSID and passphrase as variables.
Now our ESP32 will try to connect to the provided WiFi connection.
As you can see, we have a while loop, where we are checking the WiFi Status.
If ESP32 gets connected with WiFi, the while loop will break and a message will get printed on the Serial Monitor "WiFi Connected".
Now our ESP32 is connected to the WiFi, so the router must have assigned an IP address to ESP32 and we are printing it on Serial using WiFi local IP Function.
Finally, we begin our server, to which we have assigned Port 80 at the start.
Arduino Loop() Function
Now, we are done with all the basic settings in the setup function. Let's have a look at the code in the Loop function:
At the last line of the Setup function, we have started our webserver, so now ESP32 is acting as a webserver and is waiting for incoming clients.
But what will happen, when someone will hit the IP Address of this webserver?
So, in the loop function, first of all, we are listening to the incoming client using the server.available() function.
If any client is available i.e. someone has entered our IP Address in the browser then we will print the HTML page.
So, we are going to write the rest of our code in this IF loop.
AS you can see in the below code, if the client is available, we have printed "New Client" on Serial Monitor.
After that, we have a while loop checking for client connection, so as long as we have a connection with the client, we will remain in this loop.
Inside this while loop, we have an If loop, checking if the client is available.
Now, if we are connected to the client, we need to read for the incoming request.
So, If there are any bytes to read from the client, read those bytes:
The client request ends at New Line Character \n, so we are checking for that.
Once we received the New Line Character, we are sending the response back to the Client.
In response, we have first sent the HTTP header, which is the default for webpages so that browsers should understand the response type.
Checking Request Type
As we discussed earlier, on each button press, we are redirecting our client to its respective link.
Depending on which button is pushed, we make requests to different URLs to turn the LEDs on and off using if else statements, as shown below:
As you can see in the above code, we are repeating the same code three times for 3 LEDs.
In the first block, we are simply checking the header response and if it's a GET request and from "/26/on", we have turned that Pin HIGH, changed the LED state variable to "on" and sent a message on the serial monitor.
So, if a client clicks on the LED 26 ON button, ESP32 will understand the GET request and glow the LED.
The other buttons work in the same way. If you wish to add more outputs, you'll need to change this section of the code.
HTML to display a web page
We have designed the output part i.e. what we are going to do when a user clicks any button.
And now we are going to design those buttons themselves i.e. we are designing the webpage.
As you can see in the below figure, we have standard HTML tags at the start.
After that, we have some CSS text to design the buttons and the appearance of the web page. We use the Helvetica font and set the information to be shown as a block with the center aligned.
Next, displaying Web page heading i.e. "ESP32 Web Server".
Next, comes the If Loop for the first Button, we are checking the LED state variable and based on LED state, we are displaying our Button.
So, if the LED state is OFF, we are redirecting the user to /LED_BUILTIN/on and vice versa.
That's how we are changing the Buttons on the webpage, as you can see buttons are using different CSS classes for on and off states.
Similar loops are used to display the states on other connected LEDs.
Finally, we are closing the web connection and clearing the header that was used to store the HTTP request header using client.stop() function.
Printing information about the closed web connection on the serial monitor.
Uploading Web Server Code to ESP32
Please reread the previous instruction, "Introduction to ESP32 programming series," if you are unfamiliar with the procedure of uploading code in the Arduino IDE.
After uploading the code, open the Serial Monitor with a baud rate of 115200.
Enable the ESP32 by pressing the EN (enable) button. The ESP32 establishes a Wi-Fi connection and the Serial Monitor displays the ESP32 IP address. To connect to the ESP32 web server, you'll need that IP address.
Note:
Make sure you have selected the right board and COM port.
Getting IP address and Access ESP32 web Server
After successfully uploading the code in esp32 module.
Open Serial Monitor from the top right corner of Arduino IDE screen as shown in figure below:
The IP address required to connect to the ESP32 point will be displayed on the Serial Monitor. It's 192.168.43.223 in this scenario.
To access the webserver, type the IP Address of the ESP32 into a Web Browser on a laptop or a mobile phone. It's 192.168.43.223 in our case.
You should be able to see a simple web page served by the ESP32's Web Server if everything goes well.
A screenshot of a Web Browser on a laptop accessing the ESP32 Web Server is shown below.
The image below is displaying the ONstate of the inbuilt LED.
The inbuilt LED is Blue in color.
The below image is displaying the OFF State of the inbuilt LED
Hence, We have done a lot of work on the ESP32 by using it as a server. In the beginning, we saw what is a web server and studied its features in detail. After that, we saw that ESP32 can be used as a server and we saw the feature that makes it ideal for this task. Then we experimented to learn the concept, in which we saw the built-in example of ESP32 as a server in Arduino IDE. We saw the step-by-step procedure to experiment and once it was completed, we moved on to a more complex example. I hope you find this tutorial useful and have performed it by yourself but if you are stuck at any point, you can ask in the comment section.
Using the ESP32 web server and the preceding process, you can control the peripherals linked to the ESP32 module from any mobile, tablet, or computer. The only need is that all of the devices to be linked to the same network.
This concludes the lesson. I hope it becomes useful to you. In the next tutorial, we will have a look at How to work the ESP32 BLE, so stay tuned. Have a good day. :)
Hello everyone, I hope you're all doing well. In the previous lecture(Chapter 0: ESP32 Pinout), we discussed the ESP32 features & specs in detail. Today, we are officially starting this ESP32 Programming Series. In this ESP32 Programming Series, we will start with basic concepts and
will gradually move towards complex topics. I will try to keep this
ESP32 series as simple as I can. But still, if you encounter any issues,
please ask in the comments, will try to resolve the issues as soon as
possible.
As ESP32 has numerous features & applications, so I have divided this series into different sections. I have named the 1st section "ESP32 IDEs". In this section, we will discuss different IDEs used to program ESP32 boards. In each Chapter of this section, we will install one of these ESP32 IDEs and will test a simple LED Blinking Code in it. We will set up the ESP32 Development Environment for Windows, Mac, and Linux users.
As I am sharing the 1st Chapter today, so first we will unbox the ESP32 board, set up the most commonly used ESP32 IDE i.e. Arduino IDE, and test a simple WiFi Scan Code on the ESP32.
IDE is an abbreviation of Integrated Development Environment. IDE is a software package used to write & compile the code. As ESP32 is one of the most popular microcontroller boards, there are numerous third-party IDEs available to program it, and each IDE supports its own programming language. So, if you are a C# developer or an Arduino expert, you can quickly and easily get your hands dirty with ESP32. The below table shows the most commonly used ESP32 IDEs along with their supported programming language:
ESP32 IDEs
No.
ESP32 IDEs
Programming Language
1
Arduino IDE
Arduino C
2
Thonny IDE
MicroPython
3
Visual Studio Code
Arduino C
4
PlatformIO IDE
C++
5
ESP-IDF(official IDE by EspressIF)
C
6
nanoFramework
C#
In today's lecture, we will install the Arduino IDE and configure it for ESP32 Programming. So, let's get started:
Install ESP32 in Arduino IDE
First of all, we need to install the Arduino IDE itself. To program ESP32 with Arduino IDE, we need to install the ESP32 Boards
in Arduino IDE. Before installing the ESP32 Boards, we first need to add
a JSON File containing information about ESP32 Boards. JSON format is
used to share information between two computers. So, this JSON file will
add the information of ESP32 boards in the Arduino IDE. So, let me summarize these 3 steps in proper order:
Installing Arduino IDE
Adding ESP32 JSON File
Installing ESP32 Boards
Installing COM Port Driver for ESP32(if COM Port not detected automatically)
Installing Arduino IDE
We need to first download & install the Arduino IDE.
Download Arduino IDE from its official website, make sure to download the latest version.
Installing Arduino IDE is quite simple, but if you are having issues, have a look at this Arduino IDE Installation Guide.
After installing the Arduino IDE, we need to add the ESP32 JSON File in it. So, follow the below steps:
Open Arduino IDE and navigate to "File > Preferences", as shown in the below image:
In the Arduino Preferences Window, you will find a textbox named "Additional boards Manager URL".
Add the ESP32 JSON File link(provided above) in it, as shown in the below figure:
If you have already added any third-party board URLs, then add a comma (,) between the JSON links OR click on the button and it will open up a new window, add URL in the new row, as shown below:
Click "OK" to close the Preference Window.
Once you close the Preference Window, Arduino IDE will extract the information of all ESP32 boards by downloading the ESP32 JSON file.
Now, we are ready to install the ESP32 Boards in Arduino IDE:
Installing ESP32 Boards in Arduino IDE
In the Arduino IDE, click on "Tools > Board > Board Manager", as shown in the below figure:
It will open up a Board Manager Window in Arduino IDE.
From this Board Manager, we can install the packages for third-party modules.
In the Board Manager, make a search for "ESP32" and you will get many third-party ESP32 packages.
Here, we need to install the "ESP32 by Espressif Systems" as it's the official package, I have highlighted it in the below image:
So, click on the Install button to install ESP32 boards in Arduino IDE.
Arduino IDE will take some time to install the ESP32 package.
Once installed, click on "Tools > Boards > esp32" and you will find a list of newly added ESP32 boards, as shown in the below figure:
From this list, we will select "ESP32 DEV KIT V1", it's the most commonly used ESP32 board.
In the COM Port, select the available COM Port, in our case, it's COM5:
In some cases, the Arduino IDE won't automatically detect the ESP32 COM
Port, so here we need to install the COM Port driver for ESP32. Let's do it:
Installing ESP32 COM Port in Arduino IDE
If you don't find the ESP32 COM Port in the Port Section of Arduino IDE, then you need to install the COM Port Driver manually. So, follow the below steps:
Download the Windows COM Port Driver by clicking the below button and install it on your computer:
If you are using 32-bit Windows, then install the x86 version and if working on 64-bit Windows, then install the x64 version.
After installing this COM Port Driver, restart your Arduino IDE and it's recommended to restart your computer as well.
So, we have successfully installed the ESP32 Boards in the Arduino IDE. Now, let's upload a simple LED Blinking Code in the ESP32:
Code Upload to ESP32 from Arduino IDE
Now that the Arduino IDE is ready to handle the ESP32 Dev Kit module, you can write the code for the ESP32 module. We will just upload a simple WiFi Scan Code to verify that our ESP32 installation is correct.
Open Arduino IDE and navigate to "File > Examples > WiFi > WiFiScan".
Click on the Tools and verify that you have selected the correct ESP32 board and the COM Port.
Now, click the "Upload
" button to upload the code to the ESP32 board.
If the code is uploaded successfully in the ESP32 board, you will get the confirmation message in the Output pane, as shown in the below figure:
Now open the Serial Terminal and you will start receiving the List of all available WiFi connections, as shown in the below figure:
That concludes today's discussion. We hope you found this post informative. In the next tutorial, we will install the ESP32 Boards in the Visual Studio Code. If you have any questions, please ask in the comments. Take care. Have a good day.
Hi Guys! I hope you’re doing great. Today, I am going to share Chapter Zero of the ESP32 Programming Course. I have called it Chapter 0 because today, we won't practically work on the ESP32. Instead, I’ll walk you through the detailed theoretical Introduction to the ESP32 Module, where we will discuss the ESP32 Pinout, Datasheet, Specifications, Features, Applications etc. in detail.
ESP32 is an embedded module that supports both WiFi and BT(dual-mode) connectivity and is thus used in Cloud-based IoT projects. ESP32 is the upgraded model of the ESP8266 module and is designed by Espressif Systems in China.
The following tables show the main features and technical specifications of the ESP32 module.
ESP32
(designed by Espressif Systems, a Shanghai-based Chinese Company) is a 48 Pinmicroprocessor-based
embedded IC(available in QFN package), that supports both WiFi & BT(dual-mode) connectivity
and is used majorly in wearable devices, mobile & cloud-based IoT applications.
The microprocessor used in the ESP32 chip is the Tensilica Xtensa LX6 microprocessor
(single-core and dual-core).
A few LX6 based ESP32 ICs are:
ESP32-D0WDQ6 (and ESP32-D0WD)
ESP32-D2WD
ESP32-S0WD
ESP32-PICO-D4
ESP32 vs ESP8266
Both the ESP32 and ESP8266 are inexpensive WiFi modules with low power consumption.
Both modules are desirable for DIY projects in the areas of IoT (Internet of Things) and automation.
The ESP32 is a dual-core 160Mhz 240Mhz CPU, while the ESP8266 has an 80Mhz single-core processor. Therefore, if your primary concern is processor speed, you should prioritize the ESP32 over the ESP8266.
The ESP32 offers more GPIO than the ESP8266.
ESP32 supports Bluetooth 4.2 and BLE(Bluetooth Low Energy).
The ESP32 offers a 12-bit ADC, while the ESP8266 offers only a 10-bit ADC.
ESP32-WROOM-32
ESP32-WROOM-32
is a 38-pin
breakout board of ESP32, which is most commonly used in third-party ESP32 modules.
As ESP32 IC is available in the QFN(Quad Flat No Leads) package, so it's quite difficult to solder the IC in embedded projects.
So, to ease the process of using ESP32 IC, Espressif Systems
designed numerous small modules(using ESP32 chip) that have a built-in
antenna and easily usable pinout.
Other ESP32 modules are ESP32-SOLO and ESP32-WROVER.
One of the most commonly used breakout boards of ESP32 is ESP32-WROOM-32, shown in the below figure:
Third-Party ESP32 Development Modules
Many embedded companies have used ESP32-WROOM-32 and
designed different ESP32 development boards, which are plug-and-play
modules and are thus normally used for learning and prototyping
purposes.
One of the most commonly used ESP32 development boards is called ESP32-DevkitC.
ESP32-DevKitC
is a 30-pin ESP32-based development board, designed by Espressif Systems and is used in embedded and IoT projects.
All you need to do is plug this device using a USB cable and play with it on the fly.
Boot mode and Reset
buttons are incorporated on the board.
USB micro connector and USB-UART Bridge, and LDO regulator are also included in the device.
Types of ESP32 Development Boards
The following are the five different versions of ESP32-DevKitC.
ESP32-DevKitC-32E
ESP32-DevKitC-32UE
ESP32-DevKitCVE
ESP32-DevKitCVIE
ESP32-DevKitCS1
So, that was the evolution of ESP32 from a simple IC to plug & play board. Now let's have a look at the Pinout of the ESP32 microcontroller and modules:
ESP32 Pinout
We have seen above that ESP32 has evolved first into ESP32-WROOM-32 and is further upgraded into ESP32-DevKitC. So, let's have a look at the pinout of all these boards, one by one:
Pinout of ESP32 IC
ESP32 IC in its pure form consists of 48 pins
in total.
The following figure shows the labeled ESP32 Pinout
diagram:
Pinout of ESP32-WROOM-32
ESP32-WROOM-32 is a breakout board of ESP32 and consists of 38 pins in total.
Here's the pinout of the ESP-WROOM-32 board:
Pinout of ESP32-DevkitC
ESP32-DevKitC is a development board based on the ESP32 microcontroller and it has 36 pins in total.
Here's the pinout diagram of ESP32 DevKitC:
ESP32 Pin Description
Now, let's have a look at the functions of ESP32 Pinout:
Power Pins in ESP32
Power:
Power is applied through Micro-USB, 3.3V pin, 5V pin, and GND. Regulated 5V is supplied to this pin which is further regulated to 3.3V to power up the board. And 3.3V pin directly supplies the 3.3V regulated to the board. And the ground is connected to GND.
Enable: The enable pin is represented by ‘En’ on the board and is used to reset the microcontroller.
AREF: It is marked as AREF which is used to provide a reference voltage for input voltage.
GPIO Pins in ESP32
ESP32 has 36 GPIO(general purpose input/output) pins to perform numerous operations(normally one at a time). Third-party ESP32 modules have different numbers of GPIO pins i.e. ESP32 Dev Kit V1 includes 30 GPIO pins. Let's have a look at the functionality of ESP32 GPIO Pins:
ADC Pins in ESP32
ADC Pins: ESP32 has a total of 18 ADC channels(12-bit each) used to measure the analog voltage within the range of 0-3.3V.
ESP32 is equipped with two SAR analog-to-digital converter modules named ADC1 and ADC2. ADC1 has 10 Channels labeled from ADC2_1 to ADC2_7, while ADC2 has 10 Channels labeled from ADC2_0 to ADC2_9. The ADC output value ranges from 0 to 4093 at 12-bit resolution.
DAC Pins in ESP32
DAC Pins: ESP32 features 2 distinct 8-bit
digital-to-analog converters(DAC1 and DAC2) for translating digital values to analog signals. The DAC function is attached to below two GPIO pins:
DAC1-GPIO25
DAC2-GPIO26
The DAC employs a power supply as an input reference voltage and features an internal resistance network.
PWM Pins in ESP32
PWM Pins: ESP32's PWM controller has 16 independent PWM channels with configurable frequency and duty cycles. Any GPIO pin can be used as a PWM pin.
PWM pulses are used to control the speed of motors or the brightness of LEDs. You can configure the frequency, channel, GPIO pin, and duty cycle of the PWM signal.
SPI Pins in ESP32
SPI Pins: ESP32 has three SPI blocks that operate in both master and slave modes, named SPI, HSPI, and VSPI.
Among these 3 blocks, SPI is used as an interface to flash
memory. So, we are left with HSPI and VSPI for normal use:
VSPI: ESP32 VSPI Pins are GPIO23 (MOSI), GPIO19 (MISO), GPIO18 (CLK) and GPIO5 (CS) used for SPI-1 communication.
HSPI: ESP32 HSPI Pins are GPIO13 (MOSI), GPIO12 (MISO), GPIO14 (CLK) and GPIO15 (CS) used for SPI-2 communication.
I2C Pins in ESP32
The ESP32 has two I2C interfaces. The SCL and SDA pins of both I2C interfaces can be assigned by a user in the program. The default I2C pins are:
SDA-GPIO21
SCL-GPIO22
ESP32 Capacitive Touch Sensors
ESP32 has 10 capacitive touch-sensing GPIO Pins(T0 to T9), which get electrostatically charged when a finger touches the respective GPIO pin.
Without any additional hardware, these touch GPIOs can be utilized to make capacitive touchpads. Variations in capacitance are evident.
RTC GPIO
ESP32 has 18 Low-Power RTC GPIO Pins(RTCIO0 to RTCIO17) used to wake up the ESP32 board from deep sleep mode.
Serial: Two serial pins are represented on boards as Tx and Rx. The Tx is used to transmit serial data while Rx is used to receive serial data.
External Interrupts: All GPIO pins can be used as external interrupts.
ESP32 Datasheet
Before you incorporate this device into your electrical project, it’s wise to go through the datasheet of the component that features the main characteristics of the device. You can click the link given below to download the ESP32 datasheet.
Now, let's have a look at the features of ESP32:
ESP32 Features
Here are the main features of ESP32 IC:
ESP32 has built-in integration of both WiFi and Bluetooth dual-mode.
ESP32 has 34 programmable GPIOs
present on the chip.
ADC is of 12-bit
SAR and can support up to 18 channels.
DAC is 8-bit
and it has 2 DAC channels.
ESP32 also has 10 touch sensors
embedded in it.
ESP32 also has a Hall sensor
in it.
It supports 4 SPI channels.
It also has 2 I²S channels.
ESP32 has 2 I²C ports
in it.
It supports 3 UART channels.
It also has 1 host(SD/MMC/SDIO)
and 1 slave(SDIO/SPI).
ESP32 also supports the Ethernet MAC interface
with dedicated DMA and IEEE 1588
support.
It supports Two-Wire
Automotive Interface (TWAI®, compatible with ISO11898-1)
LED PWM up to 16 channels
A few of ESP32's key features are discussed below in detail:
ESP32 WiFi Key Features
Wireless Networking Standard: 802.11 b/g/n
Wireless Standard: 802.11 n (2.4 GHz), up to 150 Mbps
WiFi Multimedia(WMM)
WiFi Aggregation: TX/RX A-MPDU, RX A-MSDU
Immediate Block ACK:
suitable for high bandwidth & low latency traffic.
Automatic Beacon monitoring
(hardware TSF)
Simultaneous support for SoftAP, Infrastructure Station and Promiscuous modes.
Diverse Antenna
Defragmentation
to smoothen the data.
Supports 4 virtual WiFi Interfaces.
ESP32 Bluetooth Key Features
Compliant with Bluetooth v4.2 BR/EDR
Class-1, Class-2 and Class-3
transmitters without external power amplifier
Increased Power Control
Transmission Power: +12 dBm
BLE sensitivity: –94 dBm (NZIF receiver)
Adaptive Frequency Hopping (AFH)
Standard HCI supports SDIO/SPI/UART
High-speed UART HCI, up to 4 Mbps
Bluetooth 4.2 BR/EDR BLE dual-mode controller
CVSD and SBC
for audio codec
Classic BT and BLE
support Multiple connections.
It can advertise and scan simultaneously.
Bluetooth Piconet and Scatternet
ESP32 Microcontroller Key Features
ESP32 uses an Xtensa® single-/dual-core 32-bit LX6 microprocessor(s)
.
It supports data rates up to 600 MIPS
(200 MIPS for ESP32-S0WD/ESP32-U4WDH)
It has a Flash Memory of 448 KB.
It has an SRAM memory of 520 KB.
16 KB SRAM in RTC
QSPI
supports multiple flash/SRAM chips.
ESP32 Clocks & Timers Key Features
ESP32 has a calibrated 8MHz crystal oscillator
(internal)
Calibrated RC oscillator
(internal)
External 2 MHz ~ 60 MHz
crystal oscillator (40 MHz only for Wi-Fi/BT functionality)
External 32 kHz
crystal oscillator for RTC with calibration
Two timer groups, including 2 × 64-bit timers
and 1 × main watchdog in each group
ESP32 also has one RTC timer.
RTC watchdog
is also present in ESP32.
ESP32 Projects & Applications
ESP32 modules have brought a revolution in embedded and especially
IoT projects. As these boards are small-sized, low-powered and support
both WiFi & BT, thus are gaining popularity in IoT-based handheld
devices. A few applications of the ESP32 module are as follows:
Used in Network projects.
Employed for beginner-level DIY projects.
Employed in the prototyping of IoT devices.
Used in cloud-based smart security projects.
Used in low-power battery-operated applications.
That was all about the Introduction to ESP32 module. If you have any questions, you can approach me in the comment section below. I’ll help you according to the best of my expertise. You’re most welcome to share your valuable feedback and suggestions around the content we share so we keep coming up with quality content customized to your exact needs and requirements. Thank you for reading the article.
Syed Zain Nasir
I am Syed Zain Nasir, the founder of <a href=https://www.TheEngineeringProjects.com/>The Engineering Projects</a> (TEP). I am a programmer since 2009 before that I just search things, make small projects and now I am sharing my knowledge through this platform.I also work as a freelancer and did many projects related to programming and electrical circuitry. <a href=https://plus.google.com/+SyedZainNasir/>My Google Profile+</a>
