ESP32-S3-Based CoreS3 Launched by M5Stack

Great news for M5Stack dev kit lovers! The popular company based on Espressif chips has just launched CoreS3, which has the familiar 5*5cm appearance of previous series, along with the usual modular, stackable and scalable capabilities, but is based on Espressif’s powerful ESP32-S3 SoC. Thus, CoreS3 also includes a camera, an optical sensor, two microphones and a microphone chip, which make it it usable in any computer-vision, data-analysis or other scenario requiring speech-recognition, machine-learning and artificial-intelligence capabilities. At the same time, CoreS3 is compatible with hundreds of modules and sensors supporting Arduino IDE and M5Stack’s low-code platform UIFlow, which ensure a rapid development-and-prototyping experience.

Three years after the launch of the preceding Core2 generation, the launching of CoreS3 unveiled a dev kit with a dual-core Xtensa LX7 processor that can operate at up to 240MHz, which gives it tremendous processing capabilities and a wealth of features.The 2.0-inch capacity-touch panel is made of a high-strength glass, with a resolution of 320x240.The display is both sensitive and clear. It boasts a long life with its wear- and scratch-resistant glass, while also supporting multi-touch technology. The CoreS3 is also equipped with a 30w pixel camera GC0308, a triple ambient-light sensor LTR-553ALS-WA, a high fidelity 16bit-I2S amplifier chip AW88298 and a 1w speaker, as well as an ES7210 audio decoder chip and dual microphones for video and image capturing-and-processing, sound output and playback. CoreS3 includes various other sensors such as the six-axis attitude sensor BMI270, the magnetometer BMM150 and the RTC chip BM8563, which provide multi-dimensional data acquisition such as acceleration, angular velocity and direction of motion, geomagnetic field strength and geomagnetic direction, as well as precise timing and hibernation-timed wake-up.

Additionally, CoreS3 supports Wi-Fi connectivity for wireless communication and remote control, as well as for downloading programs via the TYPE-C interface, OTG and CDC functions for external USB devices and for burning firmware. CoreS3 also features a low-power-consumption design with the AXP2101 power-management chip and a 4-way power-flow-control loop, which enable power switching and management.

By default, CoreS3 comes with a DinBase, which is an extension base that can be easily mounted on a Din rail, wall or other flat surface on all M5Stack Core series. The DinBase also offers two GROVE interfaces and an M-BUS interface for connecting additional M5Stack modules and sensors.

All in all, CoreS3 is a development kit for IoT and DIY project development, smart-home control systems, or anything relating to industrial automation, computer vision, data analysis. It comes with a UI demo firmware for easy guidance, and is now available on the M5Stack website.