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Checking Out This Week's New M5Stack Products
Hello everyone! M5Stack releases new products almost every week. Here, I'm summarizing the overview, usage, and applications of new M5Stack products that have started being handled by Switch Science, in a way that's as easy to understand as possible. I hope this helps you get an idea of what products are available and what they're used for!
This summary is a text version of a video series called "Let's look at new M5Stack products" that I originally started on YouTube. I've also embedded the YouTube videos, so please check them out if you'd like!
*Note: I'm picking up products as they appear on Switch Science's shelves, but I'm excluding products where the main functionality hasn't changed (e.g., removing an ATOM from a kit).
Mid-February 2024
Let's look at this week's new M5Stack products #2 (Mid-February 2024) AirQ and more
CAPSULE PROTO
Overview
CAPSULE PROTO is a PROTO board for the M5Capsule. PROTO boards are universal boards that allow you to attach various components for prototyping.
What is M5Capsule?
M5Capsule is a development board equipped with StampS3. It features a gyro, accelerometer, real-time clock, infrared LED, microphone, speaker, microSD card slot, and battery, making it versatile enough for various applications right out of the box.
Applications
- Prototyping
- Component mounting
M5Capsule has a pin socket on its top surface, so if you plug it directly into a breadboard, you won't be able to press the WAKE or Boot buttons on the top. It seems this use case wasn't really intended. Therefore, if you want to attach components, you'd typically pull lead wires from the socket or attach a board to the top and mount components there.
By using this PROTO board, you can easily attach components to the M5Capsule.
Features
- Designed specifically for M5Capsule
- 62 holes
If you attach pin headers to the PROTO board, you can plug it directly into the M5Capsule's pin socket. Also, the pin names are shown in silk-screen printing, making them easy to identify. With 62 holes, you can implement components and construct simple circuits. It's ideal for prototyping with the M5Capsule.
Board for easily attaching tactile switches
A board I made that allows you to easily attach two tactile switches to the M5Capsule is currently on sale at BOOTH and Switch Science, so please check that out too if you're interested. This board lets you add tactile switches to the M5Capsule easily without any wiring.
WATCH DEV KIT v1.1
Overview
WATCH DEV KIT is a kit for turning the M5Core series into a smartwatch, and it includes a wristband and a battery to power the M5Stack Core series. The WATCH DEV KIT itself has been on sale for a while, and the only change in this v1.1 is that the wristband color is now orange.
By the way, the previous wristband color was moss green.
M5Core series?
It refers to M5Stack BASIC, CORE2, and CORE3.
Applications
- Turning the M5Stack Core series into a smartwatch
If you want to make a smartwatch using the M5Core series, this kit is convenient because it allows you to easily attach the M5Core to your wrist.
Features
- 700mAh battery
- M-BUS board?
- Easily turn Core series into a smartwatch
This kit comes with a 700mAh battery, which has a larger capacity than the 500mAh one originally included with the M5Core, so it lasts longer than the standard battery. Also, an M-BUS board is included, but the purpose of this board isn't quite clear. I thought it might be used to connect the battery, but it seems the battery itself connects its connector directly to the VAT terminal on the M5Core side.
AirQ
Overview
AirQ is an air quality measurement device equipped with StampS3. It's a device specialized for specific functions, which is somewhat rare for M5Stack, and it features an air quality sensor, a CO2 sensor, a 450mAh battery, and a 200x200 pixel eInk display. Using the two sensors, it can measure PM1.0, 2.5, 4, 10, temperature, humidity, VOC, and CO2 concentration.
VOC?
VOC stands for Volatile Organic Compounds. Simply put, they are chemical substances that evaporate easily. For example, they are used in paint materials and are substances that cause irritation to the nose or eye pain when they evaporate.
Applications
- Environmental monitoring (indoor, outdoor)
- Research
- Industrial use
It might not be common to measure air quality regularly in an average household, but there's probably a demand for regular air quality measurement in places like factories or construction sites. Since the price is over 10,000 yen, it's not something you'd buy casually, but if you're interested and try it out, I'd be happy if you could share your thoughts on X or in the comments.
Features
- Designed for long-term operation
- eInk display 200×200 pixels
- Real-time clock - Two sensors, eight measurement items (PM1.0/2.5/4/10, temperature, humidity, VOC, CO2 concentration)
- Built-in 450mAh battery
Looking at the eInk and real-time clock, it seems to be designed for long-term operation with low power consumption. Why can I say that? Unlike LCDs or OLEDs, eInk only consumes power when refreshing the display. By using the real-time clock for scheduling, you can put the microcontroller into a sleep state when measurement isn't needed and only wake it up when necessary, thereby reducing power consumption.
ADC UNIT v1.1
Overview
The ADC Unit is a unit for converting analog signals into digital ones. A unit with the same name has been sold before, and the change in v1.1 is that the sampling rate has doubled. The previous ADC unit was 128sps, while v1.1 is 240sps.
Applications
- Electrocardiogram (ECG)
- Blood pressure measurement
As for applications, it seems to be intended for input from sensors that require high precision, such as for electrocardiograms or blood pressure measurement. While this ADC unit has good precision, its sampling rate is slow, so it can't be used for inputting high-frequency waveforms. Please check beforehand if it fits your intended use.
Features
- Higher resolution than the DAC built into ESP32
- ESP32: 12-bit (4096 levels)
- ADC v1.1: 16-bit (65536 levels)
The ESP32 microcontroller itself, which is installed in the M5Stack series, has a built-in analog-to-digital conversion function, but this ADC unit offers better precision. To show how much better the precision is, while the ESP32 has 12-bit resolution with 4096 levels, the ADC unit has 16-bit resolution with 65536 levels. This means it can measure voltage 16 times more finely. However, although the sampling rate has become faster, it is still much slower than the ESP32's internal ADC, so caution is needed on that point. The ESP32 is 83.333ksps, while ADC v1.1 is 240sps—the sample rates are completely different, so the applications will be completely different as well. Also, the input voltage for the ADC unit can range from 0V to 12V, which is a wider range than the 3.3V of the ESP32.
Early February 2024
Let's look at this week's new M5Stack products #1 (Early February 2024) UNIT CAM S3 and more
REFLECTIVE IR UNIT
Overview
The REFLECTIVE IR unit is a sensor module that uses infrared light. It is equipped with an infrared LED and a phototransistor for infrared reception, allowing it to detect if an object is in front of the sensor or to determine the approximate distance to an object.
Applications
- Object detection
- Simple distance measurement
- Motion sensor
Typical applications for an infrared sensor include object detection, distance measurement, and motion sensing. Since it can't provide precise distances, it's intended for simple measurements. If you need accuracy, please use a ToF sensor.
While it seems like the kind of product that might have existed already—and there were infrared transceiver units, passive motion sensors, ToF sensors, and ultrasonic sensors—it seems this specific type was not previously available.
Features
- Supports both analog and digital
- Analog has 4096 levels (when using ESP32)
- Adjustable digital threshold
A notable feature is that it provides both analog and digital signal outputs. The analog output allows for detection with a resolution of 4096 levels by using the analog input pins of an ESP32. The digital output uses a comparator IC to output a 1 if the analog output voltage is higher than a set threshold, and 0 otherwise. The threshold can be adjusted using the variable resistor mounted on the unit.
CamS3 UNIT
Overview
The CamS3 unit is a Wi-Fi camera unit equipped with an ESP32-S3. Various camera units have been released in the past, but the notable feature of the CamS3 released this time is that it is equipped with both a PDM microphone and a microSD card slot. Also, I think this is the first camera to feature an ESP32-S3 as its microcontroller. Since it has an ESP32-S3, this camera can operate standalone as long as it has a power source.
Applications
- Remote video recording
- Security camera
The ESP32-S3 is equipped with a Wi-Fi module, so you can connect the CamS3 to a network to stream video captured by the camera or upload it to the cloud. Additionally, because it has a microSD card slot, it can be used for applications like recording video as a security camera even in environments without a network, or triggering filming and recording based on audio input from the microphone.
Features
- Microphone included
- microSD card slot included
- ESP32-S3
- Fully enclosed in a body
The CamS3 unit does not have a USB port, but you can rewrite the firmware via USB by connecting the included Grove2USB conversion connector to the Grove port. It is also possible to write firmware by connecting a programmer directly to the pins on the back. It fits in a body and comes with a microphone and a microSD card slot, so it feels like it has all the necessary features for a network camera. Compared to past products, the balance of features is good, and its level of completion as a network camera is quite high.
Click here for an article where I tried out the CamS3 in detail:
LAN MODULE 13.2
Overview
The LAN Module 13.2 is a module equipped with an Ethernet controller and an RJ45 (so-called LAN port). A LAN module with the same Ethernet controller was released in January 2022, but the previous one was a module specialized for industrial use. This LAN module feels like it's targeting a more general audience.
Applications
- Simple Web server
- Wi-Fi access point
- Industrial use
The LAN module can be combined with an M5Stack to build a simple Web server or a Wi-Fi access point. Also, by using the expansion terminals, it can be used for conversion from RS485 to Ethernet, making it usable for industrial applications as well.
Features
- Height of 13.2mm (about half of the previous version)
- Two can be used simultaneously
- 10/100M
- TCP/UDP/IPv4
The change from the previous LAN module is the "13.2" in the name. This refers to the height of the module being 13.2mm. The previous LAN module had a height of 28mm, so it is now less than half the height. Additionally, a feature not found in the previous LAN module is the inclusion of a chip select pin, which makes it possible to use two LAN modules simultaneously. In other words, you can build a dual Ethernet setup. As for specifications, it supports speeds of 10/100Mbps and common protocols such as TCP/UDP/IPv4.
Summary
So far, I've introduced the new M5Stack products that started being handled by Switch Science from early to mid-February 2024. Were there any products that caught your interest? If so, please let me know on X or in the comments. If there's a product I'm interested in, I'll actually buy it and take a closer look.
M5Stack has a fast product release cycle, so it's difficult to keep track of what's being sold, but I hope this summary helps you learn what kind of products are available.
I will update this article periodically, so please come back and check it out sometimes.
See you later!
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