TinZr is a compact 25 mm × 25 mm open-source ESP32-C3 platform designed for wearable sensing, physiological monitoring, and embedded edge-computing applications (https://github.com/ludvikalkhoury/TinZr).
The project was created to address a common challenge in wearable and physiological sensing development: researchers and developers often need to combine multiple boards and modules to obtain wireless communication, battery management, sensing, and data logging capabilities. This increases system size, complexity, and development time.
TinZr brings these capabilities together into a single wearable-ready platform. The board integrates an ESP32-C3 microcontroller with Wi-Fi and BLE connectivity, onboard battery charging and power management, microSD data logging, a 6-axis IMU, and expansion interfaces for additional sensors and peripherals.
The hardware and software are fully open source. All PCB design files, schematics, firmware, libraries, and enclosure designs are publicly available, allowing users to study, modify, and extend the platform for their own applications.
Key Features- ESP32-C3 microcontroller
- Wi-Fi and BLE wireless communication
- 25 mm × 25 mm compact form factor
- Li-ion/Li-Po battery charging and power management
- Onboard microSD data logging
- Integrated 6-axis IMU
- QWIIC-compatible sensor expansion
- Arduino-compatible development environment
- Open-source hardware and firmware
TinZr can be used for:
- Wearable sensing systems
- Physiological signal acquisition
- Activity and motion monitoring
- Research and educational projects
- Embedded IoT devices
- Edge-computing applications
- Rapid prototyping of connected sensing systems
At the heart of TinZr is the ESP32-C3, which collects data from onboard or external sensors and processes it locally. Data can be streamed wirelessly using BLE or Wi-Fi, stored locally on the microSD card, or both simultaneously.
The integrated battery-management circuitry allows TinZr to operate from a rechargeable Li-ion or Li-Po battery, making it suitable for portable and wearable applications. The onboard IMU provides motion and orientation measurements, while the expansion connector enables easy integration of additional sensors.
Open Source from Day OneTinZr was developed with openness and accessibility as core principles. The project includes:
- Hardware design files and schematics
- Firmware source code
- Arduino libraries
- Example applications
- Documentation
- 3D-printable enclosure designs
The goal is to create a platform that can be used, modified, and improved by researchers, engineers, students, and makers around the world.
Current StatusTinZr is currently at Revision 5 and is fully functional. The hardware has been fabricated, assembled, and tested, including wireless communication, battery management, onboard sensing, and data logging capabilities.
The objective of this campaign is to make TinZr more broadly available and help build a community around open-source wearable sensing and embedded system development.
Repository: https://github.com/ludvikalkhoury/TinZr
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