EZ32's ESP32JTAG Is a Handy Wireless Debugger That Doubles as a Microcontroller, FPGA Dev Board
Espressif ESP32-S3 and a 5k-gate FPGA combine to turn this tiny tool into a "Swiss Army knife" for embedded engineers.
Ontario-based EZ32 is preparing a crowdfunding campaign for a compact tool that combines an Espressif ESP32-S3 with a small field-programmable gate array (FPGA) to deliver wireless debugging and serial bus access capabilities — while doubling as a handy development board: the ESP32JTAG.
"ESP32JTAG is the Swiss army knife-style tool for embedded hardware engineers," claims EZ32's Andrew Li of the company's upcoming device. "It combines several essential debugging and development tools into a single device. With support for MCU [Microcontroller Unit] on-chip debugging (OCD), FPGA development, logic analysis, UART terminal access, and more — all operating simultaneously — it effectively replaces multiple USB dongles while offering better performance."
The tiny gadget is built around an Espressif ESP32-S3-WROOM-1 module, giving it two Tensilica Xtensa LX7 cores running at 266MHz, 8MB of pseuo-static RAM (PSRAM), and 16MB of flash storage. Linked to this is an FPGA with 5k gates and 1Mb of RAM, which powers both the flexible debugging capabilities — JTAG and Serial Wire Debug (SWD), UART with WebUART support, a 16-channel logic analyzer, target voltage monitoring, and reset control — and allows the device to double as a either a microcontroller or FPGA development board.
The Espressif module also provides Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity, allowing for wireless debugging — while an on-board 1.83" LCD panel provides status reports and the gadget's IP address, allowing the built-in web interface, running atop the FreeRTOS real-time operating system, to be easily found. Said interface allows for on-the-fly device configuration, over-the-air firmware updates, and status monitoring, with easy access to documentation.
The current iteration of the ESP32JTAG runs openocd-on-esp32, blackmagic-debug, openFPGALoader, and CMSIS-DAP (DAPLink), Li has confirmed. He has also pledged to release schematics, a bill of materials, "and more" under an unspecified open hardware licence in the near future.
More information is available on the ESP32JTAG Crowd Supply page, where interested parties can sign up to be notified when the crowdfunding campaign goes live.