Matthew Faltys' device32 Is a Tiny Smart Display for Your Desk
Powered by Seeed Studio's XIAO ESP32C3, the device32 includes a range of demo apps under a permissive license.
Maker Matthew Faltys has designed a compact all-in-one smart-display development board powered by the Seeed Studio XIAO ESP32C3 microcontroller — hiding behind a bright OLED display.
"device32 is an ESP32-C3 powered device with an OLED screen and a button around back," Faltys explains of the gadget. "It is programmed and powered by USB [Type]-C. The device ships with a demo mode that loops through different simulations every two minutes. [It's] great for beginners: robust PlatformIO examples give you a foothold to start developing quickly."
Inside the 3D-printed housing, which is designed to present the display at a comfortable viewing angle when positioned on a desk and includes a USB Type-C connector cutout at the bottom for power and programming, is Seeed Studio's XIAO ESP32C3 thumbnail-sized development board — powered, as the name implies, by the Espressif ESP32-C3 microcontroller.
In front of the board is a single-color 64×128 OLED display, oriented in portrait mode, connected over I2C. A single tactile button, located at the back of the case, is provided as an input, while the microcontroller includes on-board Wi-Fi and Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) connectivity.
Among the permissively-licensed examples Faltys has written for the gadget are a "starfield" simulation inspired by classic screensavers, a weather dashboard, and a version of Conway's Game of Life. A pre-flashed demo runs through a snake game, brick breaker, lava lamp simulator, boids, caves, morph, and the starfield animation — while the button can be used to lock the display to a single app.
The device32 is available on Tindie at $32 in a range of colors, while app source code has been published to GitHub under the permissive MIT license.