Twirl This ESP32 Dev Board Like a Fidget Spinner

I was a kid during the yo-yo craze of the mid ‘90s and am therefore far too old to have participated in the fidget spinner fad, but I can see the appeal. A pocketable gizmo that is fun to play with has allure — especially for those of us with a deficit of attention. But if you’re going to carry around a fidget toy, you might as well make it useful. That’s the idea behind the E-spin twirling ESP32 development board.

ESP32-based development boards come in all kinds of form factors. This one just happens to rotate on a bearing like a fidget spinner. Carry it in your pocket and you’ll always have something with which to fidget or prototype electronic circuits. In theory, E-spin could even perform both roles at the same time.

E-spin is actually two boards. The bottom board contains an ESP32-C3, 12 GPIO pins, eight individually addressable RGB LEDs, LiPo battery and USB-C charging port, a nine-axis IMU, and a PCB antenna for optimal wireless connectivity. The top board is a ruler. Sandwiched between the two is a 698ZZ ball bearing.

The campaign page says E-spin is compatible with both the Arduino IDE and PlatformIO. Presumably, it is also compatible with the ESP-IDF.

Is any of this a good idea? I’m not quite sure. I struggle to envision a lifestyle that would benefit from the EDC (Every Day Carry) of an ESP32 development board. But 32 people have already backed the campaign, so maybe it has real utility.

If you’re interested in helping to grow that number, you have until April 29th to back the Kickstarter campaign. Early birds can get a single E-spin for €16 (about $19). Rewards should ship in November.

As for me, I’ll be waiting until they release the yo-yo ESP32 dev board.