ESP32

CrowPanel ESP32-C3 1.28 inch Round IPS Capacitive Touch Display

CrowPanel ESP32-C3:

CrowPanel ESP32-C3 1.28 inch Round IPS Capacitive Touch Display- Today, we are unboxing and reviewing an exciting piece of tech for your next DIY project – the CrowPanel ESP32-C3 Display.

Let’s start with the unboxing.

Unboxing Experience:

Inside the box, we have:

allpcb circuit

CrowPanel ESP32-C3 Display

The CrowPanel ESP32-C3 display itself, which looks sleek and modern with its round design. This compact, round, 1.28-inches IPS display comes with capacitive touch and is powered by the ESP32-C3.

And a USB cable for powering and programming the device.




Physical Hardware Review:

Let’s take a closer look at the hardware. The CrowPanel ESP32 Display is compact and lightweight, with a 1.28-inch round IPS screen at the front. It has a resolution of 240*240 and 178° viewing angle.

CrowPanel ESP32-C3 hardware

On the back, we can see the onboard ESP32C3 microcontroller, equipped with a 32-bit dual-core chip, and the highest clock frequency reaches 160Mhz. Supports 2.4G WiFi and BLE low-power Bluetooth. There’s also a reset button, a Boot button, Encoder, a Vibration Motor, Buzzer, Type-C 5V UART Serial port, a Battery Socket, CR927 battery holder for the RTC based on the BM8563, and a Custom button.

Pin Out:

CrowPanel ESP32-C3 Display specification



Specification

Main Chip ESP32-C3
Processor 32-bit RISC-V single-core processor, up to 160 MHz
Memory 384 KB ROM

400 KB SRAM (16 KB for cache)

                         
                       8 KB SRAM in RTC
Size 1.28-inch
Resolution 240*240
Signal Interface SPI
Touch Type Capacitive Touch
Panel Type TFT LCD, IPS Panel
Color Depth 262K
Brightness 350 cd/m²
Viewing Angel 178°
Button Rest Button, Boot Button, Custom Button
Interface Type-C Interface, Battery Interface
Operation Power ModuleDC5V

Main Chip3.3V

 

Active Area 32.51*32.51mm
Operating temperature -10~60°C
Dimensions 42x42x9.8mm
Net Weight 15g

Powering Up and First Impressions:

Now, let’s power it up and see how it performs.

CrowPanel ESP32-C3 Display

Once connected, the 1.28-inch IPS screen lights up with sharp colors and wide viewing angles. The round form factor adds a unique aesthetic, making it ideal for applications like smartwatches, dashboards, or portable devices.



Supports multiple development environments;

  • Arduino IDE
  • Espressif IDF
  • Lua RTOS
  • Home Assistant
  • PlatformIO
  • Micro python, and
  • Supports LVGL library.

Touch Feel and Responsiveness:

The capacitive touch screen is incredibly responsive.

crowpanel esp32-c3 touch display

Taps, swipes, and gestures feel smooth and accurate.

Applications and Use Cases:

So, what can you use the CrowPanel for?  Well, the possibilities are endless!

  • You can build a smartwatch for notifications and fitness tracking.
  • Create a mini dashboard for your IoT devices.
  • Develop a gaming interface or even an interactive art piece.
  • Its compact size and advanced features make it ideal for wearable devices, home automation, and more.

designing custom widget for a smart watch in squareline lvgl

You can use the CrowPanel to make a complete smartwatch for yourself, adding any features you like.

crowpanel esp32-c3 smart watch with blynk squareline lvgl esp32c3

Not only that, but you can also connect it to any IoT platform to monitor sensors and control devices. I am making a full series of articles and videos on CrowPanel, and after watching them, you will be able to create any type of smartwatch. So, make sure to subscribe if you don’t want to miss this amazing series of articles and videos. Anyway;



5 Examples:

Next, I am going to share with you 5 examples that you can use to control the Vibration Motor and Buzzer, check if a button is pressed, access the date and time from the RTC (Real-Time Clock/Calendar), and read the x, y values along with gestures.

But before we start with these examples, first; we need to install the required libraries.

Go to the product’s official page and download the ESP32_1.28_Arduino_Demo. If you open this folder, you will see a libraries folder. Open this folder and, for now, copy these 3 folders.

crowpanel esp32-c3 libraries for the crowpanel esp32c3 display

Then, go to the Arduino Libraries folder and paste the copied folders.

Next, open the latest version of the Arduino IDE.

Go to the File menu then to Preferences.

https://espressif.github.io/arduino-esp32/package_esp32_dev_index.json

Use this URL in the Additional Boards Manager URLs field.

crowpanel esp32-c3 board manager url




Open the Boards Manager and search for ESP32.

crowpanel esp32-c3 board installation in the arduino ide

Install the latest version of ESP32 by Espressif Systems. I have already installed it. Next, go to the Tools menu, then to Board, and then to ESP32. You will see all the variants of the ESP32 have been installed. The one we will be using is the ESP32C3 Dev Module.

crowpanel esp32-c3 in the arduino ide

Now, click on the Library Manager and search for this library “LovyanGFX”.

crowpanel esp32-c3 LovyanGFX library

Although we already pasted this library in the Arduino libraries folder, you need to update it to the latest version. I have also updated it to the latest version.

Now, let’s go ahead and start with our first example.



Example 1: Controlling a Vibration Motor

Using this program, you can control the Vibration Motor. All the instructions are well-commented. The purpose of this program is to turn the Vibration Motor ON and OFF. This is just a basic example. In upcoming videos, we will use it at an advanced level with Squareline and LVGL Library.

Code:

For the practical demonstration watch the video tutorial given at the end of this article.

Now, let’s move on to example #2, which is about controlling the Buzzer.



Example 2: Controlling a Buzzer

Using this program, you can control the onboard buzzer connected to GPIO 3. You can generate amazing tones. Right now, it’s set to produce a tone at a frequency of 100 Hz.

Code:

 

Let’s generate the “Happy Birthday” tone.

Code:

Now, let’s move on to example #3, which is about reading a button press.



Example 3: Button Press

The purpose of this program is to check whether the button connected to GPIO 1 is pressed or released.

Code:

Practical Demonstration:

crowpanel esp32-c3 button press example

Now, let’s move on to example #4, which is about accessing the Time and Date information.




Example 4: Time and Date

Using this program, you can not only monitor the time and date information on the serial monitor, but you can also set a custom time and date if needed.

Simply uncomment these lines, set the time and date, and upload the program. Once the code is uploaded, make sure to comment out these lines again. You only need to do this once.

Code:

Practical Demonstration:

esp32-c3 rtc crowpanel date and time

You can see the time and date. I am really impressed with the BM8563 I2C Real-Time Clock and Calendar. Thanks to the onboard battery, the time and date information is not lost even if you turn it off.

Now, let’s move on to example #5, which is about reading touch information.



Example 5: Display Touch x, y, and Gesture

The purpose of this program is to read the x and y values of the area on the display where you touch it with your finger, along with the gesture information.

Code:

Practical Demonstration:

crowpanel esp32-c3 touch display testing

Read my article on how to use the CrowPanel ESP32C3 with SquareLine and LVGL. So, that’s all for now.




Watch Video Tutorial:

 

Engr Fahad

My name is Shahzada Fahad and I am an Electrical Engineer. I have been doing Job in UAE as a site engineer in an Electrical Construction Company. Currently, I am running my own YouTube channel "Electronic Clinic", and managing this Website. My Hobbies are * Watching Movies * Music * Martial Arts * Photography * Travelling * Make Sketches and so on...

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