Our way of living and working has been transformed by the Internet of Things (IoT). It has brought a new era where devices are interconnected and can share data seamlessly. However, to make this a reality, we need powerful and reliable hardware that can provide a secure connection. For that, we have an ESP32-C3 microcontroller board. This article covers various applications and benefits of using the ESP32-C3.
What is ESP32-C3
The ESP32-C3 is a microcontroller unit (MCU) that supports Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 5 (LE) connectivity, making it an ideal choice for creating secure connected devices. Its architecture features a 32-bit RISC-V microcontroller core, capable of reaching a maximum clock speed of 160 MHz. Additionally, it includes 22 configurable GPIOs, 400 KB of internal RAM, and supports low-power modes.
The ESP32-C3 microcontroller unit (MCU) provides a range of secure features to ensure that connected devices can be built with confidence. These features include a secure boot based on RSA-3072, flash encryption using AES-128/256-XTS, and innovative digital signature and HMAC peripherals that provide a secure identity for applications.
With the ESP32-C3 microcontroller unit (MCU), the flash controller enables the secure execution of encrypted application firmware. This is made possible by using an AES-128-XTS-based flash encryption scheme, which allows both the application and configuration data to remain encrypted in the flash memory.
Features of ESP32-C3
The ESP32-C3 is packed with features that make it an ideal choice for IoT applications. Some of its key features include:
- Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity
- Ultra-low-power 40 nm technology
- Secure boot and flash encryption
- CPU clock speed is up to 160 MHz
- Support for up to 18 GPIOs
- Integrated temperature sensor
- ESP32-C3 support external SPI flash of up to 16 MB
Applications of ESP32-C3
The ESP32-C3 is a microcontroller that offers enhanced security features to address potential threats faced by IoT devices. The ESP32-C3 can be used in a wide range of IoT applications. Some of the popular applications include:
- Secure Boot
- Flash Encryption
- Digital Signature and HMAC Peripheral
- World Controller
- Bluetooth 5 (LE) with Long-Range Support
- Sufficient Memory
Secure Boot
ESP32-C3 offers different security features, one such feature is Secure Boot, which uses a standard RSA-3072-based authentication scheme to ensure only trusted applications run on the platform. This protects against malicious applications programmed in the flash memory. The Secure Boot of ESP32-C3 adds less than 100ms overhead in the boot process, ensuring efficient boot times for instant-on devices like light bulbs.
Flash Encryption
Another security feature of the ESP32-C3 is flash encryption, which uses the AES-128-XTS-based scheme to encrypt both the application and configuration data stored in flash memory. This prevents unauthorized access to sensitive data and protects against time-of-check-time-of-use attacks that modify firmware at runtime.
Digital Signature and HMAC Peripheral
The microcontroller also has a digital signature and HMAC peripheral that generates cryptographic signatures and digests with a protected private key.
The ESP32-C3’s digital signature peripheral ensures the security of the device’s identity, offering robust protection against software vulnerabilities. This feature makes it particularly suitable for use in IoT cloud services that employ X.509-certificate-based authentication.
World Controller
The ESP32-C3 includes a new peripheral known as the world controller, which offers two distinct and isolated execution environments. These environments can be utilized to establish a Trusted Execution Environment (TEE) or a privilege separation scheme. This can be useful for isolating the execution of sensitive security data such as DRM services in application firmware.
Bluetooth 5 (LE) with Long-Range Support
Most IoT devices depend on Wi-Fi for connection with cloud services. Devices that are Wi-Fi-only can present challenges when it comes to network configuration, as they do not always provide reliable feedback to the provider. Additionally, connecting to the network through iOS and Android provisioners can be complex. The inclusion of a Bluetooth Low Energy (LE) radio in a device makes provisioning easier while providing simple discovery and control within the local environment.
The earlier versions of Bluetooth Low Energy (LE) protocol were not suitable for local control in larger areas, such as spacious homes, due to their limited range. To address this issue, ESP32-C3 supports the Bluetooth 5 (LE) protocol, featuring coded PHY and extended advertisement features that improve the range by adding data redundancy to the packets, resulting in a range of up to 100 meters.
In addition, the ESP32-C3 is compatible with the Bluetooth LE Mesh protocol, which makes it a suitable option for managing devices within a local network and communicating directly with other Bluetooth 5 (LE) sensor devices.
Sufficient Memory
ESP32-C3 offers 400 KB of SRAM, which can effectively fulfill its needs while remaining cost-effective. Additionally, dynamic partitioning for the instruction and data memory ensures maximum use of the available memory. It’s worth noting that ESP32-C3 has optimized the memory requirements of the Bluetooth subsystem in comparison to ESP32.
Conclusion
The ESP32-C3 is a powerful and versatile SoC that has a vast use in IoT applications. Its energy efficiency, reliable and secure connection, and support for external SPI flash make it an ideal choice for developers. With its comprehensive development framework, it is easy to get started with the ESP32-C3 and create innovative IoT solutions. Read more on the ESP32-C3 application read the article.
