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ESP32 projects for students

ESP32 projects you can build and test in your browser first, for free: every one runs in the lab with its sketch, so you can see it work, change the code and break it on purpose before you buy a single part.

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ESP32 rainbow lamp: 16 WS2812 LEDs, a speed knob and a mode button

Sixteen addressable LEDs on one data wire. The ESP32 sends each LED its own colour with the Adafruit_NeoPixel library; the SPEED…

Sensors, displays and motors

ESP32 parking sensor: HC-SR04, three LEDs and a beeper

Like the sensor in a car bumper. The HC-SR04 measures the distance to the wall (58 µs of echo per cm); the ESP32 shows green…

ESP32 weather station: BME280 on an OLED

Temperature, humidity and air pressure on a 0.96" OLED, updated every second. Both modules share the same two I²C wires (SDA on…

ESP32 weather station with a comfort word: BME280 and OLED

Temperature, humidity and pressure from a BME280 on a 128×64 OLED, both on the same two I²C wires, with a word for how it feels…

ESP32 temperature-controlled fan: DS18B20 and a MOSFET

A DS18B20 probe reads the temperature every 2 s and the ESP32 sets the fan speed with 25 kHz PWM through a logic-level MOSFET…

ESP32 stopwatch with lap times on an 8-digit MAX7219 display

Start/Stop and Lap/Reset buttons, hundredths of a second on an 8-digit 7-segment display. The MAX7219 drives all the digits by…

ESP32 kitchen scale: HX711, load cell and OLED

A load cell bends a tiny bit under weight, and its strain gauges change by a few microvolts. The HX711 amplifies that 128 times…

ESP32 DC power meter: INA219 and OLED

An INA219 sits in the + wire of a 12 V load and measures the tiny voltage across its 0.1 Ω shunt (current) and the voltage after…

ESP32 thermocouple thermometer with an alarm: MAX6675 and OLED

A K-type thermocouple makes about 41 µV per °C and survives an oven or a kiln. The MAX6675 amplifies it, corrects for its own…

ESP32 water tank level meter: HC-SR04 and OLED

An HC-SR04 at the top of a water tank measures the gap down to the water; the ESP32 turns that into a level from 0 to 100 % and…

Guided builds with test sheets

Step by step, with a test sheet that checks your build the way a factory test would, and hidden faults to find.

Capstone and thesis ideas

Bigger projects made by joining two or three of the ones above. Build each half in the lab first, then join them.

Smart irrigation: The plant-watering project plus the water-tank level meter: water only when the soil is dry and the tank has water, and show both on an OLED.
Solar-powered weather station: The ESP32 weather station on a small panel and a LiFePO4 cell, with the power meter showing what it draws day and night.
Classroom safety monitor: The thermometer alarm and the motion alarm on one board: too hot, or someone in the lab after hours.
Smart lock with a log: The keypad door lock plus an ESP32 that records every opening and every wrong code.
Battery health tester: The DIY LiFePO4 pack with the INA219 power meter: discharge it at a set current and measure the real capacity.
Kitchen helper: The kitchen scale and the thermocouple thermometer: weigh, then watch the oven temperature, with an alarm.

How to wire each module

2N2222 nPN transistor · Active buzzer · BME280 environment sensor · DS18B20 temperature sensor · HC-SR04 ultrasonic distance sensor · HX711 load-cell ADC · INA219 current sensor · LED · MAX6675 thermocouple module · MAX7219 8-digit display · N-channel MOSFET · OLED display · Potentiometer · Push button · WS2812 LED strip

Why build it in the browser first

No parts, no board and no install: it runs on a laptop or a phone.
The sketch is real Arduino C++; it compiles in the Arduino IDE too.
Parts behave like the real ones: a missing resistor burns the LED, a wrong pin does nothing.
Share a link to your build with your teacher or groupmates.

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