MaTouch is A ESP32-S3 Based Rotary Display Module for IoT Applications

MaTouch is a rotary encoder with a circular display attached to it. This nifty device is designed and developed by Makerfabs and powered by an ESP32-S3 module. Priced at $44.80 this this compact gadget features Bluetooth and Wi-Fi capabilities and can be used for IoT applications.

A year back I came around to this DIY haptic input knob designed by scottbez1 and since then I always wanted to make something like this but the availability of parts and the time required to build was always an issue. But a few days ago I found out about MaTouch, which perfectly fits the requirements for my home automation project.

The device uses an ESP32-S3 chip, which has Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 5.0 capabilities. It’s enhanced with 8M of PSRAM and 16MB of flash memory for storage. It also has a dual-core processor that can run up to 240 MHz, making it quite powerful for handling various tasks.

The device features a 2.1” IPS display with 480×480 pixels resolution and the display has a 75FPS refresh rate with a 65K color range. Additionally, the device provides UART and I2C pins for further expansion and connectivity options.

Like the DIY version we have talked about earlier, this device also supports clockwise and counterclockwise rotation and touch inputs you can check out the attached video for further reference.

The MaTouch ESP32-S3 Rotary Encoder features:

• Memory: 16MB Flash, 8MB PSRAM.
• Connectivity: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.2, PCB antenna.
• Display: 2.1” TFT LCD with capacitive touch, RGB565 + 3-wire SPI.
• I/O: 2x Grove connectors, rotary encoder, flash, and reset buttons.
• USB: USB Type-C port.
• Operating Temperature: -40℃ to 85℃.
• Power: Onboard LDO, 5V DC via USB Type-C.
• Size: 71.27 x 71.27mm.

The most challenging aspect of the DIY approach was the software side of things. Even though it was open source, you needed to write your own code for additional features and enhancements. However, MATouch solves this problem with its well-documented Wiki page and a GitHub repository filled with examples to speed up software development.

You can purchase the MaTouch ESP32-S3 Rotary Encoder from their official website makerfabs

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