This Beetle ESP32-C6 Board from DFRobot Features Integrated Battery Charging for $4.90
The Beetle ESP32-C6 Board is a tiny Arduino IoT board with an ESP32-C6 160MHz RISC-V processor, with support for Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5, Zigbee 3.0, and Thread 1.3. It’s designed for Matter terminal devices and includes integrated battery charging, which makes it ideal for compact, wearable projects.
Matter is a universal, open-source smart home standard designed for secure, interoperable connectivity across devices, making the development process simpler within smart ecosystems.
We’ve reviewed many DFRobot products before, like the FireBeetle 2 ESP32 C6 board which is similar to this one. We’ve also looked at the Beetle RP2040 Mini, a DC-DC Fast Charge Module, and many other modules from DFRobot feel free to check those out if you are interested in the topic.
The module is powered by an ESP32-C6 CPU that offers a single-core RISC-V processor running at 160 MHz, 512KB of SRAM, 4MB of Flash memory, and 16KB of dedicated SRAM for the Real-Time Clock (RTC), and other features.
As we mentioned earlier FireBeetle 2 supports Thread 1.3, a protocol designed for low-power, secure, and scalable mesh networking in IoT devices. It features IPv6-based connectivity, and enhanced reliability, and is optimized for smart home and commercial IoT applications.
The FireBeetle 2 ESP32-C6, supporting Wi-Fi 6, enables ultra-low-power IoT devices with efficient operation and low latency. Its Wi-Fi 6 capability, including Target Wake Time technology, reduces power consumption and extends battery life.
The company also provides pinout and board parts markings to make the development process easier and as we can see in the above post this board uses the very popular TP4057 IC to charge the battery.
Features and Specification of Beetle ESP32-C6 Board:
- CPU:
- ESP32-C6 with Wi-Fi, BLE, Zigbee, Thread
- Hardware:
- Processor: RISC-V, 160 MHz
- Memory: 512KB SRAM, 320KB ROM, 4MB Flash
- USB: 2.0 CDC
- Connectivity:
- Wi-Fi: 802.11b/g/n/ax, 2.4GHz, Station/SoftAP modes
- Bluetooth: Version 5, mesh, various speeds
- IEEE 802.15.4: Zigbee 3.0, Thread 1.3, 250Kbps
- Basic Specs:
- Voltage: 3.3V operational, 5V DC input
- Charging: Max 0.5A, sleep current 14uA
- Temperature: -10 to 60℃
- Size: 25×20.5mm
- Ports:
- I/O: 13 Digital, 6 PWM, SPI, 3 UART, 2 I2C, I2S
- Others: IR (5x transmit/receive), ADC (7 channels), DMA
This compact 25 x 20.5mm board supports Wi-Fi (802.11b/g/n, 802.11ax) with (20 MHz-only non-AP mode), Bluetooth 5, Bluetooth mesh, and IEEE 802.15.4 (Zigbee 3.0, Thread 1.3) protocols, operating at 2.4GHz and offering power-saving with Wi-Fi 6’s Target Wake Time(TWT).
For detailed technical information and Arduino IDE setup instructions, refer to the DFRobot Wiki pages. The Beetle ESP32-C6 board is available on the DFRobot website, priced at $4.90. it can also be bought from AliExpress for $13.92. AliExpress price includes shipping.