Set Up and Configure ESP32 Hardware

Once you have installed the MATLAB® Support Package for Arduino® Hardware, as described in Install the Support Package. You can configure the host computer to communicate with the ESP32 board via USB, Wi-Fi®, or Bluetooth®.

Prepare ESP32 Board for Setup

Before configuring your ESP32 hardware for communication, set up the hardware:

  1. For setting up ESP32 and associated libraries for the support package installed on Linux, ensure that you have logged in as root user. Also, ensure that you launch MATLAB as root user.

  2. Connect the ESP32 board to the host computer using a USB cable. You must start the setup with a USB connection even if you plan to communicate with the ESP32 board using Bluetooth or Wi-Fi.

    ESP32 board connected to host computer over USB

  3. In MATLAB, open the Hardware Setup window by entering arduinosetup at the command prompt.

  4. In the Select Board and Port screen, choose the board type and the port number from the Choose board and Choose port lists. Then, click Next.

    The supported ESP32 boards are ESP32-WROOM-DevKitC, ESP32-WROOM-DevKitV1, NanoESP32 and ESP32-S3-DevKitM.

    Arduino hardware board setup

  5. To configure your hardware for communication, choose your connection type.

    The Choose Connection Type pane lists only the connection types supported for the board you selected in the previous step. Follow the steps in the section relevant to your connection type:

Connection over USB

Before you configure your ESP32 hardware for communication, you must prepare the hardware for setup. For more information, see Prepare ESP32 Board for Setup.

To configure your ESP32 hardware to communicate via USB:

  1. Specify connection type as USB and click Next.

    ESP32 hardware board setup - USB

  2. Select the libraries that you want to include in your ESP32 server, and then click Program to begin uploading the server to your ESP32 board. Selecting the Install ESP32 third-party library option is mandatory to work with ESP32 boards. This option appears in the screen only for the first time you select ESP32 board. When you open Hardware Setup again, the software checks for ESP32 library installation and displays the option only if the library is not available.

    The CAN library is not supported for ESP32 boards.

    ESP32 hardware board libraries setup

  3. After the upload is successful, click Next to proceed.

  4. To test the connection between your host computer and the ESP32 board., click Test connection.

    Test ESP32 USB connection

  5. After the connection test is successful, click Next to proceed.

  6. Click Finish to complete the hardware setup. To connect to your ESP32 board, see Connect to Arduino Hardware.

    ESP32 setup complete

Connection over Wi-Fi

Before you configure your ESP32 hardware for communication, complete the steps described in Prepare ESP32 Board for Setup, and disconnect the USB..

To configure your ESP32 hardware to communicate via Wi-Fi:

  1. Specify connection type Wi-Fi.

    ESP32 hardware board setup - WiFi

  2. Choose the encryption type of your Wi-Fi network, enter the necessary credentials, and click Next. WEP encryption type is not supported for ESP32 boards.

    • If you have previously configured your ESP32 board in Hardware Setup to use Wi-Fi retrieve the credentials from your previous configuration by selecting Retrieve last configuration from Arduino board.

    • If you select Use static IP address, make sure that you use an available static IP address and that your router allows the usage of static IP. Ensure that the Subnet Mask is 255.255.255.0 and the Default Gateway is the IP address of the network gateway.

  3. In the Upload Arduino Server screen, select the libraries that you want to include in your ESP32 server. Click Program to begin uploading the server to your ESP32 board.

    Selecting the Install ESP32 third-party library option is mandatory to work with ESP32 boards. This option appears in the screen only for the first time you select ESP32 board (the subsequent launch of Hardware Setup screen checks for ESP32 library installation and displays the option only if the library is not available).

    The CAN library is not supported for ESP32 board.

    ESP32 hardware board libraries setup

  4. After the upload is successful, click Next to proceed.

  5. To test the connection between your host computer and the ESP32 board, click Test connection.

    Test ESP32 WiFi connection

  6. After the connection test is successful, click Next to proceed.

  7. Click Finish to complete the hardware setup.

Connection over Bluetooth

Before you configure your ESP32 hardware for communication, complete the steps described in Prepare ESP32 Board for Setup, and disconnect the USB.

To configure your ESP32 hardware to communicate via Bluetooth:

  1. Specify connection type Bluetooth and click Next.

    ESP32 hardware board setup - Bluetooth

  2. On the Upload Arduino Server screen:

    • Use the Name field to assign a new name to your ESP32 hardware or choose a device name from the list.

    • Select the libraries that you want to upload to your ESP32 hardware.

    • Click Program to complete uploading libraries to the ESP32 device and retrieve the Bluetooth Device address from the ESP32 board.

    ESP32 hardware board libraries setup

  3. After the upload is successful, click Next to proceed.

  4. If you are using a Windows® desktop computer, connect a Bluetooth dongle to your computer. You should use a dongle supporting Bluetooth 4.0 or higher to connect to the ESP32-DevKitV1, ESP32-DevKitC, NanoESP32, or ESP32-S3-DevKitM board over Bluetooth.

  5. Click Test connection to test the connection between your host computer and the Arduino board and click Next.

    Test ESP32 Bluetooth Connection

  6. After the connection test is successful, click Next to proceed.

  7. Click Finish to complete the hardware setup.

    ESP32 setup complete

See Also