Also known as: Espressif
Espressif Systems is a Chinese semiconductor company, founded in 2008, best known for its low-cost ESP32 family of Wi-Fi and Bluetooth microcontrollers.1
Overview
Espressif first drew wide attention with the ESP8266, a cheap chip that put Wi-Fi within reach of hobbyist projects. Its successor, the ESP32, added Bluetooth, more processing power, and a richer set of peripherals while staying inexpensive.2
The chips integrate a microcontroller, radio, and memory in one package, and Espressif backs them with open development frameworks and broad community support. That combination made the ESP series a default choice for connected sensors and devices across the Internet of Things.
Why it matters
By making a wireless-capable microcontroller cheap and easy to program, Espressif helped make networked embedded projects routine. An ESP32 makes a tidy little wireless sensor or telemetry node — for example, reporting status or environmental data from a remote GopherTrunk antenna site back over Wi-Fi.
Sources
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Espressif Systems — Wikipedia, for the company’s history and products. ↩
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Espressif — the company’s official site, for its chips and SDKs. ↩