The ESP32-S31 board combines open firmware examples and hardware documentation for custom touchscreen and audio applications.
VIEWE has introduced the PLCM-UES31S043H800V480C-U, a 4.3-inch touchscreen development board built around Espressif’s ESP32-S31 microcontroller. The board is accompanied by firmware examples and hardware documentation that developers can use to explore its peripherals and build customised embedded applications. The manufacturer provides examples for display control, touch input, audio playback, SD-card access and communication interfaces, making the platform useful for developers experimenting with the new processor.
The board’s development resources include example projects hosted on GitHub, while its documentation provides display timing information and hardware details. Developers can use these resources to inspect peripheral initialisation, adapt example code and integrate the board into their own projects. The software currently relies on Espressif’s ESP-IDF framework, with development requiring the framework’s master branch and the preview flag because the ESP32-S31 is still a preview device. This means compatibility and features may change as support matures.
The hardware combines a dual-core RISC-V processor running at up to 320MHz with 16MB of PSRAM and 16MB of flash. Its 4.3-inch IPS touchscreen offers an 800 × 480 resolution, while the board also includes two microphones, an audio codec, speaker amplifiers, a microSD card slot and USB ports. Wireless connectivity covers Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.4 and IEEE 802.15.4 for technologies such as Zigbee and Thread. A 20-pin expansion header and terminal connections expose interfaces including UART, I²C, RS485 and CAN for external hardware.
For developers, the available examples provide a route to testing the display, audio and communication hardware before creating a complete application. The board also supports LVGL for graphical interfaces, allowing developers to build touch-operated controls and status displays using an established embedded graphics library. Espressif’s wider board-support package ecosystem offers reusable drivers and common APIs for supported peripherals, helping reduce the amount of hardware-specific code required for new projects.
The ESP32-S31 is also attracting early Linux development, with Espressif publishing a developer-preview Linux board support package for the processor. However, the VIEWE board’s documented development path currently centres on ESP-IDF, and Linux compatibility should not be assumed without a supported port. The board is listed at approximately US$38.99. Its public examples and documentation make it a useful development target, although the availability of source code alone does not establish that the complete hardware design is open source; developers should check the repository licences and whether manufacturing files are provided before reproducing or redistributing the hardware.
