Hardware Compatibility

Officially Supported

Raspberry Pi Pico W

✅ Full support

• Chip: RP2040 (Dual ARM Cortex-M0+ @ 133MHz)
• RAM: 264KB SRAM
• Flash: 2MB
• WiFi: 2.4GHz 802.11n (CYW43439)
• GPIO: 26 pins
• ADC: 3 channels, 12-bit
• PWM: 16 channels
• I2C: 2 controllers
• SPI: 2 controllers
• UART: 2 controllers

Raspberry Pi Pico 2W

✅ Full support

• Chip: RP2350 (Dual Cortex-M33 @ 150MHz)
• RAM: 520KB SRAM
• Flash: 8MB
• WiFi: 2.4GHz
• GPIO/ADC/PWM/I2C/SPI/UART: Compatible footprint and pinout with Pico W

ESP32

✅ Full support

• Chip: ESP32 (Dual Xtensa LX6 @ 240MHz)
• RAM: 520KB SRAM
• Flash: 4MB (typical)
• WiFi: 2.4GHz 802.11 b/g/n
• GPIO: 34 pins
• ADC: 18 channels, 12-bit
• PWM: 16 channels (LEDC)
• I2C: 2 controllers
• SPI: 3 controllers
• UART: 3 controllers

ESP32-C61

✅ Full support

• Chip: ESP32-C61 (Single RISC-V @ 160MHz)
• RAM: 256KB SRAM
• Flash: 4MB (typical)
• WiFi: 2.4GHz 802.11 b/g/n/ax (WiFi 6)
• GPIO: 22 pins
• ADC: 7 channels, 12-bit
• I2C: 1 controller
• SPI: 2 controllers
• UART: 2 controllers

Hardware Requirements

Minimum Requirements

For DeviceSDK device support:

• Raspberry Pi Pico W / Pico 2W, or an ESP32 / ESP32-C61 board
• Stable WiFi connectivity

Recommended

• 256KB+ RAM for complex applications
• 2MB+ Flash for future updates
• 2.4GHz WiFi
• Hardware floating point

Pin Mapping

Raspberry Pi Pico W

Standard GPIO pin numbers (GP0-GP28) are used directly:

// GPIO 25 (onboard LED)
await this.env.DEVICE.setGpioState(25, 'high');

Pico W ADC Pins

ADC-capable pins on Pico W:

• GP26 - ADC0
• GP27 - ADC1
• GP28 - ADC2

Pico W Special Pins

• GP25 - Onboard LED (Pico W uses different pin for LED)
• GP23-GP24 - WiFi module (reserved)

ESP32

Standard GPIO pin numbers are used directly. The onboard LED pin varies by board:

// ESP32 onboard LED (GPIO 2)
await this.env.DEVICE.setGpioState(2, 'high');

// ESP32-C61 onboard LED (GPIO 5)
await this.env.DEVICE.setGpioState(5, 'high');

Platform Feature Availability

“Simulated” means the simulator returns mock responses without real hardware.

GPIO Digital I/O

Set any GPIO pin high or low. Use setGpioState() for output and getPinState() for reading:

import { DeviceEntrypoint } from '@devicesdk/core';

export default class BlinkDevice extends DeviceEntrypoint {
  async onDeviceConnect() {
    const LED_PIN = 25; // Pico W — use 2 for ESP32

    for (let i = 0; i < 5; i++) {
      await this.env.DEVICE.setGpioState(LED_PIN, 'high');
      await new Promise(r => setTimeout(r, 500));
      await this.env.DEVICE.setGpioState(LED_PIN, 'low');
      await new Promise(r => setTimeout(r, 500));
    }
  }
}

GPIO Input Monitoring

Monitor a pin for state changes. The device will push gpio_state_changed events to your onMessage handler:

import { DeviceEntrypoint, type DeviceResponse } from '@devicesdk/core';

export default class ButtonDevice extends DeviceEntrypoint {
  async onDeviceConnect() {
    // Monitor pin 15 with internal pull-up resistor
    await this.env.DEVICE.configureGpioInputMonitoring(15, true, 'up');
  }

  onMessage(message: DeviceResponse) {
    if (message.type === 'gpio_state_changed') {
      console.log(`Pin ${message.payload.pin} is now ${message.payload.state}`);
    }
  }
}

PWM Output

Control LED brightness, servo motors, or buzzer tones with pulse-width modulation:

// Set pin 16 to 1kHz at 50% duty cycle
await this.env.DEVICE.setPwmState(16, 1000, 0.5);

// Dim an LED to 25% brightness (low frequency for LEDs)
await this.env.DEVICE.setPwmState(25, 1000, 0.25);

// Stop PWM output (0% duty cycle)
await this.env.DEVICE.setPwmState(16, 1000, 0);

ADC Analog Read

Read analog voltage (0-3.3V, 12-bit resolution) from ADC-capable pins:

// Read analog value from pin 26 (Pico ADC0)
const result = await this.env.DEVICE.getPinState(26, 'analog');
if (result.type === 'pin_state_update') {
  const voltage = (result.payload.value / 4095) * 3.3;
  console.log(`Voltage: ${voltage.toFixed(2)}V`);
}

On ESP32, only ADC1 pins are available for analog reads because ADC2 is used by WiFi.

I2C

Configure I2C bus pins, scan for devices, and read/write registers. Data values are hex strings (e.g., "0x3C"):

// Configure I2C bus 0 with SDA on pin 4, SCL on pin 5
await this.env.DEVICE.sendCommand({
  type: 'i2c_configure',
  payload: { bus: 0, sda_pin: 4, scl_pin: 5, frequency: 400000 }
});

// Scan for connected devices
const scanResult = await this.env.DEVICE.i2cScan(0);
if (scanResult.type === 'i2c_scan_result') {
  console.log('Found devices:', scanResult.payload.addresses_found);
}

// Write to a device register
await this.env.DEVICE.i2cWrite(0, '0x3C', ['0x00', '0xAE']);

// Read 2 bytes from register 0xD0
const readResult = await this.env.DEVICE.i2cRead(0, '0x3C', 2, '0xD0');

Use batch writes to reduce round-trips when writing multiple registers:

// Write multiple register sequences in one command
await this.env.DEVICE.sendCommand({
  type: 'i2c_batch_write',
  payload: {
    bus: 0,
    address: '0x3C',
    writes: [
      ['0x00', '0xAE'],  // Display OFF
      ['0x00', '0xD5'],  // Set display clock
      ['0x00', '0x80'],  // Clock value
    ]
  }
});

SPI

Full-duplex communication with SPI peripherals. See the Using SPI guide for details.

// Configure SPI bus
await this.env.DEVICE.spiConfigure(0, 18, 19, 16, 17, 1000000, 0);

// Full-duplex transfer (sends and receives simultaneously)
const result = await this.env.DEVICE.spiTransfer(0, ['0x9F', '0x00', '0x00']);

UART

Serial communication with external modules. See the Using UART guide for details.

// Configure UART port 1 at 9600 baud
await this.env.DEVICE.uartConfigure(1, 4, 5, 9600);

// Write data
await this.env.DEVICE.uartWrite(1, ['0x48', '0x65', '0x6C', '0x6C', '0x6F']);

// Read up to 32 bytes with a 1-second timeout
const result = await this.env.DEVICE.uartRead(1, 32, 1000);

On-Die Temperature Sensor

Read the microcontroller’s built-in temperature sensor (no external hardware required):

const result = await this.env.DEVICE.getTemperature();
if (result.type === 'temperature_result') {
  console.log(`CPU temp: ${result.payload.celsius.toFixed(1)}C`);
}

Watchdog Timer

Reset the device automatically if your code stops responding. Feed the watchdog periodically to prevent resets:

// Enable watchdog with 8-second timeout
await this.env.DEVICE.watchdogConfigure(8000, true);

// Feed the watchdog in your main loop
await this.env.DEVICE.watchdogFeed();

On Pico, the watchdog cannot be disabled once enabled – you must continue feeding it or the device will reboot.

Addressable LEDs (WS2812)

Drive WS2812/NeoPixel LED strips from Pico devices using PIO. See the Addressable LEDs guide for details.

// Configure 8 LEDs on pin 2
await this.env.DEVICE.pioWs2812Configure(2, 8);

// Set all LEDs to green
const green: [number, number, number][] = Array.from({ length: 8 }, () => [0, 255, 0]);
await this.env.DEVICE.pioWs2812Update(green);

Device Reboot

Programmatically restart the device:

await this.env.DEVICE.reboot();

The WebSocket connection will drop after reboot. The device will reconnect automatically and trigger onDeviceConnect again.

Power Specifications

Raspberry Pi Pico W

• Input voltage: 5V via USB or 1.8-5.5V via VSYS
• Operating voltage: 3.3V logic
• Current draw:
  • Idle: ~25mA
  • WiFi active: ~120mA
  • Peak: ~150mA

Raspberry Pi Pico 2W

• Input voltage: 5V via USB or 1.8-5.5V via VSYS
• Operating voltage: 3.3V logic
• Current draw: similar to Pico W under WiFi load

Power Considerations

For battery operation:

• Use sleep modes to conserve power
• Disable WiFi when not needed
• Efficient code reduces power usage

Flashing Frequency

Flashing is typically one-time per device. After the first flash, updates are delivered over-the-air (OTA). Only major firmware upgrades might need a repeat flash, and those are optional unless you specifically want the new firmware capabilities.

Development Setup

Required Hardware

For Pico W / Pico 2W:

1. Raspberry Pi Pico W or Pico 2W
2. USB Cable — Micro-USB data cable (not power-only)

For ESP32 / ESP32-C61:

1. ESP32 or ESP32-C61 development board
2. USB-C cable — Data-capable USB-C cable
3. Python 3 — Required for esptool (pip install esptool)

Optional:

• Breadboard — For prototyping
• Jumper wires — For connections

Recommended Accessories

• Sensors - Temperature, humidity, motion, etc.
• LEDs - For visual feedback
• Buttons - For user input
• Resistors - For LED current limiting, pull-ups, etc.

Testing Your Hardware

Onboard LED Test

Flash this code to verify hardware. Use the correct LED pin for your board:

• Pico W / Pico 2W: pin 25
• ESP32: pin 2
• ESP32-C61: pin 5

import { DeviceEntrypoint } from '@devicesdk/core';

const LED_PIN = 25; // Pico W — use 2 for ESP32, 5 for ESP32-C61

export default class TestDevice extends DeviceEntrypoint {
  async onDeviceConnect() {
    // Blink LED 5 times
    for (let i = 0; i < 5; i++) {
      await this.env.DEVICE.setGpioState(LED_PIN, 'high');
      await new Promise(r => setTimeout(r, 500));
      await this.env.DEVICE.setGpioState(LED_PIN, 'low');
      await new Promise(r => setTimeout(r, 500));
    }
  }
}

If LED blinks, your hardware is working!

Where to Buy

Official Distributors

• Raspberry Pi — Pico W, Pico 2W
• Espressif — ESP32, ESP32-C61 dev boards
• Adafruit
• SparkFun
• Pimoroni

Price Range

• Raspberry Pi Pico W: $6-10 USD
• ESP32 dev boards: $5-15 USD
• Starter kits with accessories: $20-40 USD

Community-Tested Hardware

Users have reported success with:

• Custom RP2040 boards
• Pico-compatible clones
• Development boards with RP2040

Note: These are not officially supported but may work.

Troubleshooting

Pico Won’t Flash

• Check USB cable supports data (not power-only)
• Ensure BOOTSEL mode is active (hold BOOTSEL while plugging in USB)
• Try a different USB port

ESP32 Won’t Flash

• Install esptool: pip install esptool
• Check serial port permissions on Linux: sudo usermod -a -G dialout $USER (then log out/in)
• If you see “No serial data received”, your board may not support auto-reset — use manual boot mode and --before no_reset (see flash docs)
• Try the USB-JTAG port (/dev/ttyACM0) instead of the UART port (/dev/ttyUSB0)
• Lower the baud rate: --baud 115200

Device Won’t Connect

• Verify WiFi credentials
• Check network allows WebSocket connections
• Ensure firmware is properly flashed

GPIO Not Working

• Check pin number is correct for your board (LED pins differ between boards)
• Verify pin isn’t reserved (e.g., WiFi pins on Pico W)
• Check for hardware shorts

Future Platform Support

• ESP32-C3, ESP32-S3 (planned)

Next Steps

• Your First Device - Get started building
• Quickstart - Flash your first device
• CLI Flash Command - Flashing details