Features
Datasheet Seeed Studio XIAO RP2040
Schematic for Fab-Xiao
Board design
Programming. Seeed Studio XIAO RP2040 with Arduino
Programming. Seeed Studio XIAO ESP32-C3 with Arduino

Published March 8, 2025 © CC BY-NC-SA

Fab Xiao

The Fab Xiao is a board created at the Fab Academy for any electronics or programming student to get started.

IntermediateProtip8 hours280

Things used in this project

Hardware components

Seeed Studio XIAO RP2040

0Ω resistor

499 Ω resistor 1206

1kΩ resistor 1206

LED 1206

Button

Female 1 row horizontal header 3

Male 2 row vertical header

Proto Board FR1

Hand tools and fabrication machines

Soldering iron (generic)

Solder Wire, Lead Free

Story

During the Instructor Bootcamp in Amsterdam,Neil recommended starting with the Seeed Studio Xiao,specifically the RP2040 model or the ESP32C3. In my case, this Fab-Xiao uses the Seeed Studio Xiao RP2040 model.The Fab-Xiao can also use the Seeed Studio Xiao ESP32-C3.

For this I want to document the process of creating a dev board and several examples of inputs and outputs with this board. The idea is also to use Adrianino Input and output modules.

Features

Identification of the power supply pins 5V in red, 3V3 in blue and GND in white.
On the left there are 4 outputs or inputs with VCC and GND on each side to be able to connect different inputs or outputs.
On the right there are 3 outputs or inputs at the bottom and with a GND pinout.
On the bottom there is an I2C connection to connect an LCD, OLED or a sensor that uses this communication.
There is an LED and an integrated button, which will help us to test that the XIAO RP2040 works with a simple program.
Possibility of connection with the Adrianinoinput and output modules.

Datasheet Seeed Studio XIAO RP2040

Seeed Studio XIAO RP2040 is compatible with the Raspberry Pi RP2040 ecosystem as they share the same RP2040 chip. It supports multiple languages including C / MicroPython / CircuitPython. This will be a great tool for you to get started with MicroPython.

Powerful MCU: Dual-core ARM Cortex M0+ processor, flexible clock running up to 133 MHz.
Rich on-chip resources: 264KB of SRAM, and 2MB of on-board Flash memory
Flexible compatibility: Support Micropython/Arduino/CircuitPython
Easy project operation: Breadboard-friendly & SMD design, no components on the back
Small size: As small as a thumb(20x17.5mm) for wearable devices and small projects.
Multiple interfaces: 11 digital pins, 4 analog pins, 11 PWM Pins, 1 I2C interface, 1 UART interface, 1 SPI interface, 1 SWD Bonding pad interface.

For general I/O pins: Working voltage of MCU is 3.3V. Voltage input connected to general I/O pins may cause chip damage if it' higher than 3.3V. For power supply pins: The built-in DC-DC converter circuit able to change 5V voltage into 3.3V allows to power the device with a 5V supply via VIN-PIN and 5V-PIN. Please pay attention to use, do not lift the shield cover.

After looking at the basic features, you will find the pinning of the XIAO RP2040. More information in this link. Here the Seeed Studio XIAO RP2040 pinout sheet.

5V: Supply voltage 5V.
GND: Ground.
3V3: Supply voltage 3V3.
Digital pins (GPIO Pin number): 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 26, 27, 28, 29
Analog pins (GPIO Pin number): 26, 27, 28, 29
LED Green (GPIO Pin number): 16
LED Red (GPIO Pin number): 17
LED Blue (GPIO Pin number): 25
SDA (GPIO Pin number): 6
SCL (GPIO Pin number): 7
RGB LED_POWER (GPIO Pin number): 11
RGB LED (GPIO Pin number): 12

Schematic for Fab-Xiao

This is the schematic where you can see all the components.

Board design

Here you can download the Eagle files and the PNG's. Here is a sample of the PNG's, traces and cutting lines. Here you can also find the library to add to your Eagle or kiCAD the traces of the Seeed Xiao RP2040 or ESP32-C3.

Here you can download the KICAD 6 files and the SVG's. You can also see a 3D simulation of the board.

As the XIAO RP2040 has connection areas below and to avoid short circuits, I cover the bottom with

3M™ Epoxy Film Electrical Tape 1.

Programming. Seeed Studio XIAO RP2040 with Arduino

1. We open the Arduino program.
2. In Preferences, we will add the URL of the additional boards that you can find here.We need the Arduino-Pico by Earlephilhower

3. The next step is to download Pico in the boards manager.

4. We configure the Arduino IDE for the Seeed Studio XIAO RP2040. The Seeed Studio XIAO RP2040 will appear in the COM port, in my case in COM 3.

5. Now load the Blink program so that the LED on pin D6 (GPIO 0) blinks. When we upload it, all this information appears in the notifications section.

In this short video you can see the operation of a Blink on pin GPIO 0 (0 in Arduino) where the LED is integrated. 😍

Programming. Seeed Studio XIAO ESP32-C3 with Arduino

1. We open the Arduino program.
2. In Preferences, we will add the URL of the additional boards that you can find here.We need the Arduino ESP32 by Espressif

3. The next step is to download ESP32 in the boards manager.

4. We configure the Arduino IDE for the Seeed Studio XIAO ESP32-C3. The Seeed Studio XIAO ESP32-C3 will appear in the COM port, in my case in COM 3.

5. Now load the Blink program so that the LED on pin D6 blinks. When we upload it, all this information appears in the notifications section.

In this short video you can see the operation of a Blink on pin D6 where the LED is integrated. 😍

You can find different examples of inputs and outputs here: https://fabacademy.org/2020/labs/leon/students/adrian-torres/fabxiao.html

Code

Button + LED

//Fab Academy 2023 - Fab Lab León
//Button + LED                           
//Fab-Xiao
//
//Original code:Neil Gershenfeld 12/8/19
// This work may be reproduced, modified, distributed,
// performed, and displayed for any purpose, but must
// acknowledge this project. Copyright is retained and
// must be preserved. The work is provided as is; no
// warranty is provided, and users accept all liability.
//

const int ledPin1 = 0;//first light  RP2040 pin 0 or ESP32-C3 pin D6 
const int buttonPin = 1;// button pin  RP2040 pin 1 or ESP32-C3 pin D7 
int buttonState = 0;//initial state of the button
int i = 0; //variable intensity led

void setup() { //declaration of inputs and outputs
  pinMode(ledPin1, OUTPUT);
  pinMode(buttonPin, INPUT);
}
void loop() {
  buttonState = digitalRead(buttonPin);// we read the state of the button
  if (buttonState == HIGH) { //if we press the button
  digitalWrite(ledPin1, HIGH);
  delay(500);                       
  digitalWrite(ledPin1, LOW);    
  delay(500);
  digitalWrite(ledPin1, HIGH);
  delay(500);                       
  digitalWrite(ledPin1, LOW);    
  delay(500);
  digitalWrite(ledPin1, HIGH);
  delay(2000);                        
  digitalWrite(ledPin1, LOW);    
  delay(1000);
  
}
  else {  //if we don't press the button
  digitalWrite(ledPin1, LOW);
  }
}

Fab Xiao

Things used in this project

Hardware components

Hand tools and fabrication machines

Story

Features

Datasheet Seeed Studio XIAO RP2040

Schematic for Fab-Xiao

Board design

Programming. Seeed Studio XIAO RP2040 with Arduino

Programming. Seeed Studio XIAO ESP32-C3 with Arduino

Schematics

KiCAD files

Code

Button + LED

Credits

Adrián Torres

Comments

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Fab Xiao

Fab Xiao

Things used in this project

Hardware components

Hand tools and fabrication machines

Story

Features

Datasheet Seeed Studio XIAO RP2040

Schematic for Fab-Xiao

Board design

Programming. Seeed Studio XIAO RP2040 with Arduino

Programming. Seeed Studio XIAO ESP32-C3 with Arduino

Schematics

KiCAD files

Code

Button + LED

Credits

Adrián Torres

Comments

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