UNIT Brings Its DualMCU Raspberry Pi RP2040 and Espressif ESP32 Design to the UNO Form Factor
Beginner-friendly layout aims to offer the best of both the Raspberry Pi and Espressif microcontroller worlds in one board.
Mexico City-based UNIT Electronics is taking orders for an Arduino UNO-format development board with a difference: it features both Raspberry Pi RP2040 and Espressif ESP32 microcontrollers, hoping to deliver the best of both worlds.
"We designed the DualMCU One to address the challenges developers face when integrating wireless communication with precise hardware control," UNIT's Adrian Rabadan Ortiz explains. "By combining the [Espressif] ESP32 and [Raspberry Pi] RP2040, connected via SPI for fast and reliable communication, we created a board that simplifies complex system designs while unlocking more possibilities for innovation."
If that sounds familiar, it should: UNIT has form here, having released the original DualMCU back in April 2023. Like the DualMCU One, the original DualMCU paired an Espressif ESP32-WROOM-32 module and a Raspberry Pi RP2040 on a single board — but while the original used a long-and-thin gumstick style footprint, the new version opts for the iconic Arduino UNO form factor instead.
The hardware in the new DualMCU One, brought to our attention by Linux Gizmos, is effectively unchanged from the original: the Raspberry Pi RP2040 delivers a pair of Arm Cortex-M0+ cores running at a stock 133MHz and 264kB of on-chip static RAM (SRAM), plus that always-handy programmable input/output (PIO) block for running state machines separately to the microcontroller cores, while the Espressif ESP32-WROOM-32 adds two Tensilica Xtensa LX7 cores running at up to 240MHz, 520kB of SRAM plus 16kB more in the real-time clock (RTC) module, and both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) connectivity.
"The standout feature is the SPI-based communication between the two microcontrollers, enabling seamless data exchange for complex, real-time applications," Ortiz says. "With the ESP32 managing wireless communication and the RP2040 handling precision operations, this board offers unparalleled versatility and performance. Compact, robust, and designed for professionals, it's a tool that empowers your creativity."
The UNIT DualMCU One is now available to order on the company's Tindie store, priced at $15 plus shipping.