CE 432 2021 Fall
ESP32-CAM Introduction
Sophie Turner 
sjturner@fortlewis.edu

ESP32-CAM Introduction

1. Introduction
ESP32CAM was used to stream a live video and perform face recognition and face detection. The ESP32CAM was connected using a FTDI cable. By connecting to WIFI and accessing the IP address of the ESP webserver, the CameraWebServer was used to stream a live video. The flash light on the ESP32CAM was also modified in this lab by using Arduino.



Figure 1. ESP32-CAM board pinout.

2. Methods
The ESP32-CAM was connected using FTDI cable and bread board using the following schematic. ESP32-CAM, FTDI cable, breadboard, 10k resistor, pushbutton, PCB antenna, power supply, and jumper wires were used for this project. For a more detailed method section go to http://www.yilectronics.com/Courses/CE432_RoboticsII/f2021/lectureTopics/esp32CAM_tutorials/tutorial_1_getStarted/tutorial_1.html


Figure 2. ESP32-CAM to power connection.

3. Results

Task 1.
ESP32-Cam was connected to CameraWebServer using WIFI. Live video was streamed from the camera using the IP address of the ESP webserver. Face detection was accomplished in the CameraWebServer as seen in Figure 3. Face recognition was also tested and before my face was enrolled in the system; I was seen as an intruder as seen in Figure 4. After I enrolled my face, I was recognized as seen in Figure 5.


Figure 3. Face detection using CameraWebServer.


Figure 4. Face recognition before enrolling facial features.


Figure 5. Face recognition after enrolling facial features.


Figure 6. Another person testing face recognition after I enrolled my face.


Task 2.
The GPIO4 pin is connected to the flash light on the ESP32 module. Using Arduino IDE I was able to control the flash light. The videos below demonstrate the flash blinking. Figure 8 demonstrates the flash turning on and off using a push button and the last video shows the flash brightness changing by modifying the PWM.


Figure 7. Flash light blinking every 2 seconds.


Figure 8. Flash light controlled by a push button.


Figure 9. Flash light brightness changing with PWM.

2. Discussion
  I was able to successively complete all the tasks. The resistor on the ESP32-CAM was successively rotated and resoldered back on the board. This project allowed me to refresh using Arduino IDE.  I was able to learn about the basic functionalities that the ESP32-CAM has through this tutorial.