Notifications
Clear all
Topic starter
2026-03-23 6:21 pm
MicroPythonOS is an Android-like operating system for ESP32. Let’s install it and build our own app!
An operating system for a microcontroller? Not something you see every day, so today is very special. Welcome to MicroPythonOS!
Having an OS has many advantages when programming. You don’t need to worry about things like hardware, as the OS takes care of that. This makes the code for your app very easy and lightweight.
MicroPythonOS is a new product that is constantly evolving, but it is already a stable and fast OS that not only looks a lot like Android, but also has its own App Store (no credit card required)!
Today, we will install MicroPythonOS on a Waveshare ESP32-S3 touch-screen display module. We’ll tour the OS and check out a few apps, including ones from the App Store.
Then we will install MicroPython OS and use the Thonny IDE to build our own app, a simple countdown timer. After verifying its functionality on Linux, we’ll transfer the files to the Waveshare board and check it out there. It's a simple app, but it will teach you about app structure.
Here is the Table of Contents for today's video:
00:00 - Introduction
01:44 - MicroPythonOS
04:05 - Waveshare ESP32-S3 Touch LCD
07:44 - Installing MicroPythonOS
12:59 - MicroPythonOS Apps
17:55 - Installing MicroPythonOS on Linux
27:44 - Building a MicroPythonOS App
38:18 - Conclusion
This is a really fun product that hopefully will have a bright future. And remember, if you want to play along, you can get the code and a Linux “cheat sheet” from the MicroPythonOS article on the DroneBot Workshop website.
I hope you enjoy the video.
Bill
"Never trust a computer you can’t throw out a window." — Steve Wozniak
2026-03-25 1:18 am
Hi Bill,
Just finished the YouTube video and this MicroPythonOS project is seriously impressive—turning the ESP32-S3 into a device with an Android-like OS and a native App Store is such a smart way to lower the barrier for embedded development, especially for anyone new to MicroPython or ESP32 peripheral work. The walkthrough of installing it on the Waveshare touch module and building the countdown timer app was super clear too; love how the OS abstracts all the low-level hardware config to keep app code lightweight and clean.
I’ve spent a lot of time working with ESP32-S3’s memory and peripheral allocation for drone/robot power control projects, so I was really curious about a couple of things from the video and your writeup. With the OS managing hardware resources in the background, how does it handle SRAM/flash memory allocation for custom apps—especially if you’re running multiple apps at once on the ESP32-S3? Also, I wondered if there’s any support for UART/SPI peripheral access through the OS for external sensors/modules (a big use case for embedded projects), or if that still requires direct low-level coding right now.
This is such a promising project—thanks for putting together such a detailed video and breakdown, it’s got me excited to tinker with it on my own Waveshare boards!
Yassin
Yassin | Building Compact, High-Current Connections for Drones & Robots