Custom ESP32 embedded solution for IoT devices: case study

A custom ESP32 embedded solution with modular firmware, security features and Wi-Fi/BLE connectivity for connected products.

This DEV.to version is a short engineering note extracted from the case study, with the complete English page linked at the end.

Stack at a glance

ESP32, ESP-IDF, C, FreeRTOS, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth Low Energy, NVS, Secure Boot.

Why this matters

• Many ESP32 prototypes work in the lab but become fragile when they need provisioning, updates, configuration storage and diagnostics.
• A product-oriented firmware base makes the device easier to maintain across hardware variants and field updates.

Architecture notes

• Split boot, application logic, configuration and communication concerns instead of building one monolithic firmware loop.
• Use ESP-IDF components deliberately: NVS for persistent configuration, FreeRTOS tasks for concurrency and clear interfaces for Wi-Fi/BLE behavior.
• Design provisioning, fallback and update strategy before the device reaches production testing.

Practical takeaways

• Wi-Fi reconnects, partial configuration and failed updates are normal runtime states. They should be observable and recoverable.
• The best embedded architecture is boring in production: predictable memory use, clear ownership and minimal hidden state.

Read the full case study

The English page on the Silicon LogiX website contains the full context, visuals and project details: Custom ESP32 embedded solution for IoT devices.

I keep the DEV.to version intentionally shorter so the canonical page remains the source for the complete case study.