First, ensure your ATOM is plugged-in to your computer via USB.
You can repeat this process for "M5Atom" if you want to install that library too.įor more information about installing libraries in the Arduino IDE, see this documentation:īefore you can upload any sketches, you need to configure the IDE to talk to the ATOM correctly. When the search results update, click the "Install" button. In the text box at the top-right, type "FastLED" and press enter. The dialog will look like this: Arduino IDE v1 Library Manager To install them in the Arduino IDE, open the Library Manager (click "Sketch → Include Library → Manage Libraries."). (Note: If you install the M5Atom library then you must install FastLED too.) It's not essential for working with the ATOM development kits, but it can provide a useful starting point if you haven't programmed ESP32 boards before. You may also find it useful to install the official "M5Atom" library. It's widely used, and my experience with it has been very positive so far. I recommend installing the "FastLED" library if you have the ATOM Matrix or you want to work with external RGB LEDs. It may take a while to download and install. When the "esp32" result appears, click the "Install" button. In the text box at the top-right, type "esp32" and press enter. A dialog like this should appear: Arduino IDE v1 Boards Manager Open the Boards Manager (click "Tools → Board (.) → Boards Manager"). Next, you need to install the ESP32 board definitions. If the same URL is already there then you don't need to add it again. If there are other URLs already in the list, then ensure you add the new one on a separate line. It's the one outlined in red here: Arduino IDE v1 Preferences dialogĪdd the following URL to the dialog which appears:įor example: Adding a Boards Manager URL in Arduino IDE v1 In the preferences dialog, click the button beside "Additional Boards Manager URLs". To do that, click "File → Preferences" in the IDE.
Boards Managerīefore you can upload any sketches, the IDE needs to know how to work with an ESP32 microcontroller. You'll need to download and run the desktop IDE instead. Note: Currently, it isn't possible to use the ATOM development kits, or any other ESP32 boards, from the Arduino Web Editor, also known as the online IDE. See the documentation here for instructions and links: You will need to download and install the Arduino IDE, if you haven't already. The same general steps work in version 2 of the Arduino IDE, but some of the dialogs look a little different. These instructions are based on Arduino IDE v1.8.13.
Installing the driver allows other software (such as the Arduino IDE) to communicate with the UART as though it were connected directly it effectively makes the USB part of the connection transparent. That chip acts as a bridge between the USB connection and the ESP32 UART. The ATOM solves this problem in the same way as several similar devices: it contains an FTDI chip. However, most computers don't have a compatible port any more because the protocol is too limited for modern consumer devices. That protocol has been around for a very long time, and its simplicity makes it useful for embedded systems.
Like many microcontrollers, the ESP32 at the heart of the ATOM acts as a UART, communicating via a basic serial protocol called RS232. If you haven't installed the driver then you might see something like this under "Other devices" instead: What does the FTDI driver do? Open the Windows device manager, expand "Ports (COM & LPT)", and you should see an entry labelled "USB Serial Port (COM4)". When you've installed the driver, connect the ATOM to your computer via USB cable.
Note that these are not the CP210X drivers used by some other M5 development kits. I had to install the FTDI drivers from here: However, that wasn't the case for me on Windows 10. DriversĪt the time of writing, the documentation from M5Stack seems to say that you don't need to manually install any drivers before using the ATOM Matrix / Lite. In this post, I'll document the steps which worked for me on Windows 10. They can be programmed from the Arduino IDE, although the official instructions for doing that aren't great. The ATOM Matrix and ATOM Lite are fun little ESP32-based development kits from M5Stack.