Makerfabs MaTouch ESP32-S3 MaUWB is a development board that combines an ESP32-S3 wireless MCU, a 3.95-inch touchscreen display, and a UWB module for indoor positioning and ranging applications.
The board can be used as a portable positioning terminal. It uses a trilateration algorithm with up to three fixed UWB anchors to calculate the tag’s coordinates in real time. The MaUWB chipset operates on UWB Channel 5 (6489.6 MHz) and supports up to 8 anchors and 64 tags. For portable use, the board includes a LiPo battery connector, charging circuit, and battery level monitoring.
MaTouch ESP32-S3 MaUWB specifications:
- Wireless Module – ESP32-S3-WROOM-1
- SoC – Espressif Systems ESP32-S3
- CPU – Dual-core Tensilica LX7 up to 240 MHz with vector extension for AI/ML workloads
- RAM – 512KB SRAM; 8MB PSRAM
- Wireless – WiFi 4 and Bluetooth LE 5
- Storage – 16MB flash
- Antenna – PCB antenna
- SoC – Espressif Systems ESP32-S3
- Storage – MicroSD card slot for local data logging
- Display – 3.95-inch 480 x 320 TFT LCD with FT6336 touch controller; ST7796 display driver; backlight control
- UWB (Ultra-Wideband) – Makerfabs MaUWB-DW3000 module
- RF Band – CH5 (6489.6 MHz)
- UWB Rate – 850 kbps / 6.8 Mbps
- Supports up to 8 anchors and 64 tags
- USB
- USB Type-C port (Native)
- USB Type-C to UART port (CH340K driver) for programming and debugging
- Expansion – 2x JST 1.25mm 4-pin interfaces for GPIOs
- Power
- 5V via USB Type-C (4.0V ~ 5.25V range)
- LiPo battery support with onboard TP4056 battery charger and level monitoring
- Dimensions – 94.3 x 72.4 mm
In terms of software support, the board can be programmed using the Arduino IDE. The company also provides various examples on GitHub, including a 2D indoor positioning example (3.95_UWB_position) based on the GFX Library for Arduino and LVGL. The touchscreen can be used to set anchor coordinates, while the Windows tool uwbtools.exe configures the UWB module IDs and roles (anchor/tag) over a serial connection.
So, after uploading the sketch, the physical coordinates of the anchors are entered on the MaTouch touchscreen. The screen then shows the calculated tag position (via trilateration), distances to each base station, and status in real time. Additional hardware and firmware documentation can be found in the company’s official Wiki.
Previously, we have written about various UWB products based on ESP32-S3, including Makerfabs’ original ESP32 UWB board combined with an ESP32-WROOM or WROVER module with a Decawave DW1000 (B&T BU01) transceiver, for 10 cm indoor positioning accuracy and a range of up to 300 meters. The company later released the “MaUWB_DW3000 with STM32 AT Command” (reviewed here by Kumpee); after that, they released an ESP32-S3 MaUWB variant with PoE support for Home Assistant RTLS applications. Other UWB solutions include iLabs’ Challenger RP2040 UWB board with an Apple U1-compatible DWM3000 module and NOVELDA’s UWB X4 sensor, which supports up to 5 meters of range and detects movement at sub-millimeter resolution. Compared to all of that, the new MaTouch 3.95-inch model adds a built-in capacitive touchscreen for displaying anchor and tag positioning data directly on the device in a “no code” way.
The MaTouch ESP32-S3 MaUWB SPI TFT Touch 3.95″ is currently available on the Makerfabs store for $59.80.
Debashis Das is a technical content writer and embedded engineer with over five years of experience in the industry. With expertise in Embedded C, PCB Design, and SEO optimization, he effectively blends difficult technical topics with clear communication
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