Is Developing an ESP32-style STM32 System-on-Module (SOM) a Good Idea?

[eisler]

Herkese merhaba, içeriğinde bulunan popüler ESP32 SOM modüllerine benzer şekilde, STM32 serisi için bir Sistem-on-Module (SOM) geliştirmeyi düşünüyorum. Toplu talepte bulunmak istedim: Sanırım bu makul/mantıklı bir proje mi, yoksa piyasa zaten doymuş durumda mı? Biz küçük bir donanım geliştirme şirketi/startup'ız. Şu anda portföyümüzde birkaç ürünümüz var ve ürün yelpazemize yeni, daha yüksek değerli ürünler seçmek istiyoruz. Bu STM32 SOM voltajını ciddi olarak değerlendiriyoruz. Aşağıdaki özelliklerinizi görüşlerinizi gerçekten çok takdir ederim:

İyi tasarlanmış bir STM32 tabanlı SOM modülüne gerçek bir pazar talebi var mı?

• Ne gibi teknik zorluklarla karşılaşmayı beklemeliyiz?
• Maliyet, sertifikasyonlar, tedarik zinciri, stok yönetimi vb. genel kritik noktalar var mı?
• Burada benzer bir ürün yok veya güncel süren var mı? Bu süreçten edinilen dersler neler?
• Bu bağlantının en iyi şekilde çalışmadığı, küçük bir donanım ekibi için daha uygun alternatif ürün ömrü var mı?

Tüm görüş ve önerileriniz için teşekkür ederim!

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Google translation:

Hello everyone, I'm considering developing a System-on-Module (SOM) for the STM32 series, similar to the popular ESP32 SOM modules. I wanted to ask for your opinion: Is this a reasonable/logical project, or is the market already saturated? We are a small hardware development company/startup. We currently have a few products in our portfolio and want to select new, higher-value products for our product range. We are seriously considering this STM32 SOM module. I would really appreciate your opinions on the following specifications:

Is there a real market demand for a well-designed STM32-based SOM module?

• What kinds of technical challenges should we expect to encounter?
• Are there any general critical points such as cost, certifications, supply chain, inventory management, etc.?
• Is there a similar product here, or is there one currently available? What lessons have been learned from this process?
• Is there an alternative product lifecycle that's more suitable for a small hardware team, where this connection doesn't work optimally?

Thank you for all your feedback and suggestions!

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[Pavel A.]

ESP chips/modules provide very valuable low cost wireless connectivity, this is hard to beat.

STM32-based SOMs already exist - but, as you can see, there isn't a lot of products like that. But there are a lot of boards like WeAct,  small learning and evaluation thingies. STM32 motor controllers are also widespread.

So the question is - have you studied the market? Have you identified any interesting niche? STM32s alone are cheap, you need to add value that justifies cost of connector between SoM and host board.

[Andrew Neil]

As a business, these are really the questions you should be working on yourself in developing your business case!

One big difference between ESP32 and STM32 is that the ESP32 has the WiFi and BLE integrated on the chip; it's not just a system-on-module - it's an actual system-on-chip (SoC).

It is, indeed, a quite a glaring omission that there is no WiFi SoC in the STM32 lineup!

But it's going to be a tall order for a newcomer with, apparently, no experience to compete with an established player like ESP32.

And remember that making a module like this would not be just a ship-and-forget product - people will expect support in using and integrating your module ...

[Andrew Neil]

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@Andrew Neil wrote:

It is, indeed, a quite a glaring omission that there is no WiFi SoC in the STM32 lineup!

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ST do now have the ST67W WiFi devices, but these are just co-processors - they require a separate host:

https://www.st.com/en/wireless-connectivity/wi-fi-products.html