Help needed with ESP32-S3 AI CAM and Edge Impulse Setup
Solarflare2 2025-07-13 02:26:21 947 Views6 Replies Hi everyone,
I’ve been following the official tutorial from DFRobot on object detection using the ESP32-S3 AI CAM and EdgeImpulse (https://wiki.dfrobot.com/EdgeImpulse_Object_Detection), but I’ve run into some issues and missing information that I’m hoping the community can help with.
First, the guide doesn’t mention which Target device to select on the Edge Impulse website when creating the project. I’m not sure what the correct option is for the ESP32-S3 AI CAM. → I would go for the Espressif ESP-EYE Target. Are there any adjustments to be made for the RAM, ROM or Latency?
Also, the tutorial refers to downloading the following files:
conv.cpp, depthwise_conv.cpp and the “edge_camera” folder → the edge_camera folder is missing in my project download from EdgeImpulse.
Unfortunately, these files are not provided or linked anywhere that I can find.
Another point I'm unsure about:
When building the model on EdgeImpulse, should I use the EON Compiler or TensorFlow Lite for the ESP32-S3 AI CAM?
The tutorial doesn’t clarify which one is compatible or recommended for this hardware.
Has anyone successfully completed this setup?
Would anyone happen to have a more detailed guide or working example of using the ESP32-S3 AI CAM with Edge Impulse, including the correct project settings and where to get the missing files?
Any help would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks in advance!
Sebastian
Hello everyone,
I wanted to share the solution to the problem I had with my ESP32-S3 AI Camera V1.0, where the board was stuck in a reboot loop and I couldn’t upload new firmware.
The fix was suggested by the Espressif community and is actually simple:
Steps to enter the ROM bootloader mode and flash again:
1. Hold down the BOOT button.
2. Press and release the RESET button for a short moment while keeping BOOT pressed.
3. Start the upload in Arduino IDE
4. Keep BOOT pressed until you see the upload begin (Connecting…).
5. After that, you can release it.
This sequence forces the ESP32-S3 into download mode, bypassing the faulty firmware that was causing the reboot loop.
Hopefully, this helps others who might face the same issue!
Thanks again to the Espressif forum for their help.
Best regards,
Sebastian
Solarflare2 I have also tried the FlashTool from Espressif - to erase the chip, but that one is also failing:
Solarflare2 Here is an image from the upload process. Due to the reboot loop, the upload process is unable to set up a connection to the target.
Solarflare2 Thank you, Tonny12138. At the moment, I can compile my project, but I have difficulties uploading it to the AI CAM device.
Currently, the target is stuck in a reboot loop, and I have tried different button pressing combinations of the Boot and Reboot buttons - so far, without success. Any thoughts? I really appreciate any help you can provide.
Solarflare2 Hi, here are some recommendations to address your concerns.
1. Select ESP-EYE
2. Files can be found here: https://github.com/DFRobot/DFR1154_Examples/tree/master/6.4%20Train%20the%20edgeimpulse%20model
3. Use TensorFlow Lite as the compiler
Tonny12138 
