espClock: an ESPHome touchscreen clock with animated cars, ants, and flip digits

ESPHome
1

Title: espClock: an ESPHome touchscreen clock with animated cars, ants, and flip digits

Hi everyone,

I built espClock, an ESPHome touchscreen clock with three animated display modes:

  • Cars: cars drive into place to form the time. Tap one and it explodes, drives away, and gets replaced.
  • Ants: ants gather to form the digits, scatter around your touch, and rearrange as the time changes.
  • Flip Glass: glass-style digits with a split-flap animation.

I can switch modes by swiping the screen or selecting one in Home Assistant. The clock remembers the selected mode after restarting and gets its time from Home Assistant. I also included Bluetooth proxy support.

I built the firmware and examples specifically for the Guition/Jingcai JC3248W535 ESP32-S3 module, with a 3.5-inch capacitive touchscreen, 16 MB flash, and 8 MB PSRAM.

One reason I like this module is that it already comes with the screen and bezel, with the electronics covered apart from the expansion pins on the back. No separate case, enclosure, or 3D printing is needed. After configuring and flashing it through ESPHome, I can use it as-is with USB power.

Hardware: The module I used on AliExpress

Code, animated previews, and setup instructions: espClock on GitHub

The supplied configuration targets this particular module, so other ESP32 displays will need adjustments.

I’d love to hear what you think, especially if you try it or have ideas for another clock mode!

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