Empowered by the Ecosystem: Learning Embedded Rust with uFerris

Welcome to Empowered by the Ecosystem: Learning Embedded Rust with uFerris! This hands-on workshop teaches you how to navigate the embedded Rust ecosystem and write bare-metal Rust for the ESP32-C3 using esp-hal.

About This Workshop

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This workshop takes a different approach to learning embedded development. Instead of walking you through peripheral configurations step by step, you’ll learn how to teach yourself — by navigating the embedded Rust ecosystem, reading documentation effectively, and adapting existing examples to your own needs.

This workshop teaches embedded Rust development using the ESP32-C3 microcontroller and the esp-hal crate. Rather than following step-by-step tutorials, you’ll learn to navigate the ecosystem, read documentation, and adapt examples independently.

By the end of this workshop, you will be able to:

• Navigate the embedded Rust ecosystem — find the right abstractions, understand the layers, and know where to look for answers
• Read embedded Rust documentation — in crate docs, source code, and example repositories
• Apply the Instantiate → Configure → Control pattern — a mental model that works for every peripheral, every HAL, every driver crate
• Adapt existing examples to new use cases by exploring configuration options and control methods in the documentation

How This Workshop Works

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Every hands-on module follows the same workflow:

1. Read — Start with a working example
2. Understand — Study the code and map it to the documentation
3. Adapt — Modify the example to do something different by discovering new options in the docs
4. Extend — Stretch goals to push yourself to navigate unfamiliar documentation independently

Prerequisites

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The workshop requires that the software setup is completed before the workshop day. The goal is zero time spent on toolchain issues during the workshop itself. Refer to Workshop Setup for the steps.

Agenda

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• Overview: The Embedded Rust Ecosystem: Understanding the abstraction layers and the Instantiate → Configure → Control mental model
• Assignment 1: GPIO Exercises: Blinky, button input, and cross-HAL comparison
• Assignment 2: I2C Exercises: Bus scanning, I/O expander control, and adaptation challenges
• Assignment 3: Interrupt Exercises: GPIO interrupts and I/O expander interrupt
• Assignment 4: BSP Exercises: Redoing exercises with the uFerris Board Support Package
• Wrap-Up and Next Steps: Mental model recap and where to go from here

Time Requirements

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Feedback

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If you have any feedback about the workshop, feel free to start a new discussion on GitHub.