The ESP8266 is a microcontroller integrated circuit with Wi-Fi connectivity developed by the Chinese manufacturer Espressif Systems.
In August 2014, electronics enthusiasts began to take an interest in the ESP-01 version of this integrated circuit, produced by a third-party company, AI-Thinker. This compact chip allows a microcontroller to connect to a Wi-Fi network and establish TCP/IP connections using Hayes commands. The gradual translation of the documentation (originally only in Chinese), driven by the circuit’s low price, has fostered the development of a community of developers and enthusiasts of the ESP8266.