Heart Rate Monitoring System with ESP32

Project by Master QAT (Qasim Aisha)
SSS3 Student | AI & Robotics Enthusiast, ijebu-ode Nigeria

A low-cost wearable prototype for real-time heart rate monitoring. Built to develop mechatronics and embedded systems skills for health applications and assistive robotics.

Features

• Real-time BPM calculation using simulated pulse signal
• OLED display showing live readings
• Visual alerts: Green LED (normal), Red LED (abnormal)
• Buzzer for audio warning
• Adjustable threshold using potentiometer

Components (Real Hardware)

• ESP32 microcontroller
• MAX30100 Pulse Oximeter sensor (real design)
• OLED Display (SSD1306)
• Red & Green LEDs
• Buzzer
• Potentiometer

Note: In the Wokwi simulation, a potentiometer is used to simulate the pulse signal because the MAX30100 sensor component is not available in the free version of Wokwi. The actual hardware version uses the real MAX30100 sensor (see circuit diagram below).

Wokwi Simulation (Interactive)

🔗 Live Simulation: https://wokwi.com/projects/460302863710109697

Visuals

Red LED and Buzzer turn ON when reading is abnormal

Green LED turns ON when reading is normal

Circuit diagram with actual MAX30100 sensor and components

Challenges Faced

• Noisy or unstable readings when simulating pulse signal
• Tuning the threshold to avoid false alerts
• Managing display flicker and timing in the loop
• Difference between simulation (potentiometer) and real MAX30100 sensor behavior

What I Learned

• How to read analog signals and detect beats on ESP32
• Basic real-time embedded programming and alert systems
• Importance of simulation tools like Wokwi for rapid testing
• The gap between simulated and real hardware (sensor noise, calibration)

Connection to Physical AI & Future Goals

Inspired by NVIDIA GTC 2026 and the Physical AI wave (GR00T, Isaac Lab, Cosmos), I want to evolve this project into smarter systems.
Future ideas:

• Use Isaac Lab simulation to test wearables on moving bodies
• Generate synthetic data with Cosmos to improve accuracy in real conditions
• Combine with Smart Gloves or Muscle EMG projects for intelligent assistive robotics and prosthetics

This project is part of my preparation for Robotics / Mechatronics at KAIST.

Code

Main code: heart-rate-monitor.ino
Real MAX30100 version code is also included in the repository MAX30100.cpp .

Author

Master QAT (Qasim Aisha)
SSS3 Student preparing for WAEC
Aspiring KAIST Robotics/Mechatronics Student
ijebu-ode, Nigeria

Topics: esp32, heart-rate-monitor, wearable, mechatronics, physical-ai, student-project