So, I was lying in bed last night (because this is the sort of stuff I think about when I can't sleep) and I hopped on the old googlemachine and found the ESP32-CAM module, see here: https://www.dfrobot.com/product-1879.html
The basic gist here is that it's an ESP32-S2 mated to an OV2640 camera (2MP).
Now, that's not super interesting, until you look at the ESP32-S2-MINI-1:
It's a module only slightly bigger (20mm x 15.4mm x 2.4mm) as the ESP-12S (16mm x 17mm x 3mm), which means we might be able to fit it.
Now the one thing I haven't done a pinout mapping study. As in, is it possible, with a custom board fab, to add a camera without losing some other functionality?
I've ordered one of the modules this morning so I can mess with the code and get the video streaming working. Code will be up on GitHub.
Anyone interested in playing?
I'm not sure it will work with the current module - the ESP32-CAM is an ESP32-S2 which has an hardware camera control via I2S.
This doesn't mean that it won't work with the existing module per se - there are I2C cameras, for example, but they tend to be bandwidth limited, so 720p at 30fps might be tricky (I'd have to look at it more).
Yes. Certainly. If you can get that working and with your permission happy to integrate into our current module. We've already been looking into this and other similar ideas of advancing the hobby such that it can benefit from the cool features that technology has to offer. Extra pair of helping hands is always welcome!