RoboCore 2.0 – ESP32-S3 Robotics Controller Board

RoboCore 2.0 is my second-generation robotics controller board, designed as a compact and reliable platform for small mobile robots.

It focuses on stable power delivery, clean signal routing, and easy debugging, making it a solid controller for future robotics projects.

📌 Main Use Cases

Differential-drive robot controller

Line-following + PID speed control

IMU-based motion / balancing experiments

Multi-sensor robotics platform

3D PCB View:

PCB Front Layer:

PCB Back Layer:

🧩 PCB Design Overview

RoboCore 2.0 is built on a 2-layer FR-4 PCB (1.6 mm) and optimized for robotics wiring and testing.

✅ Microcontroller Section

ESP32-S3 module (USB, Wi-Fi, BLE, dual-core)

Proper EN/BOOT circuitry and decoupling based on Espressif reference designs

Reliable USB flashing + stable auto-reset behavior

✅ Power Distribution

5V rail for motors and sensors

3.3V rail for logic and I²C devices

Decoupling capacitors placed close to ICs for stable operation

✅ Motor Driver + Encoder Area

TB6612FNG dual H-bridge motor driver

Independent PWM control per motor

IN1/IN2 direction control

Wider copper traces near motor current paths

Encoder signals routed short and clean for noise immunity

✅ IMU + I²C Architecture

MPU6050 IMU (Accel + Gyro)

Connected via TCA9548A I²C multiplexer

I²C wiring grouped and tuned for stable 400 kHz operation

Expansion channels available for OLED + extra sensors

✅ Sensors & Headers

3× IR sensors (ADC inputs)

Ultrasonic sensor header (TRIG/ECHO)

Dedicated headers for OLED + encoders

Clear silkscreen labels for easier wiring

✨ Key Features

🔥 Hardware Highlights

MCU: ESP32-S3 (USB + Wi-Fi + BLE)

Motor Control: 2× DC motors via TB6612FNG

Feedback: Left & right quadrature encoders (A/B)

IMU: MPU6050 via TCA9548A I²C MUX

Sensors:

3× IR sensors (line following / edge detection)

Ultrasonic sensor header (TRIG/ECHO)

I²C expansion ports for additional modules

🧪 Debug-Friendly Design

USB flashing + Serial monitor ready

Test firmware included for each subsystem

Python tools to visualize IMU angle (including live 3D viewer)

🧪 Test Firmware (ESP-IDF)

This project includes ESP-IDF based tests to validate the board step-by-step.

1) IMU Angle Viewer (imu_angle_test)

Reads MPU6050 via TCA9548A (channel 0)

Uses complementary filtering (acc + gyro)

Example logs:

Angle: 2.15 deg | AccAngle: 0.60 | GyroY: 2.38 dps | dt: 0.013 s

✅ Verifies:

I²C bus stability

MUX channel selection

MPU6050 configuration and readings

2) Motor + Encoder Test (motor_encoder_test)

Drives both motors forward/back using PWM

Reads encoder A/B channels and prints counts + direction

✅ Confirms:

TB6612FNG wiring and control

Motor supply path

Encoder signal integrity

3) Ultrasonic + OLED + IR Test (sensors_test)

Ultrasonic distance measurement

IR ADC readings

OLED shows live sensor values + prints over serial

✅ Validates:

Stable 5V / 3.3V rails under load

I²C operation with OLED + MUX

Correct ADC mapping for IR sensors

🧰 Python Tools

Helper scripts can be added (optional):

imu_angle_plot.py – angle vs time plot

imu_3d_viewer.py – real-time 3D orientation view

Requirements

pip install pyserial matplotlib

⚠️ Tip: Close idf_monitor before running Python scripts on the same COM port.

🚀 Getting Started (ESP-IDF)

Prerequisites

ESP-IDF (v5.5.1 used)

Python 3.x + pyserial + matplotlib

USB cable

Build & Flash

idf.py set-target esp32s3

idf.py menuconfig # optional

idf.py build

• idf.py flash monitor