Making a Robot Brain the size of a Penny

[@PCBWay]

It is always a pleasure for us to be a part of your great idea!😊

[@joeblow229]

I've only ordered a few PCBs from you guys over the years, but I really appreciate you sponsoring makers :) Whenever I need a PCB, you guys are my go-to company to order from!

[@PCBWay]

@@joeblow229Pleasure to hear that

[@shaneomacmcgee]

- WiFi + Bluetooth - Onboard antenna - Battery charging - USB-C - Handful of GPIO - Castellated pads - Affordable - Smol I've been looking for this exact thing for so long and thought I was crazy when I couldn't find a good solution. Thank you Carl!!

[@1974UTuber]

Carl, your inventiveness and innovation never ceases to amaze me. Keep up the great work

[@qdaniele97]

This is almost exactly what I was looking for (a small ESP32 board with battery circuitry and an IMU in a tiny package). The only missing thing would be ZigBee instead of power-hungry WiFi. Please cosider selling a ESP32-C6 and/or ESP32-H2 equiped version. They should both work as drop-in replacements for the ESP32-C3 without requiring any change to the PCB whatsoever. It could even be an option on the website like the IMU is.

[@testman9541]

If WiFi is not an option for you, there is still BLE and ESPNow on board 🎉

[@WhatsTheWordBozo]

Worst case scenario you can buy it and attach a C6 yourself. The cost for that is negligible

[@qdaniele97]

@@WhatsTheWordBozo Maybe I'm wrong, but I believe they have BGA-like pads to solder under the module itself, instead of just castellated contacts on the edges. If that's the case, it would be way beyond what my soldering skills and equipment are capable of 😅

[@AlexKarasev]

@@qdaniele97 But then they wouldn't be drop-in replacements! BGAs and other SMCs can in theory / in a pinch be done in a household convection oven like the one used for turkeys on thanksgiving (not to be confised with a microwave, haha). Just be double super extra sure everything is lead-free etc esp the solder paste.

[@iso_2013]

@@AlexKarasev it would still be a drop-in replacement, just means it's a lot easier for the manufacturer to do the 'dropping'

[@chococookie9936]

as student major in EE, i can confirm that srinking a controller board to the absolute smollest while still keeping many features is not only impressive but it's the most cutest thing i've seen i'm currently geeking out rn

[@erikslagter3231]

Carl, everything you do is gold

[@CarlBugeja]

thanks! glad you liked it! :)

[@deaneatsgreens]

You have no idea how many of these are going to sell. I've seen so many mini RC tutorials around that have 500 steps and parts/tools. This is a game changer

[@CarlBugeja]

Thank you so much for the feedback 🙂 I m glad you liked it!

[@WhatsTheWordBozo]

You should really put in your video that you can save up to 45$ in shipping by not adding on the battery. I took it off and it dropped the price from 90$ to 40$ which turns the product from kind of stressing pricing to actually very reasonable for a research device. If I buy a lipo locally on amazon I can get like 20 of them for that markup.

[@SverreDraaisma]

This is great, the fun side effect is that you have made a slime tracker board as well. Slime tracker is a vr full body tracker using the bno085 imus

[@lebasson]

So well done! Having followed your channel for a while now, I can be confident that this board is well-designed. By the looks of it you've already prepared super nice examples for it too. That's an easy buy. Congrats, hope this does well for you.

[@Samuel-eu1ts]

This looks perfect for a DIY motion suit, I wanted to design a board like this for ages, 30eur per board is pretty good considering how feature packed it is, data could be streamed & synchronized over ESP-NOW. Awesome!

[@RubenKelevra]

If you glue enough of them on a silicone mask it could be used for facial expression tracking, too ;)

[@ellabun]

I have been looking for exactly this (non-IMU and IMU version) for ages! I will undoubtedly be buying more of them in the future

[@dfgaJK]

I wish you could've squeezed some motor drivers or just mosfets on there for direct motor drive. (4 mosfets and you would've had yourself a mini drone!)

[@NigelTolley]

I wish a few manufacturers would do this - there's lots of stuff that needs more than 20mA out there!

[@Mike-Denver]

Congrats, well done! Brilliant enineeering - this is the true power of intelligence! Looking forward to seeing more designs and peices of tech from you! Just keep doing what your are doing!

[@SkylineIn2016]

Your ability to cramp so much function in such a small form factor is crazy

[@bdot02]

This is a super cool project, thanks for sharing and making it a product available to us!

[@aspzx]

This looks amazing. I love that you make a version without the IMU available for half the price. Great work.

[@msmithdev1369]

I literally had this same exact board (bit larger same BNO08X sensor) ready for pcbway and i come across this video. Unbelievable, i bought 3 can't wait to get them.

[@alejandroperez5368]

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="265">04:25</a> Not just common and safe, it's actually the recommended way to go.

[@bjiirn]

This could also be interesting for SlimeVR Body Tracking since it supports the ESP32-C3 and the BNO085. However i could not find the shematic so i don't know if the wireing would work with the default firmware. UPDATE: I just saw that the pins can now be configured in the SlimeVR Firmware tool. So it should work.

[@GiovanniIgorCesarotto]

How didn't i see this in these 2 weeks? I needed a small, compact, battery powered board with motion sensing capabilities, it's insane how much stuff is packaged in here!

[@atom1496]

A pin matched board with a bldc driver and magnetic encoder would be very very cool.

[@fsdfghwaihjfkdasjfka]

You could stack capacitors if you need more

[@almosthuman4457]

I like it. I'll keep this in mind for future projects.

[@neofuturist]

OMG, cries in poor :), I was able to buy one, but it ended up being 60€ in total, whyyyyy am I so poor :) Edit: you still deserve 6 stars for this crazy project +1 Edit2: I just bought one with giro, I have no self control eheheh

[@CarlBugeja]

unfortunately to ship the battery we can only use fedex box, which i agree is a bit expensive.. but is necessary to ship LiPos.. All other options can ship with international post and also include a wire to use your own battery :)

[@neofuturist]

@@CarlBugeja no worry, totally worth it +1

[@Extra_Mental]

That little remote car looks really cool

[@KeepoHdee]

The store looks great! Quality content as always, looking forward to the next video.

[@default19in]

Bro hats off mind blowing invention.

[@TaniaKisha]

You are crazy in good way. That's why I love your videos! :)

[@BloodAsp]

2 weeks ago I bought a bag of 20 ESP32 C3 Super Mini for less than $15 total, shipping included. I hate to not support creators because you did put a ton of work into it and I can see it in the final product. But I apologize, for throwing a ton of sensors around the house with ESPHome, I'm sticking with these little guys. Much love though, your projects are always top notch 100% amazing, keep at it!!

[@ninjacodertech]

this is soooo cool!

[@sethswheelhouse]

Hey Carl. Im the same Seth that hit you up a while ago about using drivecells in my small robotics project. Thanks for responding and talking with me. The new drive cell library is much better.

[@terrygould3230]

This seems like the ideal project for active embedded components, maybe worth getting in touch with someone like Wurth Elektonik who has a lot of experience in this, they may be up for a collaboration

[@ArnaudMEURET]

Makers tend to forget that they use **development** boards in their final designs. You didn't "design another one" you just integrated the MCU in your custom design. As you're supposed to do.

[@ExtravagantEthan]

This is gonna be a gamechanger for my sonic screwdriver build

[@ofsanjay]

That small factor micro controllers are the best thing.

[@weasel.3683]

THIS is AMAZING! I hope I can get one in time!

[@Khether0001]

You are a real life wizard! 😊

[@OficinadoArthur]

Really nice piece of engeneering!

[@SianaGearz]

I like external antenna because then i can place electronics on alu or steel sheet if need be and don't need to worry about occlusion/detuning so much, more flexibility. USB cable only a little attenuation because the metallisation is barely a couple millimetres across, which is a lot less than 29mm.

[@TaseenAli]

This is amazing! I already got a few projects I could implement in 😮

[@koraypekericli]

Fantastic stuff, again! 🙂

[@WoLpH]

The XIAO ESP32C6 is the same size as the C3 and has an internal antenna in addition to a connection for an external one. And it has zigbee, which could be convenient for power usage.

[@WoLpH]

With that in mind, you could make your design smaller by using one of those ceramic 3D antenna's that Seeed uses for the XIAO C6.

[@aL3891_]

This is really cool :) it would be awesome to see a version with express lrs as a control link since the range is so much greater as well 🙂

[@MadonnaDiFonti]

I think this is exactly what many were looking for. I will take some. However another downside of the USB C port location is that it might be a bit inconvenient to make it accessible when printing a case with a 3d printer

[@CarlBugeja]

so far i've built multiple cases for different projects and i have to agree.. but it a small inconvenience considering what it packs in such a small area..some clever 3d design can also make it easier for the usb connector to be more accessible through the housing

[@rboutrois9093]

So much features in this tiny volume, you did a really nice job Carl ! Even took the time to do a pretty nice animation for the intro ! What did you used ? Blender ?

[@geepytee]

This is really cool!

[@dave20874]

OMG, this is my dream prototyping module.

[@francescodirienzo3211]

wonderful project! if you rotate the c port 90 degrees and make it exit like the battery connector? this would increase the thickness but give you more space on the board. Another thing I thought of was putting a small piece of flat cable so that the c port could be rotated

[@JonathanDeWitt1988]

I would be very interested to see any robot kits you start selling with these. I just bought a 3-pack of the XIAO ESP32S3 boards from Seeed Studio for my latest project. I was aware of the need for the external antenna and am just hoping it isn't strictly necessary when my controls will be so close to the board if I even go with external controls. But this looks like a great alternative if that doesn't prove to be the case. Thank you for taking the time to create and share it.

[@thewatersavior]

This looks awesome - im in the TinyDuino space and stacking boards makes it big. this looks solid!

[@maker101io]

This is really great! I'm jealous 😇🥂

[@colororb4105]

This seems pretty interesting as a SlimeVR tracking puck! Unfortunately the ESP32 isn't efficient enough to work off a small battery, but if this used an nRF52840 instead it could use the experimental SmolSlime firmware and last weeks! (although the nRF doesn't have wifi, it has BT, Thread, NFC, and more) The BNO085 is the same IMU used in the official SlimeVR design, but now the cheaper LSM6dso or LSM6dsv (dsv is the newest) are becoming new favorites. They're much more power efficient and apparently about as accurate if not better. They don't have magnetometers, but usually the BNO085's isn't used by the Slime software anyways

[@KentBrono]

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[@BaffySchenck]

Well all i know is that you cannot go wrong taking profit at near high. No one ever went broke taking a ~20% profit. It's best if you consult with a fiduciary advisor in situations like this so you can make informed decisions.

[@MagdaleneM-f3q]

That's a great analogy and I love the insight. Professionals could make a really big difference in investing, and I think everyone should have one. There are aspects of market trend that is difficult for the untrained eyes to see.

[@PajinakStanovska]

That's a great tip. I'm setting out 50k to invest in the market this year. Any particularly useful tips you could offer to me?

[@MagdaleneM-f3q]

My CFA JULIANNE IWERSEN NIEMANN' a renowned figure in her line of work. I recommend researching her credentials further... She has many years of experience and is a valuable resource for anyone looking to navigate the financial market..

[@JIN-u6t3t]

Thank you for sharing this. I took the time to Google the individual you mentioned, and after reviewing her resume, it is evident that she is a seasoned professional. I have reached out to her and am eagerly awaiting her response.

[@jimjjewett]

That gap for the USB cord is thick enough that I wonder whether some components could go between the boards, at least in some future version.

[@Yunora]

Finally something to compete with the M5 Atom.

[@osmancelik4244]

SO COOL, IT'S AMAZING!

[@technogeek48]

Addition of very compact camera can be interesting for Small AI powered robot.

[@livdbest2942]

Keep up the Good Work !!!!👍👍 Bravoooo 👏👏👏

[@DIYtechie]

Awesome chip. Would love to have ESPHome templates for it.

[@gambler301]

Looks amazing, as all of your projects. I am just worried that the PCB antenna might behave poorly. ( esp32 has a very small range when connecting to other ESP with PCB antenna.)

[@CarlBugeja]

Thank you so much! 🙂 So far we didn't have any issues with the antenna's performance with all the tests I showed

[@eemhi]

Thanks for sharing 🎉

[@fullsendmarinedarwin7244]

Insane how small electronics are getting these days. Very impressive

[@AlexFoster2291]

They're not just 'getting' small. People are designing them

[@fullsendmarinedarwin7244]

@@AlexFoster2291 well, duh.

[@BamTehBrent]

Insanely cool

[@whynotbuildit]

buying now

[@ThomasHaberkorn]

wow great design! Maybe you could also integrate a Power latch (e.g. with TPL5110) to enable years of battery life

[@CarlBugeja]

thanks! that's the only missing thing on it! its not bad but the onboard addressable led isn't sleep current friendly - its impossible to fit but if there's space i'm going to try and add for v2 if it ever gets there 🙃

[@OZtwo]

Very cool! But I still say that you really need to design a Cozmo that has a brain. I so much want to have a small robot that can roam around the house indexing new items and even be able to take small items back to its' home base.

[@abidshahriar7095]

EMI cries in the side

[@juanmacias5922]

Pretty cool! I'd love trying to use it to build a micro mouse. :D

[@peterevenhuis2663]

Malta power, hahaha, great project and amazing results.

[@DanelonNicolas]

I want a kit to build that tiny robot car 🥰

[@CarlBugeja]

Coming soon

[@Electheo]

Wow I'm amazed. This is so impressive!!! How many board layers & what trace thickness did you use to get it this small?

[@shigai9727]

Hey! Would love to see you become the next competitor with Seeed Studio. I’m stuck with Seeed for so long and they are my only option. Please build one like Xiao ESP32 Sense board with ESP32 C6. I will buy a ton of them!

[@remotepinecone]

FYI the C6 has a built in antenna

[@111chicane]

ESP32 drains over 100mA with BT and Wi-Fi on. Not sure how is that a good choice for a battery operated miniature robot.

[@marvtomson574]

I would've created a proprietary power connection, avoiding a big bulky USB C cable port soldered onto the board.

[@GoatZilla]

there gonna be a tiny motor controller board to go with it? stuff like this does better with accessories. also prefer to use lifeo4 cells.

[@Fred_Klingon]

Great work as always. What about cutting the PCB antenna and soldering it in vertical? I don't know if it invalidates the FCC compliancy (probably yes), but it will make the size smaller, solve the connected usb port issue and also be high a little more of the usb port itself. 🙂

[@MatteoCelani-c9g]

I cant glue the board on the 3d printer because there is antenna. So there is some space between the 3d printed wall and the usb c. Can u move the antenna to the opposite side? Sorry for the entlish

[@idkfkingknowlmao]

As someone who designs and measures antennas, the problem is not that the cable is shielded or not. The problem is that those antennas are designed while assuming that underneath them is free space, if you introduce an object (obviously metallic objects are worse) in the antenna's near-field, you change it's S11 (reflection coefficient) and radiation pattern, and it's efficiency *MIGHT* drop, since more power is reflected back to the source. I say might because the response is actually unpredictable, even I designing antennas for a living don't exactly know what might happen when certain objects are placed. RF is black magic after all. However, as you tested, the antenna seems to be responding quite well to the USB-C cable so... fair game! Good job though!

[@jimjjewett]

Would it still be a problem when the cable isn't plugged in, just because of the socket? Because otherwise, it seems pretty reasonable to not use wireless _while_ it is plugged into USB.

[@idkfkingknowlmao]

@@jimjjewett It depends on where the socket is placed, rule of thumb you try to follow the "Antenna cutout" most datasheets include and not place anything beneath it which, as you can see at 5:28, he followed pretty well, so the socket such cause little to no problems. It also helped that he used a thicker substrate on the bottom, keeping the socket further away from the antenna. Usually the problems you see is just a loss of efficiency and the antenna still works at those frequencies, just a little worse (unless you really ignore the cutout and just place whatever you want underneath it).

[@thijsvanliempd2824]

i like that you went with an ESP32, BUT i don't love the C3. The S3 is a real successor to the original ESP32, whereas the C# series come closer to an ESP8266 IMO. Still a decent MCU though

[@coolbits2235]

A smaller 6 pin connector to extend USB and charging would have been a good idea. I mean sideways mounted 0.5 mil or smaller connector.

[@marcosalas6413]

This makes me want to try to make new stuff! Also, would it be able to work in clusters?

[@makermark210]

When will the Codecell+Sensors be available again? I can hardly wait for them 🙂

[@portaillstonk1526]

that great it look like it could be use for Vr Full body tracking.

[@Damian-zf2ij]

Amazing!

[@eoadev2602]

Very nice design!! Which IMU is that?

[@TheRainHarvester]

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="5">0:05</a> how did you do those snazzy 3d graphics with the led cone of light?!

[@profd808]

This was damn intresting!!

[@dummypg6129]

how about vertical usb-c port?

[@RubenKelevra]

Why?

[@zeDoSauRus]

TAKE MY MONEY

[@NoBody-bm9if]

Why would the shielding not affect the signal propagation? Its basically a grounded metal plane which should have a huge impact on signal propagation. Cool project though.

[@MaDmanEXE]

So if a radio module is FCC/CE certified, then whole board can be?

[@houba28]

good question that I would like to know the answer too!

[@chrisrose708]

New board would need certified as well, but the process is cheaper/faster than it would be otherwise.

[@houba28]

@@chrisrose708 thanks

[@AverageJoe928]

Yep, chrisrose708 is correct. A final device needs to be certified to FCC CFR 47, part 15 if it has an oscillator above 9kHz. The scope of testing is reduced if you use a certified wireless chip. I had EMC testing performed on a device about 2 years ago that uses an ESP32 chip and the testing and report cost about $2,100.

[@jimjjewett]

@@AverageJoe928 Is it easier because the part that isn't certified yet isn't an _intentional_ oscillator, or is there some extra advantage to having components that already went through certificattion?

[@LediesR]

For battery applications, it would be interesting to know if the integrated sensors can bring the ESP out of sleep mode? Can the VCNL4040 light sensor or the BNO085 motion sensor do this? thx

[@frankdearr2772]

Great thanks

[@Ruhgtfo]

Won't be suprising that new gen toddler spying of their parents with Scratch in future

[@jimmy21584]

How is the power consumption in deep sleep mode? Having microamp deep sleep on a small ESP32 board with battery would make it a must-have for me.

[@danielbarbieri4097]

Looks Great! BTW what's the actuator on <a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="351">5:51</a>?

[@william64201]

Amazing

[@duemilanove1844]

@CarlBugeja, how you rendered 3D pcb <a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="399">06:39</a>? Can you please make a tutorial on that??

[@CarlBugeja]

done by @samerps check out his stuff! www.youtube.com/@samerps

[@duemilanove1844]

@@CarlBugeja thanks