Documents

- Building a Circuit Sculpture with LED Filament -- Episode 707

Animating an LED Snowflake with micro:bit

This project continues Natasha’s LED Snowflake circuit sculpture, moving on from the physical build and into animation and interaction. After spending time working with LED filament as a material, learning how fragile it is and how bright it can be, this stage of the project is about figuring out how to animate the sculpture in a way that feels natural once it is powered up.

Animation is not treated as a separate technical step, but as part of the same process that shaped the original build. The aim is not to add movement just for the sake of it, but to work out what kind of animation actually makes sense for the shape and layout of the snowflake.

From LED Groups to Early Animation Ideas

The snowflake is made up of eight separate groups of LED filament, each forming a visible section of the overall design. Electrically, each group is bundled together and connected to a single wire. This means the sculpture is animated by sections rather than by individual LEDs.

Before connecting anything to a micro:bit, Natasha powered the LED groups directly to see how they looked when switched on in different combinations. This simple step made a big difference later on. By turning sections on and off by hand, it became much easier to see which parts of the snowflake naturally stood out and which worked better as supporting elements.

Some activation orders felt messy very quickly, while others immediately suggested a direction for animation. It became clear early on that the order in which the sections were lit mattered far more than how fast they changed.

Prototyping with micro:bit and MakeCode

To keep things flexible, Natasha started with a temporary setup using a breadboard‑compatible micro:bit adapter that already had pins soldered on. This made it easy to connect and disconnect the LED groups using jumper wires and spring‑hook leads, without committing to solder before the behaviour was understood.

Because the LED groups were not wired to the micro:bit in numerical order, the first challenge in MakeCode was simply keeping things organised. Instead of rewiring the sculpture, Natasha created an array of pin assignments in the code. This made it much easier to experiment with different animation orders without touching the hardware.

Early test programs stepped through this array and turned each LED group on and off. While this confirmed that everything was wired correctly, it also showed that a basic linear sequence did not really suit the snowflake.

From there, the focus shifted to how the snowflake is actually laid out. The centre sections felt like obvious starting points, with outer layers responding after. Animations began to feel more like bursts that spread outward, with secondary sections filling in behind the main movement.

Learning the Limits of Analogue Control

The original plan was to fade all of the LED groups smoothly using analogue PWM outputs. With the number of pins available on the micro:bit, this seemed like it should work. In practice, only a few groups would fade correctly at the same time.

After some troubleshooting, the reason became clear. Even though many micro:bit pins appear to support PWM, only three analogue outputs can be used at once. Trying to use more than that causes the others to stop working.

At that point, there was a decision to make. Switching to a different microcontroller would have solved the problem, but it would also have meant rethinking parts that had already been chosen for this build, including the edge connector and mounting method. Instead, Natasha chose to work within the limitation.

By dropping the idea of smooth fades and focusing on digital on and off animation, the sculpture actually started to look better. The sharper transitions suited the snowflake’s graphic shape, and the animations felt clearer and more intentional. What started as a frustration ended up defining the final look of the piece.

Final Assembly and Practical Details

Once the pin assignments and animation approach were decided, the sculpture was soldered permanently to a micro:bit edge connector. Each copper wire was bent into a small hook, threaded through the connector holes, and soldered securely. Excess wire was trimmed away to keep everything neat.

Mounting the connector brought its own challenges. Because it sat close to the edge of the wooden block, machine screws were used instead of wood screws to avoid damaging the edge. The micro:bit was mounted upside down on the back of the block, keeping it out of sight while still easy to access.

One last practical issue came up late in the build. With the micro:bit mounted so close to the block, a standard USB cable would not fit. A USB turnaround adapter solved the problem, redirecting the cable and switching the connection to USB‑C at the same time. It is a small part, but without it the whole mounting approach would have needed to change.

Adding Sound Interaction and Looking Ahead

For interactivity, Natasha used the micro:bit’s built‑in microphone. This kept the project simple while still allowing the snowflake to respond to its surroundings. Loud sounds trigger bursts of animation, making the sculpture react to voices, laughter, and music.

Using analogue volume levels was tested briefly, but the results did not look right. Differences in brightness between layers felt accidental rather than deliberate, which reinforced the decision to stick with bold digital animation.

In its finished form, the animated snowflake feels playful and responsive. It invites interaction and rewards experimentation, working equally well as a decorative object, a light sculpture, and something to simply play with.

More than anything, this project shows how useful constraints can be. Limits in hardware, pins, and physical space did not get in the way of the outcome. They shaped it. With LED filament now firmly established as a favourite material, this snowflake feels less like a final piece and more like the start of whatever comes next.

Supporting Links and Files

Bill of Materials

Product Name	Manufacturer	Quantity	Buy Kit
Micro:bit SBC, BBC MICRO:BIT SINGLE, V2.21, nRF52833	micro:bit	1	Buy Now
micro:bit Edge Connector	kitronik	1	Buy Now
Perf Board	phoenix contact	1	Buy Now

Additional Parts

Product Name	Manufacturer	Quantity
LED Filaments	Pretyzoom	1
20 Guage Copper Wire	Therwen	1
Small LED Snowflake	anso	1

Tags: LED sculpture, circuit sculpture, sound controlled LEDs, micro:bit project, sound reactive LEDs, digital LED animation, soldered LED project, micro:bit animation, interactive light sculpture, LED art electronics, e14presents_natasha, LED filament sculpture, micro:bit microphone project, friday_release

How to Make an LED Sculpture React to Sound with micro:bit

cstanton — Thu, 07 May 2026 13:31:43 GMT

Revision 6 posted to Documents by cstanton on 5/7/2026 1:31:43 PM

Watch the Build

- Building a Circuit Sculpture with LED Filament -- Episode 707

Animating an LED Snowflake with micro:bit

From LED Groups to Early Animation Ideas

Prototyping with micro:bit and MakeCode

Learning the Limits of Analogue Control

Final Assembly and Practical Details

Adding Sound Interaction and Looking Ahead

Supporting Links and Files

Bill of Materials

Product Name	Manufacturer	Quantity	Buy Kit
Micro:bit SBC, BBC MICRO:BIT SINGLE, V2.21, nRF52833	micro:bit	1	Buy Now
micro:bit Edge Connector	kitronik	1	Buy Now
Perf Board	phoenix contact	1	Buy Now

Additional Parts

Product Name	Manufacturer	Quantity
LED Filaments	Pretyzoom	1
20 Guage Copper Wire	Therwen	1
Small LED Snowflake	anso	1

How to Make an LED Sculpture React to Sound with micro:bit

cstanton — Thu, 07 May 2026 11:55:24 GMT

Revision 5 posted to Documents by cstanton on 5/7/2026 11:55:24 AM

Watch the Build

- Building a Circuit Sculpture with LED Filament -- Episode 707

Animating an LED Snowflake with micro:bit

From LED Groups to Early Animation Ideas

Prototyping with micro:bit and MakeCode

Learning the Limits of Analogue Control

Final Assembly and Practical Details

Adding Sound Interaction and Looking Ahead

Supporting Links and Files

How to Make an LED Sculpture React to Sound with micro:bit

cstanton — Thu, 07 May 2026 11:54:24 GMT

Revision 4 posted to Documents by cstanton on 5/7/2026 11:54:24 AM

Watch the Build

- Building a Circuit Sculpture with LED Filament -- Episode 707

Animating an LED Snowflake with micro:bit

From LED Groups to Early Animation Ideas

Prototyping with micro:bit and MakeCode

Learning the Limits of Analogue Control

Final Assembly and Practical Details

Adding Sound Interaction and Looking Ahead

Supporting Links and Files

How to Make an LED Sculpture React to Sound with micro:bit

cstanton — Thu, 07 May 2026 11:48:56 GMT

Revision 3 posted to Documents by cstanton on 5/7/2026 11:48:56 AM

Watch the Build

- Building a Circuit Sculpture with LED Filament -- Episode 707

Animating an LED Snowflake with micro:bit

From LED Groups to Early Animation Ideas

Prototyping with micro:bit and MakeCode

From there, the focus shifted to how the snowflake is actually laid out. The centre sections felt like obvious starting points, with outer layers responding afterward. Animations began to feel more like bursts that spread outward, with secondary sections filling in behind the main movement.

Learning the Limits of Analog Control

The original plan was to fade all of the LED groups smoothly using analog PWM outputs. With the number of pins available on the micro:bit, this seemed like it should work. In practice, only a few groups would fade correctly at the same time.

After some troubleshooting, the reason became clear. Even though many micro:bit pins appear to support PWM, only three analog outputs can be used at once. Trying to use more than that causes the others to stop working.

Final Assembly and Practical Details

Adding Sound Interaction and Looking Ahead

Using analog volume levels was tested briefly, but the results did not look right. Differences in brightness between layers felt accidental rather than deliberate, which reinforced the decision to stick with bold digital animation.

Supporting Links and Files

How to Make an LED Sculpture React to Sound with micro:bit

cstanton — Thu, 07 May 2026 10:16:48 GMT

Revision 2 posted to Documents by cstanton on 5/7/2026 10:16:48 AM

Watch the Build

- Building a Circuit Sculpture with LED Filament -- Episode 707

Animating an LED Snowflake with micro:bit

From LED Groups to Early Animation Ideas

Prototyping with micro:bit and MakeCode

Learning the Limits of Analog Control

Final Assembly and Practical Details

Adding Sound Interaction and Looking Ahead

Supporting Links and Files

How to Make an LED Sculpture React to Sound with micro:bit

cstanton — Wed, 06 May 2026 16:42:37 GMT

Revision 1 posted to Documents by cstanton on 5/6/2026 4:42:37 PM

Watch the Build

Animating an LED Snowflake with micro:bit

From LED Groups to Early Animation Ideas

Prototyping with micro:bit and MakeCode

Learning the Limits of Analog Control

Final Assembly and Practical Details

Adding Sound Interaction and Looking Ahead

Supporting Links and Files

- Building a Circuit Sculpture with LED Filament -- Episode 707

Project Video Release Archive

e14sbhargav — Thu, 30 Apr 2026 14:10:20 GMT

Revision 210 posted to Documents by e14sbhargav on 4/30/2026 2:10:20 PM

Project Video Releases

element14 presents | Meet the Hosts

Episode 712: Designing a More Capable Dual Motor Driver Beyond the L298N (What worked and what didn't)

Episode 711: Modern Edge AI on Raspberry Pi 5 for an Animatronic Tracker: Vision Acceleration with AI Hat+ and AI Camera

Episode 710: Your First Real PCB in KiCad : An Arduino Compatible Board Designed from Scratch

Episode 709: Was that my Number!? Fixing Café Order Chaos with a Raspberry Pi Announcer

Episode 708: Reviving a Vintage LED Sign with Arduino and PS/2 Control

Episode 707: Building a Circuit Sculpture with LED Filament

Episode 706: ESP32 + RFID = Smart Access Control in a Simple DIY Build

Episode 705: Building a Super Smooth Z-Scale Train Controller with Arduino

Episode 704: Hacking an IKEA Desk into a Programmable Electric Workstation

Episode 703: How to Set Up the Raspberry Pi 5: Complete Beginner Step-by-Step Guide

Episode 702: Build Your Own USB Looper for Serial Debugging and File Transfer

Episode 701: From Snooze to Launch: The Arduino-Powered LEGO Alarm Clock Inspired by Artemis 2

Episode 700: How Voice Recognition Works on Raspberry Pi (and Why It’s Easy to Break)

Episode 699: GimmeGPIO: A Simple Way to Get GPIO on Laptops and Desktops

Episode 698: Building a Practical Electronics Workbench for Makers and Engineers

Episode 697: A Smart, Safe 3D Printer Cabinet Using Raspberry Pi and Node-RED

Episode 696: How a Pulse Metal Detector Works, and How to Build One

Episode 695: A DIY Test and Programming Rig Built for Small-Batch Electronics Production

Episode 694: Earn Your Fitness Reward with a Smart Cookie Jar Using Strava and ESP32

Episode 693: Open-Source Multicolour 3D Printing Upgrade: Clem’s 3D Chameleon Remix

Episode 692: Build Your own ESP32 Fitness Heart Rate Monitor / Tracker

Episode 691: How Accurate Is Bluetooth Channel Sounding? A Deep Dive with the nRF54L15

Episode 690: Meet the PlatypusBot: Now Powered by Raspberry Pi & ROS

Episode 689: How Clem Built a Handheld Sci-Fi Communicator That Really Works

Episode 688: Building the Cylon Pumpkin: Combining a Larson Scanner and Vocoder for Halloween

Episode 687: Turning a $10 Air Fryer into an Arduino powered Filament Dryer

Episode 686: Creepy Motion-Activated Painting You Can Build Yourself

Episode 685: When Your Body Becomes the Instrument: Clem Builds the “Dröne” Synth

Episode 684: Building an Audio Reactive LED Matrix with a micro:bit and NeoPixels

Episode 683: How to Make a Portable Emergency Radio with an Arduino Nano in a Mint TinT

Episode 682: DIY RF Modulator + Raspberry Pi Pico = Gaming on a Sony Watchman FD-10A CRT

Episode 681: Turn anything into an Arduino Module: Reusing Everyday Electronics

Episode 680: From Kit to Custom Design: Building a Tube-Based FM Radio

Episode 679: ESP32 Duolingo Owl Project: Never Miss a Lesson Again

Episode 678: Open Source ATtiny3226 Arduino Calculator – Hardware, Case & Code Build

Episode 677: Make Your Own Vocoder with Teensy 4.0 - Voice of a Cylon?!

Episode 676: I Tried Building 16 ATtiny Robots with Vibration Motors – It Was a Disaster

Episode 675:Avoid Conflict with this ESP32 Defcon Task Tracker

Episode 674: Building an Open Source Blood Pressure & Heart Signal Monitor

Episode 673: Building an ESP32 Powered Warhammer 40k Rhino with Dynamic LED Effects!

Episode 672: Building an Autonomous LEGO Train with CircuitPython and LIDAR

Episode 671: PlatypusBot - Scavenging for Robotics Parts

Episode 670: Build your own Larson Scanner

Episode 669: Creating an ESD (Or Lightning!) Detector!

Episode 668: Designing an Arduino PID Controlled Micro Drone

Episode 667: Emulating a Speech Synthesis Chip with an ESP32

Episode 666: How Far Can I2C Go?

Episode 665: Raspberry Pi AI Tracking Eye of Sauron - AI AL Barad Dur

Episode 664: Learn how to Make a Photo Booth with the ESP32 and Telegram Automation!

Episode 663: Upcycling a Vintage Microphone into an Emergency Radio System

Episode 662: Making a Stronger Affordable DIY Robot Arm with 3D Printing with Raspberry Pi Pico

Episode 661: Clem makes his own LED Wristwatch

Episode 660: LoFi Beats to Solder To

Episode 659: DIY Single Board Computer with ESP32 and Raspberry Pi Pico

Episode 658: A Smart Youtube Counter With An Audio Analyzer

Episode 657: How to Control a LEGO Mindstorms kit with AI and Raspberry Pi 5

Episode 656: DIY Jig for your Laser Cutter with Custom Arduino Automation

Episode 655: DIY Hot Plate for SMD Soldering Using Raspberry Pi Pico

Episode 654: How Do BattleBots Work? In the Pit with HyperShock

Episode 653: Edge-lit 7-Segment Display Clock Using Raspberry Pi Pico

Episode 652: Smart Windows and Blinds with Arduino and Raspberry Pi Pico

Episode 651: Design for Manufacturing - Project to Product by Modifying Off-the-Shelf Cases

Episode 650: Using Nordic's nRF7002, My Dehumidifier Tells Me When It's Full!

Episode 649: Giant Retro Gaming Magic Mirror with a Raspberry Pi 5!

Episode 648: Home AI Image Generation Server with LattePanda and Stable Diffusion

Episode 647: Building an Open-Source Tool for Cave Surveying

Episode 646: Creating a Digital Roulette Table with an ESP32 DevKit

Episode 645: Practical DIY Pi Pico Current Load Circuits

Episode 644: Turning a Raspberry Pi Pico into a GPU!

Episode 643: Making a Tribble that Detects Klingons

Episode 642: Making a Time-lapse Camera with a Raspberry Pi 5

Episode 641: Moon Phase Display with Raspberry Pi Pico

Episode 640: Tinkering vs Engineering: Can You Build a Laptop from Scratch?

Episode 639: Off-Grid Remote Generator Starter?

Episode 638: RP2040 PCB: Design, Turn-On, and Debug - How Hard Could It Be?

Episode 637: Making Music with a Lego Guitar and Capacitive Touch

Episode 636: Creating an IMU based 3D Mouse with an ESP32-S3

Episode 635: Vintage Electronics Exploration with a Bally Cypress Gardens Bingo Machine

Episode 634: Craft a Festive LED Christmas Sweater Featuring the ATtiny416

Episode 633: Spying Under the Christmas Tree with an Arduino-powered Ornament

Episode 632: Revamping Old School Pinball with an ESP32

Episode 631: All-Purpose Debugging: A Practical Universal Screen with LCD Displays

Episode 630: Mega IIe: First Fully Functional Computer built around the Apple Mega-II Chip

Episode 629: Backpack Splash: Mark's Water Gun Upgrade for Epic Outdoor Water Wars!

Episode 628: Affordable DIY Robot Arm - A Deep Dive into 3D Printing and Servo Motors

Episode 627: Creating sudostick - From Prototype to Product

Episode 626: Catching you Up on Bonesnapper Ridge - Off-Grid Maker Shop

Episode 625: Interactive Magic - Creating an Enchanted Cauldron

Episode 624: Modding A Smoke Machine to Add Motion Detection

Episode 623: How to Run Linux on an ESP32

Episode 622: Building Spooky Fun: Halloween Sound Pranks with nRF 5340 BLE Audio

Episode 621: Color Sensor-Based Water Quality Tracker: DIY Environmental Monitoring

Episode 620: Stey-by-Step Guide to Creating your own Speaking Animatronic Hat

Episode 619: How to Build an Open Source Bluetooth Mechanical Keyboard

Episode 618: Upgrading My Racing Sim with a Force-Sensitive Keyboard

Episode 617: Simplify Network Monitoring: Building an ESP32-Powered Solution

Episode 616: Mastering Oven Control: Precision Resin Curing with DIY Modifications - How Hard Can it Be?

Episode 615: Building a Unique USB Card Reader: From Idea to Prototype

Episode 614: Using PID (Proportional-Integral-Derivative) in Robotics - How Hard Could It Be?

Episode 613: Building a Magic Wand Talking Sound Board

Episode 612: Handheld BASIC computer in Badge Format with the Arduino Uno

Episode 611: How to Run the Distance to the Moon with Strava Data and a Pico W Board

Episode 610: How to Embroider with Circuits and Conductive Thread

Episode 609: Updating a Fujitsu N860-2500-T111 Keyboard to Work with a PS2 Standard

Episode 608: Making the Simplest DIY Wind Energy Generator - How Hard Could it Be?

Episode 607: From Strava to Motion: Creating an Arduino-Powered Arcade Game with Running Data

Episode 606: How to Use LoRaWAN to Launch Model Rockets Wirelessly

Episode 605: Arduino and LEDs Make Solitaire Easier to Solve

Episode 604: Charlieplexing Buttons and LEDs at the Same Time - How Hard Can It Be?

Episode 603: Create Your Own Air Hockey Table with Arduino Scoring

Episode 602: DIY AC Dimmer Circuit: Control Your Lights with a Raspberry Pi Pico

Episode 601: How to Reverse Engineer Electronics: Building a Developer Board for a Coding Class

Episode 600: Building My Dream Digital Clock: DIY 7 Segment Display with a Cute Robot Twist!

Episode 599: How to Build a Spectrum Analyzer with Lego Bricks & Discrete Electronics

Episode 598: How To Build a Portable, Solar-Charged Off-Grid Power Station

Episode 597: How to Build a Robot that Celebrates Good Grades with Arduino

Episode 596: How to Build Your Own Voice Assistant with MyCroft AI - How Hard Can It Be?

Episode 595: Member Challenge Accepted - Universal LANC Controller for DSLR cameras

Episode 594: Repairing a Neewer 660 Studio light - How Hard Can It Be?

Episode 593: Playing 3D Famicom Games Wirelessly on the NES - How Hard Could It Be?

Episode 592: Lamptopus: Spinning LED Desk Lamp

Episode 591: Building A Bluetooth Speaker in 5 Minutes - How Hard Can It Be?

Episode 590: Seven Kingdoms Open Source Bartop Arcade

Episode 589: Upgrading the iMac G4 With a NUC

Episode 588: Highlights from element14 presents 2022

Episode 587: Create Your Own Talking Stress Indicator

Episode 586: DIY Open Source Bluetooth Headphones

Episode 585: Enhancing a Magnifying Headband with Auto Sensing Light

Episode 584: Going Beyond Periodic Wakes: Using WiFi to Revive a Sleeping Device

Episode 583: Epic Neopixel Birthday Cake

Episode 582: Smart Christmas Decoration with Raspberry Pi Pico and MQTT

Episode 581: Bee-Saving Electronics Prototype

Episode 580: DIY Low Cost Capacitance Meter Using a 555 Timer

Episode 579: How to Make a Basketball Auto Score Keeper Using Colour Sensing

Episode 578: Build your Own Bat Detector with Analog Parts

Episode 577: The Game Guy Mini, Upgrading the Unportable Game Boy!

Episode 576: Build your own Underwater Drone with 3D Printed Parts

Episode 575: How to Make a Secured Parcel Pickup Box with Arduino

Episode 574: Ghost Rider Halloween Costume

Episode 573: Using a Pi Pico to Convert Keyboard Input to Morse Code

Episode 572: How to Use an ESP32 & Camera to Know You've Got Mail!

Episode 571: Using Dead Batteries to Test for Dead Batteries

Episode 570: Making a WiFi Connected Audio Spectrum Analyzer with ESP32

Episode 569: Multi-Spectrum UV Resin Curing Station with Würth LEDs

Episode 568: How to Make a Custom Soundboard with the STM32F4 using FreeCAD

Episode 567: Synced NeoPixel Mickey Mouse Ears

Episode 566: How to Automate Industrial Welding Positioners with Arduino

Episode 565: Measuring Destructive Testing Force with a 20 Ton Hydraulic Press

Episode 564: Build a VU Meter with LED Pixelated Nixie Tubes

Episode 563: Creating Augmented Reality Circuits with Meta Quest 2 and Unity

Episode 562: Pi Home Temperature Monitoring System

Episode 561: WiFi to Parallel Port Ascii Art Dot-Matrix Printer

Episode 560: Raspberry Pi Controlled Lego Train with Build HAT

Episode 559: Create a Magic Makeup Mirror with Pose Detection

Episode 558: 3D Object Rendering Using an FPGA

Episode 557: Create your own Handheld Serial Monitor for Project Debugging

Episode 556: Hacking a Hotel POS Tablet - How Hard Can it Be?

Episode 555: Dance Central Pose Estimation Game with Tensorflow and Raspberry Pi

Episode 554: Arduino Uno Mini Limited Edition LED Necklace

Episode 553: Adding a Parallel Printer Port to an Android Phone

Episode 552: Magical Potion Bottle Rack

Episode 551: Can We Rebuild a 1930s Accounting Machine?

Episode 550: DIY Electronic Controlled Motorized Wheelchair

Episode 549: Using a Teletype Machine as a USB Printer with Arduino

Episode 548: Electronic Fidget Cube, Building Your Ideas!

Episode 547: Creating a “Mummy” Wake Word Detector with Raspberry Pi and Edge Impulse

Episode 546: Mapping the Outputs of a 1960s Teletype Machine - How Hard Can it Be?

Episode 545: Designing a Custom PCB for Microsoft Jacdac

Episode 544: Reviving the 1984 IBM 5155 - How Hard Can It Be?

Episode 543: Lego Spike Prime Weather Station with Raspberry Pi

Episode 542: A Noise-Free DIY Switching Power Supply - How Hard Can It Be?

Episode 541: Vintage Laptop Battery Replaced with USB Power - How Hard Can It Be?

Episode 540: Object Detection for Smart Recycling

Episode 539: Training a Machine to Recognize Objects - How Hard Can It Be?

Episode 538: How to Build a Quadruped Robot - NO MATH!

Episode 537: Build a Phonograph Preamplifier - How Hard Can It Be?

Episode 536: Interactive Light-Up Window with Pose Detection using a Raspberry Pi and micro:bit

Episode 535: Repair a Sega Game Gear - How Hard Can It Be?

Episode 534: Open Source Inventory Warehousing System

Episode 533: Jumbo DIY LED

Episode 532: World’s First Single-Chip Apple II Boots!

Episode 531: Game Guy - The Unportable Game Boy

Episode 530: MQTT controlled LED Christmas Baubles with Raspberry Pi Pico

Episode 529: UPDI Program for new ATTiny

Episode 528: Let's Build an Electronic Fidget Cube!

Episode 527: Interactive Light Up Window using a Raspberry Pi and micro:bit

Episode 526: CNC Router Remote Control

Episode 525: DIY Helmholtz Snow Globe

Episode 524: Arduino IoT Cloud Weather Station

Episode 523: Make your Own Auto-Sensing Solder Fume Extractor

Episode 522: Siren Head Halloween Wearable Costume

Episode 521: DIY Static Grass Applicator

Episode 520: Adding Android Auto as Non-Permanent Add-On with Raspberry Pi

Episode 519: Make Your Own Ye Olde Book Nook Diorama with Arduino

Episode 518: Guitar Vacuum Tube Distortion Pedal

Episode 517: Emulate an EPROM - How Hard Could it Be?

Episode 516: Modding a Wireless Doorbell with Raspberry Pi and ESP8266

Episode 515: Upcycling a Lenovo PC into a Raspberry Pi WiFi Access Point

Episode 514: Making a 3D Graphics Card for the Atari 800 XL

Episode 513: Bike Speedometer with Arduino and GPS

Episode 512: You Cannot Buy This Vacuum Tube Tester. You Build It!

Episode 511: Raspberry Pi Powered Cheeseball Launcher

Episode 510: Laser Cutter Command Station

Episode 509: DIY Discrete Logic LED Countdown Timer

Episode 508: Raspberry Pi FPV Rover Easy Robot Arm Upgrade

Episode 507: Massive Raspberry Pi

Episode 506: DIY Star Trek Tricorder from Build Inside the Box

Episode 505: Super 8 Camera Digitizer

Episode 504: DIY Sump Pump Alarm

Episode 503: Meet Cheesoid - The Robot That Smells!

Episode 502: Make Your Bike a Pokebike!

Episode 501: Raspberry Pi NFC Button-Free Music Player

Episode 500: Build Inside The Box Challenge!

Episode 499: DIY Four Channel Arduino Servo Tester

Episode 498: Raspberry Pi Smart Water Dispenser

Episode 497: RFID Pocket Money Keeper

Episode 496: Compute Module 4 Powered 3D Printer Board

Episode 495: Magic GIF Ball Powered By Raspberry Pi

Episode 494: Keyboard Shortcuts Keypad with Raspberry Pi Pico

Episode 493: NeoPixel 7 Segment Display Clock Update

Episode 492: Arduino vs 555 Timer - Tiny Slot Car Racers

Episode 491: Arduino Single-Wheel Balancing Robot

Episode 490: DIY Raspberry Pi Pico Fizz Buzz Multiplication Game

Episode 489: Build An FPV Rover with Raspberry Pi

Episode 488: DIY Raspberry Pi Cyberdeck

Episode 487: DIY MagSafe Battery Charger

Episode 486: Make The Ultimate Phone Charging Camping Flashlight

Episode 485: How To Make A Custom PCB From Design To Assembly

Episode 484: Raspberry Pi Bird Watching Camera

Episode 483: DIY Miniature Multimeter

Episode 482: Gigantic 3D Printed 7 Segment Display Clock

Episode 481: DIY LOST Swan Station Split Flap Display Timer

Episode 480: DIY Toothbrush Timer

Episode 479: Raspberry Pi 2XL Robot Assistant Part 2

Episode 478: Upgrading A Christmas Train

Episode 477: Metal Plate Your 3D Prints with a DIY Galvanizing Machine

Episode 476: IoT Arduino NTP World Clock with SPI Display

Episode 475: DIY Wall Mounted Arduino Barometer

Episode 474: Continuum Robot Tentacle Prototype

Episode 473: Mendel 3D Printer Upgrade and Maintenance

Episode 472: DIY Hydration Reminder System

Episode 471: DIY Dance Dance Revolution Mat

Episode 470: Voice Activated Inspector Gadget Hat

Episode 469: Nintendo Super Scope Modded For Modern Televisions

Episode 468: Socially Distanced Halloween Candy Dispenser

Episode 467: Repairing the World's First Laptop! (Epson HX-20)

Episode 466: Arduino-powered Hexadecimal Color Code Clock

Episode 465: Lego Raspberry Pi HQ Camera

Episode 464: Particle Voice Recognition for Home Appliances

Episode 463: Raspberry Pi Speech to Text LED Face Mask

Episode 462: Joycon Controlled Electronic Rock'Em Sock'Em Robots

Episode 461: Portal 2 Security Camera with Raspberry Pi 2

Episode 460: Trinamic Open Source Ventilator (TOSV) Teardown

Episode 459: Raspberry Pi 4 VR Conference Call Assistant

Episode 458: DIY Arduino Automated Metal Bending Machine

Episode 457: Raspberry Pi 4 Animatronic Rosie the Robot from the Jetsons

Episode 456: Unhackable Arduino Switch Matrix

Episode 455: Arduino Unit Conversion Calculator

Episode 454: Soldering Up the rc2014 Homebrew Z80 Computer Kit

Episode 453: Build an Anti-Troll Bot Using TensorFlow and Arduino

Episode 452: Raspberry Pi 4 Experimental Resin 3D Printer Updated!

Episode 451: Build an Off Grid Wikipedia with Raspberry Pi

Episode 450: Sega GameGear Rebuild with LEDs

Episode 449: DIY Tamagotchi - Build a Virtual Pet

Episode 448: DIY Raspberry Pi 4 Boxing Game

Episode 447: DIY Stop Motion Rig with LattePanda

Episode 446: Raspberry Pi 2XL Robot Assistant Part 1

Episode 445: Raspberry Pi 4 Animatronic BD-1 Companion Robot

Episode 444: Raspberry Pi 4 DVR

Episode 443: Arduino Uno RC Remote - Can It Be Done?

Episode 442: Make Your Own Giant Servo

Episode 441: Raspberry Pi 4 International Space Station Tracker

Episode 440: DIY Arduino Helicopter Collective Joystick Control

Episode 439 - Mechanical Arcade Game with Barebones Arduino

Episode 438: Smartphone Controlled DIY Rover Using Websockets

Episode 437: DIY Motorized Zoom for Your DSLR

Episode 436: Automated Raspberry Pi Planet Tracking GOTO Telescope

Episode 435: Raspberry Pi 4 Music Player w/Analog Controls

Episode 434: Infineon Smart City Model

Episode 433: Arduino Based Love Tester

Episode 432: Super FX Sword using the BBC micro:bit

Episode 431: Room-Sized Studio Light Speakers Combo

Episode 430: Flaming Xylophone Rubens' Tube

Episode 429: YouTuber "On Air" Light with Particle Mesh Network

Episode 428: Raspberry Pi 4 CRT-based VR Headset

Episode 427: DIY Retro Gaming Portable on a Budget!

Episode 426: Retro TV Ads Holiday Ornament

Episode 425: Make Your Own Raspberry Pi 4 Photobooth!

Episode 424: DIY Escape Room Puzzle

Episode 423: Programmable Arduino Synthesizer Watch

Episode 422: Raspberry Pi E-Ink Task Organizer

Episode 421: Raspberry Pi 4 Commodore SX-64 Inspired Portable Computer

Episode 420: DIY Shapeoko CNC Pendant

Episode 419: Altair 8800 Laptop

Episode 418: Animatronic Terminator Skull with BeagleBone® AI

Episode 417: #Pipboy 2000 Mk II

Episode 416: DIY #3DPrinted Label Spooler

Episode 415: Iron Man Helmet Heads Up Display

Episode 414: Raspberry Pi 4 Experimental Resin 3D Printer

Episode 413: Animatronic Claptrap Case Mod Part 2

Episode 412: Get to Know Your ADC with a DIY Temperature Probe

Episode 411: Animatronic Claptrap Computer Case - Part 1

Episode 410: MacPro G5 Cheese Grater with Raspberry Pi 4

Episode 409: Commodore SX-64 Restoration

Episode 408: Hand Soldered LED Oscilloscope

Episode 407: The Ultimate Raspberry Pi 4 Laptop

Episode 406: Automated Robot Artist

Episode 405: RC Ornithopter Concept

Episode 404: Arduino Powered Close Encounters Midi Light Board

Episode 403: Upcycled IoT Coffee Pot Ramen Maker

Episode 402: PiPhone++ The Giant Raspberry Pi Flip Phone

Episode 401: Matrix Voice Controlled Robot

Episode 400: The Ultimate Raspberry Pi Stress Test

Episode 399: Candle-Powered Robotl

Episode 398: Let Me Out Hooman! Bluetooth Dog Doorbell

Episode 397: Steam Powered Retropie Console

Episode 396: Arduino Retro LED Matrix Handheld

Episode 395: Raspberry Pi Stop Motion Machine

Episode 394: Animatronic GLaDOS Head with Raspberry Pi

Episode 393: GameBoy Walkman

Episode 392: Multi-Line Telephone Intercom

Episode 391: First Person View RC Car with PS2 Steering Wheel

Episode 390: Retro Texting Smart Watch of the Future!

Episode 389: PlayStation Classic Portable Prototype

Episode 388: FPGA MIDI Music Synthesizer

Episode 387: Rotocell - The Rotary Cell Phone of the Future!

Episode 386: Xybernaut Wearable PC

Episode 385: 20 PCB Design Pitfalls

Episode 384: Retro Gaming Handheld Without a PCB

Episode 383: Gameboy Wireless Link Cable (DMG1)

Episode 382: Modding a Super 8 Camera into a Digital

Episode 381: Reverse Music Box

Episode 380: NES Zapper on RetroPie

Episode 379: Macroscope Soldering Tool

Episode 378: Invader ZIM Animatronic GIR

Episode 377: Altair 8800 Replica

Episode 376: 4D Gaming with the Matrix Creator

Episode 375: Hacked Fetal Detector Music Synthesizer

Episode 374: Raspberry Pi Donkey Kong Holiday Ornament

Episode 373: Raspberry Pi Fallout Terminal PC

Episode 372: Raspberry Pi Auto Etch A Sketch™

Episode 371: FPGA "Game Genie" for Atari 2600

Episode 370: Raspberry Pi NOAA Satellite Receiver

Episode 369: Recreating the Atari Portfolio

Episode 368: Arduino Automatic Wire Cutter and Stripper

Episode 367: Most Useless IoT Device Ever - Part 2

Episode 366: Infinity Icosahedron

Episode 365: Twilight Zone Fortune Telling Machine

Episode 364: Raspberry Pi Virtual Reality Arcade #VR

Episode 363 - Add a Motor to your Bike with Arduino

Episode 362: Most Worthless IoT Device Ever Pt. 1

Episode 361: R.O.B Rebuild and Upgrade

Episode 360: Make Your Own Raspberry Pi Cell Phone

Episode 359: Make Your Own CNC Pyrography Wood Burner

Episode 358: The Shrimp of Terror!

Episode 357: Raspberry Pi Asteroid Tracker

Episode 356: Bank to the Future with Arduino & TI

Episode 355: Raspberry Pi Pirate Radio

Episode 354: Tiny Vacuum Forming Machine

Episode 353: Program Your Own FPGA Video Game

Episode 352: Pripyat - DIY Geiger Counter

Episode 349: Raspberry Pi Selfie Rocket

See All Previous Episodes

Tags: episode releases, friday_release_archive, element14 presents, project videos, episodes, friday releases, episode release archive, episode archive, friday release archive, project_videos

Designing a More Capable Dual Motor Driver Beyond the L298N (What worked and what didn't)

cstanton — Thu, 30 Apr 2026 12:27:45 GMT

Revision 5 posted to Documents by cstanton on 4/30/2026 12:27:45 PM

For any project where something moves, there is almost always an electric motor involved somewhere in the system. In this project, Milos Ras̆ić takes a deep dive into how brushed DC motors are actually driven, why many off‑the‑shelf modules fall short, and what it looks like to design a fully custom, open‑source dual motor driver PCB from scratch with real robotics use in mind.

Rather than jumping straight to a finished board, Milos deliberately walks through his entire engineering process: defining requirements, selecting components, validating assumptions, designing the PCB, assembling it methodically, debugging real‑world mistakes, and finally building firmware and a custom GUI to make the hardware genuinely usable. As he explains early on, this board is intended to become the low‑level motor control layer for his future robotic platforms, not a one‑off demo.

“I wanted to design my own custom PCB with certain requirements… and also take this chance to show you my whole engineering process – from the idea, through evaluation, and then iterating into the next versions.”

How Do Motor Drivers Work?

Milos begins by stripping motor control down to its simplest form. A brushed DC motor will spin if you connect it directly to a power source – effectively simulating a battery. That approach works, but only in the most basic sense. There’s no speed control, no direction control, and no feedback. The next step is switching the motor on and off rapidly. By toggling a switch hundreds or thousands of times per second and varying how long it stays on versus off, you create Pulse Width Modulation (PWM). A wider pulse delivers more energy to the motor; a narrower pulse reduces it.

To do this electronically, Milos demonstrates a simple N‑channel MOSFET circuit. A MOSFET behaves like a fast electronic switch and is far better suited to high‑frequency PWM than a relay. In his bench example, he uses an op‑amp as a level translator so that a 3.3 V microcontroller can properly drive a MOSFET that expects a much higher gate voltage. This approach works well for speed control, but it has a fundamental limitation: the motor only spins in one direction. As Milos points out:

“There really is no way to switch the direction of the motor driving besides flipping the wires around.”

Direction control requires a different topology altogether.

H‑Bridges and Direction Control

To reverse a motor electronically, you need to flip the polarity of the voltage applied to it. This is achieved using an H‑bridge, which arranges four transistors so current can flow through the motor in either direction.

Milos explains the logic clearly, including the importance of never enabling both transistors on the same side of the bridge at once, which would effectively short the supply. With an H‑bridge and PWM applied to the appropriate control line, you gain full control over both speed and direction. At this point, he references a familiar module:

“If you’ve ever played around with an Arduino… you’ve probably used an L298N.”

While popular, the L298N relies on BJTs rather than MOSFETs, making it inefficient and unsuitable for higher‑power applications. This inefficiency, combined with voltage drop and heat dissipation, is one of the main motivations for designing a custom solution.

Defining the Requirements

Before touching any schematic software, Milos creates a system requirements list. This list drives every design decision that follows and serves as a reference during revisions.

Key requirements include:

Driving two brushed DC motors
A single, compact PCB with the MCU onboard
At least 5 A continuous current per motor
A wide input voltage range (targeting 5 V–36 V, with ambitions beyond)
Clean, stable 3.3 V power for measurement and control
Current sensing for each motor
Extensive connector support for daisy‑chaining boards

“The requirement list is a really nice thing to have since it keeps you on track… and when you do revisions, you can fall back onto this and see if you’ve missed something.”

Electronics and Power Architecture

With the requirements defined, Milos starts with the most critical component: the motor driver IC. After filtering options and reviewing datasheets, he selects a Texas Instruments dual H‑bridge driver capable of handling the required current in a compact package. That choice introduces an immediate design challenge: the driver requires a stable 12 V supply, regardless of the board’s input voltage. To solve this, Milos implements a buck‑boost converter, allowing the board to operate from roughly 4 V up to 40 V while still generating a clean 12 V rail.

From there, power is stepped down in stages:

Buck‑boost → 12 V
Buck → ~5 V
LDO → 3.3 V

This staged approach reduces noise on the 3.3 V rail, which is critical for ADC measurements, current sensing, and encoder feedback.

“The LDO is like a smart resistor… you get a clean nice output of 3.3 V in the end.”

For current sensing, Milos chooses Hall‑effect current sensors rather than shunt resistors, valuing their stability and isolation.

The board also includes:

Input voltage measurement via a divider
A fuse for protection
XT‑style power connectors with additional communication pins
Switchable I²C pull‑ups
An RGB status LED controlled over I²C

PCB Layout and Physical Design

Once the schematics are complete, Milos moves on to PCB layout. The final board measures 50 mm × 60 mm and uses a 4‑layer stack‑up (SIG–GND–GND–SIG). Much of the board size is dictated by the Raspberry Pi Pico 2 module, which Milos mounts directly rather than designing a custom RP2040 layout for this revision.

The PCB is dense but carefully partitioned:

Power conversion sits centrally
High‑current motor paths are kept short and wide
Sensitive analog and MCU sections are isolated
Large copper pours and a defined heatsink area help with thermal management

The result is a compact yet expandable board, complete with Milos’ Platypus mascot and a clear “GO VROOM!” silkscreen reminder of its purpose.

Assembly, Checklists, and Debugging

Rather than soldering everything at once, Milos relies on a soldering and testing checklist, assembling and validating the board in stages:

Buck‑boost converter
Buck converter
LDO
Motor driver
MCU and peripherals

This method quickly pays off. While the board works almost entirely as intended, two errors are discovered:

An incorrect footprint for one IC, requiring hand‑extended pins
A buck converter enable pin that could not tolerate 12 V, repeatedly destroying the IC

“Because of the checklist, I managed to identify what was wrong and why… otherwise I would’ve probably burned a lot more chips.”

Milos documents these issues in an errata sheet, reinforcing the idea that revision‑friendly design is part of good engineering.

On the software side, the board runs firmware that deliberately avoids high‑level robotics logic. Instead, it exposes a command‑driven motor control interface over USB, UART, and I²C.

The firmware is structured around several key components:

DualMotorController
Handles PWM generation, fault detection, current measurement, and direction control.
ClosedLoopController
Implements manual control, speed PID, and position PID modes.
As5600Encoder
Interfaces with the AS5600 magnetic encoder, handling wrap‑around, filtering, and unit conversions.
CommandProcessor
Parses human‑readable ASCII commands (M‑codes) and compact binary frames.

Notably, PWM is capped at 95% duty cycle (PWM_ACTIVE_MAX = 950) to ensure bootstrap capacitors in the motor driver remain charged – a subtle but important hardware‑aware firmware detail. Speed and position control are implemented using the PidController class, with tunable gains, integral limits, and output clamping.

In practice:

Speed control works best as a PI controller, since derivative action introduces too much noise at the encoder sampling rate.
Position control benefits from P and I terms, with careful tuning to avoid integral wind‑up.

“If you try doing anything with the derivative part, you just get a bunch of noise… so we’ll essentially just use a PI controller instead.”

The firmware also includes:

Automatic direction self‑checks
Encoder zeroing
Gain scheduling hooks for future improvements

To make tuning and testing practical, Milos builds a custom Python GUI using PySide6. The GUI provides:

Real‑time plots of speed, position, current, and PWM duty
Live status indicators for faults and thermal warnings
Manual control sliders
PID tuning panels
Encoder configuration and zeroing
Binary and ASCII telemetry support

This interface turns the board from “just hardware” into a usable development tool and makes PID behavior visually intuitive.

Finished Project and What’s Next

In the end, Milos considers the project a success:

“I’m really happy with how this PCB turned out… it’s bigger than the module we started with, but it’s a lot more capable.”

The board meets nearly all of its original requirements, and the few shortcomings are clearly documented. Future plans include:

Integrating multiple boards into a robotic platform
Supporting mecanum wheel control
Further refining PID tuning and control abstractions
Iterating the PCB with lessons learned from revision one

Supporting Links and Files

- Episode 712 Resources

Bill of Materials

Product Name	Manufacturer	Quantity	Buy Kit
LT8350	ANALOG DEVICES	1	Buy Now
Inductor XAL6060-682MEC	COILCRAFT	1	Buy Now
Resistor 0603 270k - MCWR06X2703FTL	MULTICOMP PRO	1	Buy Now
Resistor 0603 100k - MCMR06X1003FTL	MULTICOMP PRO	4	Buy Now
Capacitor 22uF 0805 25V - CL21A226MAYNNNE	SAMSUNG	9	Buy Now
Connector PCB 2+2 - MP011760	MULTICOMP PRO	2	Buy Now
Connector Cable 2+2 - MP011759	MULTICOMP PRO	2	Buy Now
3V3 LDO - BD33HC0VEFJ-ME2	ROHM	1	Buy Now
Heatsink LTN20069	WKEFIELD THERMAL	1	Buy Now
Resistor 0603 - 1k	MULTICOMP PRO	4	Buy Now
Resistor 0603 - 2k	MULTICOMP PRO	1	Buy Now
Resistor 0603 - 4k7	MULTICOMP PRO	5	Buy Now
Inductor - ME3220-472MLC	COILCRAFT	1	Buy Now
Capacitor 4.7uF 0603	MURATA	1	Buy Now
Resistor 0603 5k1	MULTICOMP PRO	1	Buy Now
Resistor 0603 10k	MULTICOMP PRO	5	Buy Now
Capacitor 0805 10uF 50V	MURATA	4	Buy Now
Capacitor 0603 22nF	SAMSUNG	1	Buy Now
Capacitor 0603 100nF 50V	SAMSUNG	17	Buy Now
Resistor 0603 143k	MULTICOMP PRO	1	Buy Now
Capacitor 0603 470nF	SAMSUNG	1	Buy Now
Fuse with Fuse Holder SMD - 0154010.DR	LITTELFUSE	1	Buy Now
Buck Converter IC - AP62200Z6-7	DIODES INC	1	Buy Now
LED Red 0603	MULTICOMP PRO	1	Buy Now
LED Green 0603	MULTICOMP PRO	1	Buy Now
LED Blue 0603	MULTICOMP PRO	1	Buy Now
Inductor Ferrite Bead MPZ2012S221ATD25	TDK	1	Buy Now
Resistor 0603 1R	MULTICOMP PRO	1	Buy Now
Capacitor 0603 1uF 25V	SAMSUNG	7	Buy Now
Resistor 0603 3R3	MULTICOMP PRO	1	Buy Now
Resistor 0603 5R	MULTICOMP PRO	4	Buy Now
Capacitor 0603 10nF 50V	SAMSUNG	1	Buy Now
Resistor 0603 24K	MULTICOMP PRO	1	Buy Now
Capacitor 47uF	KEMET	1	Buy Now
Capacitor 330uF	AISHI	1	Buy Now
Current Sensor IC - ACS722	ALLEGRO	2	Buy Now
Motor Driver IC - DRV8412DDWR	TEXAS INSTRUMENTS	1	Buy Now
Capacitor 470uF 50V	KYOCERA	2	Buy Now
Motor Connector - XT30	DFROBOT	2	Buy Now
SPI/GPIO Connector - PCB	AMPHENOL	1	Buy Now
SPI/GPIO Connector - Cable	AMPHENOL	1	Buy Now
SPI/GPIO Connector - Pins	AMPHENOL	6	Buy Now
RGB LED	WURTH ELEKTRONIK	1	Buy Now
Debug Connector	JST	1	Buy Now
LED Driver IC	NXP	1	Buy Now
Raspberry Pi Pico 2	RASPBERRY-PI	1	Buy Now
PullUp Resistor Switch RN2905	TOSHIBA	2	Buy Now

Additional Parts

Product Name	Manufacturer	Quantity
2mm pitch JST style SMD connectors	N/A
Blank PCBs	N/A
Brushed DC Motors	N/A
AS5600 Encoder Module	N/A
WAFER-PH2.0-4PLB	N/A	4

Tags: wide coltage motor driver, robotics motor controller, motor driver debugging, high currentmotor driver, robotics electronics, h bridge motor driver, dual motor driver pcb, brushed dc motor control, pid motor control, raspberry pi pico motor driver, embedded motor control, motor driver design, current sensing motor driver, Custom PCB design, custom motor driver, friday_release

Designing a More Capable Dual Motor Driver Beyond the L298N (What worked and what didn't)

e14sbhargav — Thu, 30 Apr 2026 12:27:45 GMT

Current Revision posted to Documents by e14sbhargav on 4/30/2026 12:27:45 PM

“I wanted to design my own custom PCB with certain requirements… and also take this chance to show you my whole engineering process – from the idea, through evaluation, and then iterating into the next versions.”

How Do Motor Drivers Work?

“There really is no way to switch the direction of the motor driving besides flipping the wires around.”

Direction control requires a different topology altogether.

H‑Bridges and Direction Control

“If you’ve ever played around with an Arduino… you’ve probably used an L298N.”

Defining the Requirements

Before touching any schematic software, Milos creates a system requirements list. This list drives every design decision that follows and serves as a reference during revisions.

Key requirements include:

Driving two brushed DC motors
A single, compact PCB with the MCU onboard
At least 5 A continuous current per motor
A wide input voltage range (targeting 5 V–36 V, with ambitions beyond)
Clean, stable 3.3 V power for measurement and control
Current sensing for each motor
Extensive connector support for daisy‑chaining boards

“The requirement list is a really nice thing to have since it keeps you on track… and when you do revisions, you can fall back onto this and see if you’ve missed something.”

Electronics and Power Architecture

From there, power is stepped down in stages:

Buck‑boost → 12 V
Buck → ~5 V
LDO → 3.3 V

This staged approach reduces noise on the 3.3 V rail, which is critical for ADC measurements, current sensing, and encoder feedback.

“The LDO is like a smart resistor… you get a clean nice output of 3.3 V in the end.”

For current sensing, Milos chooses Hall‑effect current sensors rather than shunt resistors, valuing their stability and isolation.

The board also includes:

Input voltage measurement via a divider
A fuse for protection
XT‑style power connectors with additional communication pins
Switchable I²C pull‑ups
An RGB status LED controlled over I²C

PCB Layout and Physical Design

The PCB is dense but carefully partitioned:

Power conversion sits centrally
High‑current motor paths are kept short and wide
Sensitive analog and MCU sections are isolated
Large copper pours and a defined heatsink area help with thermal management

The result is a compact yet expandable board, complete with Milos’ Platypus mascot and a clear “GO VROOM!” silkscreen reminder of its purpose.

Assembly, Checklists, and Debugging

Rather than soldering everything at once, Milos relies on a soldering and testing checklist, assembling and validating the board in stages:

Buck‑boost converter
Buck converter
LDO
Motor driver
MCU and peripherals

This method quickly pays off. While the board works almost entirely as intended, two errors are discovered:

An incorrect footprint for one IC, requiring hand‑extended pins
A buck converter enable pin that could not tolerate 12 V, repeatedly destroying the IC

“Because of the checklist, I managed to identify what was wrong and why… otherwise I would’ve probably burned a lot more chips.”

Milos documents these issues in an errata sheet, reinforcing the idea that revision‑friendly design is part of good engineering.

On the software side, the board runs firmware that deliberately avoids high‑level robotics logic. Instead, it exposes a command‑driven motor control interface over USB, UART, and I²C.

The firmware is structured around several key components:

DualMotorController
Handles PWM generation, fault detection, current measurement, and direction control.
ClosedLoopController
Implements manual control, speed PID, and position PID modes.
As5600Encoder
Interfaces with the AS5600 magnetic encoder, handling wrap‑around, filtering, and unit conversions.
CommandProcessor
Parses human‑readable ASCII commands (M‑codes) and compact binary frames.

In practice:

Speed control works best as a PI controller, since derivative action introduces too much noise at the encoder sampling rate.
Position control benefits from P and I terms, with careful tuning to avoid integral wind‑up.

“If you try doing anything with the derivative part, you just get a bunch of noise… so we’ll essentially just use a PI controller instead.”

The firmware also includes:

Automatic direction self‑checks
Encoder zeroing
Gain scheduling hooks for future improvements

To make tuning and testing practical, Milos builds a custom Python GUI using PySide6. The GUI provides:

Real‑time plots of speed, position, current, and PWM duty
Live status indicators for faults and thermal warnings
Manual control sliders
PID tuning panels
Encoder configuration and zeroing
Binary and ASCII telemetry support

This interface turns the board from “just hardware” into a usable development tool and makes PID behavior visually intuitive.

Finished Project and What’s Next

In the end, Milos considers the project a success:

“I’m really happy with how this PCB turned out… it’s bigger than the module we started with, but it’s a lot more capable.”

The board meets nearly all of its original requirements, and the few shortcomings are clearly documented. Future plans include:

Integrating multiple boards into a robotic platform
Supporting mecanum wheel control
Further refining PID tuning and control abstractions
Iterating the PCB with lessons learned from revision one

Supporting Links and Files

- Episode 712 Resources

Bill of Materials

Product Name	Manufacturer	Quantity	Buy Kit
LT8350	ANALOG DEVICES	1	Buy Now
Inductor XAL6060-682MEC	COILCRAFT	1	Buy Now
Resistor 0603 270k - MCWR06X2703FTL	MULTICOMP PRO	1	Buy Now
Resistor 0603 100k - MCMR06X1003FTL	MULTICOMP PRO	4	Buy Now
Capacitor 22uF 0805 25V - CL21A226MAYNNNE	SAMSUNG	9	Buy Now
Connector PCB 2+2 - MP011760	MULTICOMP PRO	2	Buy Now
Connector Cable 2+2 - MP011759	MULTICOMP PRO	2	Buy Now
3V3 LDO - BD33HC0VEFJ-ME2	ROHM	1	Buy Now
Heatsink LTN20069	WKEFIELD THERMAL	1	Buy Now
Resistor 0603 - 1k	MULTICOMP PRO	4	Buy Now
Resistor 0603 - 2k	MULTICOMP PRO	1	Buy Now
Resistor 0603 - 4k7	MULTICOMP PRO	5	Buy Now
Inductor - ME3220-472MLC	COILCRAFT	1	Buy Now
Capacitor 4.7uF 0603	MURATA	1	Buy Now
Resistor 0603 5k1	MULTICOMP PRO	1	Buy Now
Resistor 0603 10k	MULTICOMP PRO	5	Buy Now
Capacitor 0805 10uF 50V	MURATA	4	Buy Now
Capacitor 0603 22nF	SAMSUNG	1	Buy Now
Capacitor 0603 100nF 50V	SAMSUNG	17	Buy Now
Resistor 0603 143k	MULTICOMP PRO	1	Buy Now
Capacitor 0603 470nF	SAMSUNG	1	Buy Now
Fuse with Fuse Holder SMD - 0154010.DR	LITTELFUSE	1	Buy Now
Buck Converter IC - AP62200Z6-7	DIODES INC	1	Buy Now
LED Red 0603	MULTICOMP PRO	1	Buy Now
LED Green 0603	MULTICOMP PRO	1	Buy Now
LED Blue 0603	MULTICOMP PRO	1	Buy Now
Inductor Ferrite Bead MPZ2012S221ATD25	TDK	1	Buy Now
Resistor 0603 1R	MULTICOMP PRO	1	Buy Now
Capacitor 0603 1uF 25V	SAMSUNG	7	Buy Now
Resistor 0603 3R3	MULTICOMP PRO	1	Buy Now
Resistor 0603 5R	MULTICOMP PRO	4	Buy Now
Capacitor 0603 10nF 50V	SAMSUNG	1	Buy Now
Resistor 0603 24K	MULTICOMP PRO	1	Buy Now
Capacitor 47uF	KEMET	1	Buy Now
Capacitor 330uF	AISHI	1	Buy Now
Current Sensor IC - ACS722	ALLEGRO	2	Buy Now
Motor Driver IC - DRV8412DDWR	TEXAS INSTRUMENTS	1	Buy Now
Capacitor 470uF 50V	KYOCERA	2	Buy Now
Motor Connector - XT30	DFROBOT	2	Buy Now
SPI/GPIO Connector - PCB	AMPHENOL	1	Buy Now
SPI/GPIO Connector - Cable	AMPHENOL	1	Buy Now
SPI/GPIO Connector - Pins	AMPHENOL	6	Buy Now
RGB LED	WURTH ELEKTRONIK	1	Buy Now
Debug Connector	JST	1	Buy Now
LED Driver IC	NXP	1	Buy Now
Raspberry Pi Pico 2	RASPBERRY-PI	1	Buy Now
PullUp Resistor Switch RN2905	TOSHIBA	2	Buy Now

Additional Parts

Product Name	Manufacturer	Quantity
2mm pitch JST style SMD connectors	N/A
Blank PCBs	N/A
Brushed DC Motors	N/A
AS5600 Encoder Module	N/A
WAFER-PH2.0-4PLB	N/A	4

Designing a More Capable Dual Motor Driver Beyond the L298N (What worked and what didn't)

cstanton — Thu, 30 Apr 2026 12:10:43 GMT

Revision 4 posted to Documents by cstanton on 4/30/2026 12:10:43 PM

For any project where something moves, there is almost always an electric motor involved somewhere in the system. In this project, Milos Ras̆ić takes a deep dive into how brushed DC motors are actually driven, why many off‑the‑shelf modules fall short, and what it looks like to design a fully custom, open‑source dual motor driver PCB from scratch with real robotics use in mind.

Rather than jumping straight to a finished board, Milos deliberately walks through his entire engineering process: defining requirements, selecting components, validating assumptions, designing the PCB, assembling it methodically, debugging real‑world mistakes, and finally building firmware and a custom GUI to make the hardware genuinely usable. As he explains early on, this board is intended to become the low‑level motor control layer for his future robotic platforms, not a one‑off demo.

“I wanted to design my own custom PCB with certain requirements… and also take this chance to show you my whole engineering process – from the idea, through evaluation, and then iterating into the next versions.”

How Do Motor Drivers Work?

The next step is switching the motor on and off rapidly. By toggling a switch hundreds or thousands of times per second and varying how long it stays on versus off, you create Pulse Width Modulation (PWM). A wider pulse delivers more energy to the motor; a narrower pulse reduces it.

To do this electronically, Milos demonstrates a simple N‑channel MOSFET circuit. A MOSFET behaves like a fast electronic switch and is far better suited to high‑frequency PWM than a relay. In his bench example, he uses an op‑amp as a level translator so that a 3.3 V microcontroller can properly drive a MOSFET that expects a much higher gate voltage.

This approach works well for speed control, but it has a fundamental limitation: the motor only spins in one direction. As Milos points out:

“There really is no way to switch the direction of the motor driving besides flipping the wires around.”

Direction control requires a different topology altogether.

H‑Bridges and Direction Control

At this point, he references a familiar module:

“If you’ve ever played around with an Arduino… you’ve probably used an L298N.”

Defining the Requirements

Before touching any schematic software, Milos creates a system requirements list. This list drives every design decision that follows and serves as a reference during revisions.

Key requirements include:

Driving two brushed DC motors
A single, compact PCB with the MCU onboard
At least 5 A continuous current per motor
A wide input voltage range (targeting 5 V–36 V, with ambitions beyond)
Clean, stable 3.3 V power for measurement and control
Current sensing for each motor
Extensive connector support for daisy‑chaining boards

“The requirement list is a really nice thing to have since it keeps you on track… and when you do revisions, you can fall back onto this and see if you’ve missed something.”

Electronics and Power Architecture

With the requirements defined, Milos starts with the most critical component: the motor driver IC. After filtering options and reviewing datasheets, he selects a Texas Instruments dual H‑bridge driver capable of handling the required current in a compact package.

That choice introduces an immediate design challenge: the driver requires a stable 12 V supply, regardless of the board’s input voltage. To solve this, Milos implements a buck‑boost converter, allowing the board to operate from roughly 4 V up to 40 V while still generating a clean 12 V rail.

From there, power is stepped down in stages:

Buck‑boost → 12 V
Buck → ~5 V
LDO → 3.3 V

This staged approach reduces noise on the 3.3 V rail, which is critical for ADC measurements, current sensing, and encoder feedback.

“The LDO is like a smart resistor… you get a clean nice output of 3.3 V in the end.”

For current sensing, Milos chooses Hall‑effect current sensors rather than shunt resistors, valuing their stability and isolation.

The board also includes:

Input voltage measurement via a divider
A fuse for protection
XT‑style power connectors with additional communication pins
Switchable I²C pull‑ups
An RGB status LED controlled over I²C

PCB Layout and Physical Design

The PCB is dense but carefully partitioned:

Power conversion sits centrally
High‑current motor paths are kept short and wide
Sensitive analog and MCU sections are isolated
Large copper pours and a defined heatsink area help with thermal management

The result is a compact yet expandable board, complete with Milos’ Platypus mascot and a clear “GO VROOM!” silkscreen reminder of its purpose.

Assembly, Checklists, and Debugging

Rather than soldering everything at once, Milos relies on a soldering and testing checklist, assembling and validating the board in stages:

Buck‑boost converter
Buck converter
LDO
Motor driver
MCU and peripherals

This method quickly pays off. While the board works almost entirely as intended, two errors are discovered:

An incorrect footprint for one IC, requiring hand‑extended pins
A buck converter enable pin that could not tolerate 12 V, repeatedly destroying the IC

“Because of the checklist, I managed to identify what was wrong and why… otherwise I would’ve probably burned a lot more chips.”

Milos documents these issues in an errata sheet, reinforcing the idea that revision‑friendly design is part of good engineering, not a failure.

Firmware Architecture and Motor Control

On the software side, the board runs firmware that deliberately avoids high‑level robotics logic. Instead, it exposes a command‑driven motor control interface over USB, UART, and I²C.

The firmware is structured around several key components:

DualMotorController
Handles PWM generation, fault detection, current measurement, and direction control.
ClosedLoopController
Implements manual control, speed PID, and position PID modes.
As5600Encoder
Interfaces with the AS5600 magnetic encoder, handling wrap‑around, filtering, and unit conversions.
CommandProcessor
Parses human‑readable ASCII commands (M‑codes) and compact binary frames.

Notably, PWM is capped at 95% duty cycle (PWM_ACTIVE_MAX = 950) to ensure bootstrap capacitors in the motor driver remain charged – a subtle but important hardware‑aware firmware detail.

PID Control in Practice

Milos doesn’t just explain PID theory; he demonstrates it live. Speed and position control are implemented using the PidController class, with tunable gains, integral limits, and output clamping.

In practice:

Speed control works best as a PI controller, since derivative action introduces too much noise at the encoder sampling rate.
Position control benefits from P and I terms, with careful tuning to avoid integral wind‑up.

“If you try doing anything with the derivative part, you just get a bunch of noise… so we’ll essentially just use a PI controller instead.”

The firmware also includes:

Automatic direction self‑checks
Encoder zeroing
Gain scheduling hooks for future improvements

Custom Python GUI

To make tuning and testing practical, Milos builds a custom Python GUI using PySide6. The GUI provides:

Real‑time plots of speed, position, current, and PWM duty
Live status indicators for faults and thermal warnings
Manual control sliders
PID tuning panels
Encoder configuration and zeroing
Binary and ASCII telemetry support

This interface turns the board from “just hardware” into a usable development tool and makes PID behavior visually intuitive.

Finished Project and What’s Next

In the end, Milos considers the project a success:

“I’m really happy with how this PCB turned out… it’s bigger than the module we started with, but it’s a lot more capable.”

The board meets nearly all of its original requirements, and the few shortcomings are clearly documented. Future plans include:

Integrating multiple boards into a robotic platform
Supporting mecanum wheel control
Further refining PID tuning and control abstractions
Iterating the PCB with lessons learned from revision one

Supporting Links and Files

- Episode 712 Resources

Bill of Materials

Product Name	Manufacturer	Quantity	Buy Kit
LT8350	ANALOG DEVICES	1	Buy Now
Inductor XAL6060-682MEC	COILCRAFT	1	Buy Now
Resistor 0603 270k - MCWR06X2703FTL	MULTICOMP PRO	1	Buy Now
Resistor 0603 100k - MCMR06X1003FTL	MULTICOMP PRO	4	Buy Now
Capacitor 22uF 0805 25V - CL21A226MAYNNNE	SAMSUNG	9	Buy Now
Connector PCB 2+2 - MP011760	MULTICOMP PRO	2	Buy Now
Connector Cable 2+2 - MP011759	MULTICOMP PRO	2	Buy Now
3V3 LDO - BD33HC0VEFJ-ME2	ROHM	1	Buy Now
Heatsink LTN20069	WKEFIELD THERMAL	1	Buy Now
Resistor 0603 - 1k	MULTICOMP PRO	4	Buy Now
Resistor 0603 - 2k	MULTICOMP PRO	1	Buy Now
Resistor 0603 - 4k7	MULTICOMP PRO	5	Buy Now
Inductor - ME3220-472MLC	COILCRAFT	1	Buy Now
Capacitor 4.7uF 0603	MURATA	1	Buy Now
Resistor 0603 5k1	MULTICOMP PRO	1	Buy Now
Resistor 0603 10k	MULTICOMP PRO	5	Buy Now
Capacitor 0805 10uF 50V	MURATA	4	Buy Now
Capacitor 0603 22nF	SAMSUNG	1	Buy Now
Capacitor 0603 100nF 50V	SAMSUNG	17	Buy Now
Resistor 0603 143k	MULTICOMP PRO	1	Buy Now
Capacitor 0603 470nF	SAMSUNG	1	Buy Now
Fuse with Fuse Holder SMD - 0154010.DR	LITTELFUSE	1	Buy Now
Buck Converter IC - AP62200Z6-7	DIODES INC	1	Buy Now
LED Red 0603	MULTICOMP PRO	1	Buy Now
LED Green 0603	MULTICOMP PRO	1	Buy Now
LED Blue 0603	MULTICOMP PRO	1	Buy Now
Inductor Ferrite Bead MPZ2012S221ATD25	TDK	1	Buy Now
Resistor 0603 1R	MULTICOMP PRO	1	Buy Now
Capacitor 0603 1uF 25V	SAMSUNG	7	Buy Now
Resistor 0603 3R3	MULTICOMP PRO	1	Buy Now
Resistor 0603 5R	MULTICOMP PRO	4	Buy Now
Capacitor 0603 10nF 50V	SAMSUNG	1	Buy Now
Resistor 0603 24K	MULTICOMP PRO	1	Buy Now
Capacitor 47uF	KEMET	1	Buy Now
Capacitor 330uF	AISHI	1	Buy Now
Current Sensor IC - ACS722	ALLEGRO	2	Buy Now
Motor Driver IC - DRV8412DDWR	TEXAS INSTRUMENTS	1	Buy Now
Capacitor 470uF 50V	KYOCERA	2	Buy Now
Motor Connector - XT30	DFROBOT	2	Buy Now
SPI/GPIO Connector - PCB	AMPHENOL	1	Buy Now
SPI/GPIO Connector - Cable	AMPHENOL	1	Buy Now
SPI/GPIO Connector - Pins	AMPHENOL	6	Buy Now
RGB LED	WURTH ELEKTRONIK	1	Buy Now
Debug Connector	JST	1	Buy Now
LED Driver IC	NXP	1	Buy Now
Raspberry Pi Pico 2	RASPBERRY-PI	1	Buy Now
PullUp Resistor Switch RN2905	TOSHIBA	2	Buy Now

Additional Parts

Product Name	Manufacturer	Quantity
2mm pitch JST style SMD connectors	N/A
Blank PCBs	N/A
Brushed DC Motors	N/A
AS5600 Encoder Module	N/A
WAFER-PH2.0-4PLB	N/A	4

Designing a More Capable Dual Motor Driver Beyond the L298N (What worked and what didn't)

cstanton — Thu, 30 Apr 2026 09:56:18 GMT

Revision 3 posted to Documents by cstanton on 4/30/2026 9:56:18 AM

Rather than jumping straight to a finished board, Milos deliberately walks through his entire engineering process: defining requirements, selecting components, validating assumptions, designing the PCB, assembling it methodically, debugging real‑world mistakes, and finally building firmware and a custom GUI to make the hardware genuinely usable. As he explains early on, this board is intended to become the low‑level motor control layer for his future robotic platforms, not a one‑off demo.

“I wanted to design my own custom PCB with certain requirements… and also take this chance to show you my whole engineering process – from the idea, through evaluation, and then iterating into the next versions.”

element14 presents | Meet the Hosts

How Do Motor Drivers Work?

This approach works well for speed control, but it has a fundamental limitation: the motor only spins in one direction. As Milos points out:

“There really is no way to switch the direction of the motor driving besides flipping the wires around.”

Direction control requires a different topology altogether.

H‑Bridges and Direction Control

At this point, he references a familiar module:

“If you’ve ever played around with an Arduino… you’ve probably used an L298N.”

Defining the Requirements

Before touching any schematic software, Milos creates a system requirements list. This list drives every design decision that follows and serves as a reference during revisions.

Key requirements include:

Driving two brushed DC motors
A single, compact PCB with the MCU onboard
At least 5 A continuous current per motor
A wide input voltage range (targeting 5 V–36 V, with ambitions beyond)
Clean, stable 3.3 V power for measurement and control
Current sensing for each motor
Extensive connector support for daisy‑chaining boards

“The requirement list is a really nice thing to have since it keeps you on track… and when you do revisions, you can fall back onto this and see if you’ve missed something.”

Electronics and Power Architecture

From there, power is stepped down in stages:

Buck‑boost → 12 V
Buck → ~5 V
LDO → 3.3 V

This staged approach reduces noise on the 3.3 V rail, which is critical for ADC measurements, current sensing, and encoder feedback.

“The LDO is like a smart resistor… you get a clean nice output of 3.3 V in the end.”

For current sensing, Milos chooses Hall‑effect current sensors rather than shunt resistors, valuing their stability and isolation.

The board also includes:

Input voltage measurement via a divider
A fuse for protection
XT‑style power connectors with additional communication pins
Switchable I²C pull‑ups
An RGB status LED controlled over I²C

PCB Layout and Physical Design

The PCB is dense but carefully partitioned:

Power conversion sits centrally
High‑current motor paths are kept short and wide
Sensitive analog and MCU sections are isolated
Large copper pours and a defined heatsink area help with thermal management

The result is a compact yet expandable board, complete with Milos’ Platypus mascot and a clear “GO VROOM!” silkscreen reminder of its purpose.

Assembly, Checklists, and Debugging

Rather than soldering everything at once, Milos relies on a soldering and testing checklist, assembling and validating the board in stages:

Buck‑boost converter
Buck converter
LDO
Motor driver
MCU and peripherals

This method quickly pays off. While the board works almost entirely as intended, two errors are discovered:

An incorrect footprint for one IC, requiring hand‑extended pins
A buck converter enable pin that could not tolerate 12 V, repeatedly destroying the IC

“Because of the checklist, I managed to identify what was wrong and why… otherwise I would’ve probably burned a lot more chips.”

Milos documents these issues in an errata sheet, reinforcing the idea that revision‑friendly design is part of good engineering, not a failure.

Firmware Architecture and Motor Control

On the software side, the board runs firmware that deliberately avoids high‑level robotics logic. Instead, it exposes a command‑driven motor control interface over USB, UART, and I²C.

The firmware is structured around several key components:

DualMotorController
Handles PWM generation, fault detection, current measurement, and direction control.
ClosedLoopController
Implements manual control, speed PID, and position PID modes.
As5600Encoder
Interfaces with the AS5600 magnetic encoder, handling wrap‑around, filtering, and unit conversions.
CommandProcessor
Parses human‑readable ASCII commands (M‑codes) and compact binary frames.

Notably, PWM is capped at 95% duty cycle (PWM_ACTIVE_MAX = 950) to ensure bootstrap capacitors in the motor driver remain charged – a subtle but important hardware‑aware firmware detail.

PID Control in Practice

Milos doesn’t just explain PID theory; he demonstrates it live. Speed and position control are implemented using the PidController class, with tunable gains, integral limits, and output clamping.

In practice:

Speed control works best as a PI controller, since derivative action introduces too much noise at the encoder sampling rate.
Position control benefits from P and I terms, with careful tuning to avoid integral wind‑up.

“If you try doing anything with the derivative part, you just get a bunch of noise… so we’ll essentially just use a PI controller instead.”

The firmware also includes:

Automatic direction self‑checks
Encoder zeroing
Gain scheduling hooks for future improvements

Custom Python GUI

To make tuning and testing practical, Milos builds a custom Python GUI using PySide6. The GUI provides:

Real‑time plots of speed, position, current, and PWM duty
Live status indicators for faults and thermal warnings
Manual control sliders
PID tuning panels
Encoder configuration and zeroing
Binary and ASCII telemetry support

This interface turns the board from “just hardware” into a usable development tool and makes PID behavior visually intuitive.

Finished Project and What’s Next

In the end, Milos considers the project a success:

“I’m really happy with how this PCB turned out… it’s bigger than the module we started with, but it’s a lot more capable.”

The board meets nearly all of its original requirements, and the few shortcomings are clearly documented. Future plans include:

Integrating multiple boards into a robotic platform
Supporting mecanum wheel control
Further refining PID tuning and control abstractions
Iterating the PCB with lessons learned from revision one

Supporting Links and Files

Designing a More Capable Dual Motor Driver Beyond the L298N (What worked and what didn't)

cstanton — Thu, 30 Apr 2026 09:29:40 GMT

Revision 2 posted to Documents by cstanton on 4/30/2026 9:29:40 AM

Rather than jumping straight to a finished board, Milos deliberately walks through his entire engineering process: defining requirements, selecting components, validating assumptions, designing the PCB, assembling it methodically, debugging real‑world mistakes, and finally building firmware and a custom GUI to make the hardware genuinely usable. As he explains early on, this board is intended to become the low‑level motor control layer for his future robotic platforms, not a one‑off demo.

“I wanted to design my own custom PCB with certain requirements… and also take this chance to show you my whole engineering process – from the idea, through evaluation, and then iterating into the next versions.”

How Do Motor Drivers Work?

This approach works well for speed control, but it has a fundamental limitation: the motor only spins in one direction. As Milos points out:

“There really is no way to switch the direction of the motor driving besides flipping the wires around.”

Direction control requires a different topology altogether.

H‑Bridges and Direction Control

At this point, he references a familiar module:

“If you’ve ever played around with an Arduino… you’ve probably used an L298N.”

Defining the Requirements

Before touching any schematic software, Milos creates a system requirements list. This list drives every design decision that follows and serves as a reference during revisions.

Key requirements include:

Driving two brushed DC motors
A single, compact PCB with the MCU onboard
At least 5 A continuous current per motor
A wide input voltage range (targeting 5 V–36 V, with ambitions beyond)
Clean, stable 3.3 V power for measurement and control
Current sensing for each motor
Extensive connector support for daisy‑chaining boards

“The requirement list is a really nice thing to have since it keeps you on track… and when you do revisions, you can fall back onto this and see if you’ve missed something.”

Electronics and Power Architecture

From there, power is stepped down in stages:

Buck‑boost → 12 V
Buck → ~5 V
LDO → 3.3 V

This staged approach reduces noise on the 3.3 V rail, which is critical for ADC measurements, current sensing, and encoder feedback.

“The LDO is like a smart resistor… you get a clean nice output of 3.3 V in the end.”

For current sensing, Milos chooses Hall‑effect current sensors rather than shunt resistors, valuing their stability and isolation.

The board also includes:

Input voltage measurement via a divider
A fuse for protection
XT‑style power connectors with additional communication pins
Switchable I²C pull‑ups
An RGB status LED controlled over I²C

PCB Layout and Physical Design

The PCB is dense but carefully partitioned:

Power conversion sits centrally
High‑current motor paths are kept short and wide
Sensitive analog and MCU sections are isolated
Large copper pours and a defined heatsink area help with thermal management

The result is a compact yet expandable board, complete with Milos’ Platypus mascot and a clear “GO VROOM!” silkscreen reminder of its purpose.

Assembly, Checklists, and Debugging

Rather than soldering everything at once, Milos relies on a soldering and testing checklist, assembling and validating the board in stages:

Buck‑boost converter
Buck converter
LDO
Motor driver
MCU and peripherals

This method quickly pays off. While the board works almost entirely as intended, two errors are discovered:

An incorrect footprint for one IC, requiring hand‑extended pins
A buck converter enable pin that could not tolerate 12 V, repeatedly destroying the IC

“Because of the checklist, I managed to identify what was wrong and why… otherwise I would’ve probably burned a lot more chips.”

Milos documents these issues in an errata sheet, reinforcing the idea that revision‑friendly design is part of good engineering, not a failure.

Firmware Architecture and Motor Control

On the software side, the board runs firmware that deliberately avoids high‑level robotics logic. Instead, it exposes a command‑driven motor control interface over USB, UART, and I²C.

The firmware is structured around several key components:

DualMotorController
Handles PWM generation, fault detection, current measurement, and direction control.
ClosedLoopController
Implements manual control, speed PID, and position PID modes.
As5600Encoder
Interfaces with the AS5600 magnetic encoder, handling wrap‑around, filtering, and unit conversions.
CommandProcessor
Parses human‑readable ASCII commands (M‑codes) and compact binary frames.

Notably, PWM is capped at 95% duty cycle (PWM_ACTIVE_MAX = 950) to ensure bootstrap capacitors in the motor driver remain charged – a subtle but important hardware‑aware firmware detail.

PID Control in Practice

Milos doesn’t just explain PID theory; he demonstrates it live. Speed and position control are implemented using the PidController class, with tunable gains, integral limits, and output clamping.

In practice:

Speed control works best as a PI controller, since derivative action introduces too much noise at the encoder sampling rate.
Position control benefits from P and I terms, with careful tuning to avoid integral wind‑up.

“If you try doing anything with the derivative part, you just get a bunch of noise… so we’ll essentially just use a PI controller instead.”

The firmware also includes:

Automatic direction self‑checks
Encoder zeroing
Gain scheduling hooks for future improvements

Custom Python GUI

To make tuning and testing practical, Milos builds a custom Python GUI using PySide6. The GUI provides:

Real‑time plots of speed, position, current, and PWM duty
Live status indicators for faults and thermal warnings
Manual control sliders
PID tuning panels
Encoder configuration and zeroing
Binary and ASCII telemetry support

This interface turns the board from “just hardware” into a usable development tool and makes PID behavior visually intuitive.

Finished Project and What’s Next

In the end, Milos considers the project a success:

“I’m really happy with how this PCB turned out… it’s bigger than the module we started with, but it’s a lot more capable.”

The board meets nearly all of its original requirements, and the few shortcomings are clearly documented. Future plans include:

Integrating multiple boards into a robotic platform
Supporting mecanum wheel control
Further refining PID tuning and control abstractions
Iterating the PCB with lessons learned from revision one

All design files, firmware, and documentation are shared openly via Element14 Community and GitHub, making this not just a personal project, but a resource for anyone interested in serious motor control design.

Designing a More Capable Dual Motor Driver Beyond the L298N (What worked and what didn't)

cstanton — Thu, 30 Apr 2026 09:16:11 GMT

Revision 1 posted to Documents by cstanton on 4/30/2026 9:16:11 AM

Project Video Release Archive

e14sbhargav — Thu, 23 Apr 2026 14:06:44 GMT

Revision 209 posted to Documents by e14sbhargav on 4/23/2026 2:06:44 PM

Project Video Releases

Episode 711: Modern Edge AI on Raspberry Pi 5 for an Animatronic Tracker: Vision Acceleration with AI Hat+ and AI Camera

Episode 710: Your First Real PCB in KiCad : An Arduino Compatible Board Designed from Scratch

Episode 709: Was that my Number!? Fixing Café Order Chaos with a Raspberry Pi Announcer

Episode 708: Reviving a Vintage LED Sign with Arduino and PS/2 Control

Episode 707: Building a Circuit Sculpture with LED Filament

Episode 706: ESP32 + RFID = Smart Access Control in a Simple DIY Build

Episode 705: Building a Super Smooth Z-Scale Train Controller with Arduino

Episode 704: Hacking an IKEA Desk into a Programmable Electric Workstation

Episode 703: How to Set Up the Raspberry Pi 5: Complete Beginner Step-by-Step Guide

Episode 702: Build Your Own USB Looper for Serial Debugging and File Transfer

Episode 701: From Snooze to Launch: The Arduino-Powered LEGO Alarm Clock Inspired by Artemis 2

Episode 700: How Voice Recognition Works on Raspberry Pi (and Why It’s Easy to Break)

Episode 699: GimmeGPIO: A Simple Way to Get GPIO on Laptops and Desktops

Episode 698: Building a Practical Electronics Workbench for Makers and Engineers

Episode 697: A Smart, Safe 3D Printer Cabinet Using Raspberry Pi and Node-RED

Episode 696: How a Pulse Metal Detector Works, and How to Build One

Episode 695: A DIY Test and Programming Rig Built for Small-Batch Electronics Production

Episode 694: Earn Your Fitness Reward with a Smart Cookie Jar Using Strava and ESP32

Episode 693: Open-Source Multicolour 3D Printing Upgrade: Clem’s 3D Chameleon Remix

Episode 692: Build Your own ESP32 Fitness Heart Rate Monitor / Tracker

Episode 691: How Accurate Is Bluetooth Channel Sounding? A Deep Dive with the nRF54L15

Episode 690: Meet the PlatypusBot: Now Powered by Raspberry Pi & ROS

Episode 689: How Clem Built a Handheld Sci-Fi Communicator That Really Works

Episode 688: Building the Cylon Pumpkin: Combining a Larson Scanner and Vocoder for Halloween

Episode 687: Turning a $10 Air Fryer into an Arduino powered Filament Dryer

Episode 686: Creepy Motion-Activated Painting You Can Build Yourself

Episode 685: When Your Body Becomes the Instrument: Clem Builds the “Dröne” Synth

Episode 684: Building an Audio Reactive LED Matrix with a micro:bit and NeoPixels

Episode 683: How to Make a Portable Emergency Radio with an Arduino Nano in a Mint TinT

Episode 682: DIY RF Modulator + Raspberry Pi Pico = Gaming on a Sony Watchman FD-10A CRT

Episode 681: Turn anything into an Arduino Module: Reusing Everyday Electronics

Episode 680: From Kit to Custom Design: Building a Tube-Based FM Radio

Episode 679: ESP32 Duolingo Owl Project: Never Miss a Lesson Again

Episode 678: Open Source ATtiny3226 Arduino Calculator – Hardware, Case & Code Build

Episode 677: Make Your Own Vocoder with Teensy 4.0 - Voice of a Cylon?!

Episode 676: I Tried Building 16 ATtiny Robots with Vibration Motors – It Was a Disaster

Episode 675:Avoid Conflict with this ESP32 Defcon Task Tracker

Episode 674: Building an Open Source Blood Pressure & Heart Signal Monitor

Episode 673: Building an ESP32 Powered Warhammer 40k Rhino with Dynamic LED Effects!

Episode 672: Building an Autonomous LEGO Train with CircuitPython and LIDAR

Episode 671: PlatypusBot - Scavenging for Robotics Parts

Episode 670: Build your own Larson Scanner

Episode 669: Creating an ESD (Or Lightning!) Detector!

Episode 668: Designing an Arduino PID Controlled Micro Drone

Episode 667: Emulating a Speech Synthesis Chip with an ESP32

Episode 666: How Far Can I2C Go?

Episode 665: Raspberry Pi AI Tracking Eye of Sauron - AI AL Barad Dur

Episode 664: Learn how to Make a Photo Booth with the ESP32 and Telegram Automation!

Episode 663: Upcycling a Vintage Microphone into an Emergency Radio System

Episode 662: Making a Stronger Affordable DIY Robot Arm with 3D Printing with Raspberry Pi Pico

Episode 661: Clem makes his own LED Wristwatch

Episode 660: LoFi Beats to Solder To

Episode 659: DIY Single Board Computer with ESP32 and Raspberry Pi Pico

Episode 658: A Smart Youtube Counter With An Audio Analyzer

Episode 657: How to Control a LEGO Mindstorms kit with AI and Raspberry Pi 5

Episode 656: DIY Jig for your Laser Cutter with Custom Arduino Automation

Episode 655: DIY Hot Plate for SMD Soldering Using Raspberry Pi Pico

Episode 654: How Do BattleBots Work? In the Pit with HyperShock

Episode 653: Edge-lit 7-Segment Display Clock Using Raspberry Pi Pico

Episode 652: Smart Windows and Blinds with Arduino and Raspberry Pi Pico

Episode 651: Design for Manufacturing - Project to Product by Modifying Off-the-Shelf Cases

Episode 650: Using Nordic's nRF7002, My Dehumidifier Tells Me When It's Full!

Episode 649: Giant Retro Gaming Magic Mirror with a Raspberry Pi 5!

Episode 648: Home AI Image Generation Server with LattePanda and Stable Diffusion

Episode 647: Building an Open-Source Tool for Cave Surveying

Episode 646: Creating a Digital Roulette Table with an ESP32 DevKit

Episode 645: Practical DIY Pi Pico Current Load Circuits

Episode 644: Turning a Raspberry Pi Pico into a GPU!

Episode 643: Making a Tribble that Detects Klingons

Episode 642: Making a Time-lapse Camera with a Raspberry Pi 5

Episode 641: Moon Phase Display with Raspberry Pi Pico

Episode 640: Tinkering vs Engineering: Can You Build a Laptop from Scratch?

Episode 639: Off-Grid Remote Generator Starter?

Episode 638: RP2040 PCB: Design, Turn-On, and Debug - How Hard Could It Be?

Episode 637: Making Music with a Lego Guitar and Capacitive Touch

Episode 636: Creating an IMU based 3D Mouse with an ESP32-S3

Episode 635: Vintage Electronics Exploration with a Bally Cypress Gardens Bingo Machine

Episode 634: Craft a Festive LED Christmas Sweater Featuring the ATtiny416

Episode 633: Spying Under the Christmas Tree with an Arduino-powered Ornament

Episode 632: Revamping Old School Pinball with an ESP32

Episode 631: All-Purpose Debugging: A Practical Universal Screen with LCD Displays

Episode 630: Mega IIe: First Fully Functional Computer built around the Apple Mega-II Chip

Episode 629: Backpack Splash: Mark's Water Gun Upgrade for Epic Outdoor Water Wars!

Episode 628: Affordable DIY Robot Arm - A Deep Dive into 3D Printing and Servo Motors

Episode 627: Creating sudostick - From Prototype to Product

Episode 626: Catching you Up on Bonesnapper Ridge - Off-Grid Maker Shop

Episode 625: Interactive Magic - Creating an Enchanted Cauldron

Episode 624: Modding A Smoke Machine to Add Motion Detection

Episode 623: How to Run Linux on an ESP32

Episode 622: Building Spooky Fun: Halloween Sound Pranks with nRF 5340 BLE Audio

Episode 621: Color Sensor-Based Water Quality Tracker: DIY Environmental Monitoring

Episode 620: Stey-by-Step Guide to Creating your own Speaking Animatronic Hat

Episode 619: How to Build an Open Source Bluetooth Mechanical Keyboard

Episode 618: Upgrading My Racing Sim with a Force-Sensitive Keyboard

Episode 617: Simplify Network Monitoring: Building an ESP32-Powered Solution

Episode 616: Mastering Oven Control: Precision Resin Curing with DIY Modifications - How Hard Can it Be?

Episode 615: Building a Unique USB Card Reader: From Idea to Prototype

Episode 614: Using PID (Proportional-Integral-Derivative) in Robotics - How Hard Could It Be?

Episode 613: Building a Magic Wand Talking Sound Board

Episode 612: Handheld BASIC computer in Badge Format with the Arduino Uno

Episode 611: How to Run the Distance to the Moon with Strava Data and a Pico W Board

Episode 610: How to Embroider with Circuits and Conductive Thread

Episode 609: Updating a Fujitsu N860-2500-T111 Keyboard to Work with a PS2 Standard

Episode 608: Making the Simplest DIY Wind Energy Generator - How Hard Could it Be?

Episode 607: From Strava to Motion: Creating an Arduino-Powered Arcade Game with Running Data

Episode 606: How to Use LoRaWAN to Launch Model Rockets Wirelessly

Episode 605: Arduino and LEDs Make Solitaire Easier to Solve

Episode 604: Charlieplexing Buttons and LEDs at the Same Time - How Hard Can It Be?

Episode 603: Create Your Own Air Hockey Table with Arduino Scoring

Episode 602: DIY AC Dimmer Circuit: Control Your Lights with a Raspberry Pi Pico

Episode 601: How to Reverse Engineer Electronics: Building a Developer Board for a Coding Class

Episode 600: Building My Dream Digital Clock: DIY 7 Segment Display with a Cute Robot Twist!

Episode 599: How to Build a Spectrum Analyzer with Lego Bricks & Discrete Electronics

Episode 598: How To Build a Portable, Solar-Charged Off-Grid Power Station

Episode 597: How to Build a Robot that Celebrates Good Grades with Arduino

Episode 596: How to Build Your Own Voice Assistant with MyCroft AI - How Hard Can It Be?

Episode 595: Member Challenge Accepted - Universal LANC Controller for DSLR cameras

Episode 594: Repairing a Neewer 660 Studio light - How Hard Can It Be?

Episode 593: Playing 3D Famicom Games Wirelessly on the NES - How Hard Could It Be?

Episode 592: Lamptopus: Spinning LED Desk Lamp

Episode 591: Building A Bluetooth Speaker in 5 Minutes - How Hard Can It Be?

Episode 590: Seven Kingdoms Open Source Bartop Arcade

Episode 589: Upgrading the iMac G4 With a NUC

Episode 588: Highlights from element14 presents 2022

Episode 587: Create Your Own Talking Stress Indicator

Episode 586: DIY Open Source Bluetooth Headphones

Episode 585: Enhancing a Magnifying Headband with Auto Sensing Light

Episode 584: Going Beyond Periodic Wakes: Using WiFi to Revive a Sleeping Device

Episode 583: Epic Neopixel Birthday Cake

Episode 582: Smart Christmas Decoration with Raspberry Pi Pico and MQTT

Episode 581: Bee-Saving Electronics Prototype

Episode 580: DIY Low Cost Capacitance Meter Using a 555 Timer

Episode 579: How to Make a Basketball Auto Score Keeper Using Colour Sensing

Episode 578: Build your Own Bat Detector with Analog Parts

Episode 577: The Game Guy Mini, Upgrading the Unportable Game Boy!

Episode 576: Build your own Underwater Drone with 3D Printed Parts

Episode 575: How to Make a Secured Parcel Pickup Box with Arduino

Episode 574: Ghost Rider Halloween Costume

Episode 573: Using a Pi Pico to Convert Keyboard Input to Morse Code

Episode 572: How to Use an ESP32 & Camera to Know You've Got Mail!

Episode 571: Using Dead Batteries to Test for Dead Batteries

Episode 570: Making a WiFi Connected Audio Spectrum Analyzer with ESP32

Episode 569: Multi-Spectrum UV Resin Curing Station with Würth LEDs

Episode 568: How to Make a Custom Soundboard with the STM32F4 using FreeCAD

Episode 567: Synced NeoPixel Mickey Mouse Ears

Episode 566: How to Automate Industrial Welding Positioners with Arduino

Episode 565: Measuring Destructive Testing Force with a 20 Ton Hydraulic Press

Episode 564: Build a VU Meter with LED Pixelated Nixie Tubes

Episode 563: Creating Augmented Reality Circuits with Meta Quest 2 and Unity

Episode 562: Pi Home Temperature Monitoring System

Episode 561: WiFi to Parallel Port Ascii Art Dot-Matrix Printer

Episode 560: Raspberry Pi Controlled Lego Train with Build HAT

Episode 559: Create a Magic Makeup Mirror with Pose Detection

Episode 558: 3D Object Rendering Using an FPGA

Episode 557: Create your own Handheld Serial Monitor for Project Debugging

Episode 556: Hacking a Hotel POS Tablet - How Hard Can it Be?

Episode 555: Dance Central Pose Estimation Game with Tensorflow and Raspberry Pi

Episode 554: Arduino Uno Mini Limited Edition LED Necklace

Episode 553: Adding a Parallel Printer Port to an Android Phone

Episode 552: Magical Potion Bottle Rack

Episode 551: Can We Rebuild a 1930s Accounting Machine?

Episode 550: DIY Electronic Controlled Motorized Wheelchair

Episode 549: Using a Teletype Machine as a USB Printer with Arduino

Episode 548: Electronic Fidget Cube, Building Your Ideas!

Episode 547: Creating a “Mummy” Wake Word Detector with Raspberry Pi and Edge Impulse

Episode 546: Mapping the Outputs of a 1960s Teletype Machine - How Hard Can it Be?

Episode 545: Designing a Custom PCB for Microsoft Jacdac

Episode 544: Reviving the 1984 IBM 5155 - How Hard Can It Be?

Episode 543: Lego Spike Prime Weather Station with Raspberry Pi

Episode 542: A Noise-Free DIY Switching Power Supply - How Hard Can It Be?

Episode 541: Vintage Laptop Battery Replaced with USB Power - How Hard Can It Be?

Episode 540: Object Detection for Smart Recycling

Episode 539: Training a Machine to Recognize Objects - How Hard Can It Be?

Episode 538: How to Build a Quadruped Robot - NO MATH!

Episode 537: Build a Phonograph Preamplifier - How Hard Can It Be?

Episode 536: Interactive Light-Up Window with Pose Detection using a Raspberry Pi and micro:bit

Episode 535: Repair a Sega Game Gear - How Hard Can It Be?

Episode 534: Open Source Inventory Warehousing System

Episode 533: Jumbo DIY LED

Episode 532: World’s First Single-Chip Apple II Boots!

Episode 531: Game Guy - The Unportable Game Boy

Episode 530: MQTT controlled LED Christmas Baubles with Raspberry Pi Pico

Episode 529: UPDI Program for new ATTiny

Episode 528: Let's Build an Electronic Fidget Cube!

Episode 527: Interactive Light Up Window using a Raspberry Pi and micro:bit

Episode 526: CNC Router Remote Control

Episode 525: DIY Helmholtz Snow Globe

Episode 524: Arduino IoT Cloud Weather Station

Episode 523: Make your Own Auto-Sensing Solder Fume Extractor

Episode 522: Siren Head Halloween Wearable Costume

Episode 521: DIY Static Grass Applicator

Episode 520: Adding Android Auto as Non-Permanent Add-On with Raspberry Pi

Episode 519: Make Your Own Ye Olde Book Nook Diorama with Arduino

Episode 518: Guitar Vacuum Tube Distortion Pedal

Episode 517: Emulate an EPROM - How Hard Could it Be?

Episode 516: Modding a Wireless Doorbell with Raspberry Pi and ESP8266

Episode 515: Upcycling a Lenovo PC into a Raspberry Pi WiFi Access Point

Episode 514: Making a 3D Graphics Card for the Atari 800 XL

Episode 513: Bike Speedometer with Arduino and GPS

Episode 512: You Cannot Buy This Vacuum Tube Tester. You Build It!

Episode 511: Raspberry Pi Powered Cheeseball Launcher

Episode 510: Laser Cutter Command Station

Episode 509: DIY Discrete Logic LED Countdown Timer

Episode 508: Raspberry Pi FPV Rover Easy Robot Arm Upgrade

Episode 507: Massive Raspberry Pi

Episode 506: DIY Star Trek Tricorder from Build Inside the Box

Episode 505: Super 8 Camera Digitizer

Episode 504: DIY Sump Pump Alarm

Episode 503: Meet Cheesoid - The Robot That Smells!

Episode 502: Make Your Bike a Pokebike!

Episode 501: Raspberry Pi NFC Button-Free Music Player

Episode 500: Build Inside The Box Challenge!

Episode 499: DIY Four Channel Arduino Servo Tester

Episode 498: Raspberry Pi Smart Water Dispenser

Episode 497: RFID Pocket Money Keeper

Episode 496: Compute Module 4 Powered 3D Printer Board

Episode 495: Magic GIF Ball Powered By Raspberry Pi

Episode 494: Keyboard Shortcuts Keypad with Raspberry Pi Pico

Episode 493: NeoPixel 7 Segment Display Clock Update

Episode 492: Arduino vs 555 Timer - Tiny Slot Car Racers

Episode 491: Arduino Single-Wheel Balancing Robot

Episode 490: DIY Raspberry Pi Pico Fizz Buzz Multiplication Game

Episode 489: Build An FPV Rover with Raspberry Pi

Episode 488: DIY Raspberry Pi Cyberdeck

Episode 487: DIY MagSafe Battery Charger

Episode 486: Make The Ultimate Phone Charging Camping Flashlight

Episode 485: How To Make A Custom PCB From Design To Assembly

Episode 484: Raspberry Pi Bird Watching Camera

Episode 483: DIY Miniature Multimeter

Episode 482: Gigantic 3D Printed 7 Segment Display Clock

Episode 481: DIY LOST Swan Station Split Flap Display Timer

Episode 480: DIY Toothbrush Timer

Episode 479: Raspberry Pi 2XL Robot Assistant Part 2

Episode 478: Upgrading A Christmas Train

Episode 477: Metal Plate Your 3D Prints with a DIY Galvanizing Machine

Episode 476: IoT Arduino NTP World Clock with SPI Display

Episode 475: DIY Wall Mounted Arduino Barometer

Episode 474: Continuum Robot Tentacle Prototype

Episode 473: Mendel 3D Printer Upgrade and Maintenance

Episode 472: DIY Hydration Reminder System

Episode 471: DIY Dance Dance Revolution Mat

Episode 470: Voice Activated Inspector Gadget Hat

Episode 469: Nintendo Super Scope Modded For Modern Televisions

Episode 468: Socially Distanced Halloween Candy Dispenser

Episode 467: Repairing the World's First Laptop! (Epson HX-20)

Episode 466: Arduino-powered Hexadecimal Color Code Clock

Episode 465: Lego Raspberry Pi HQ Camera

Episode 464: Particle Voice Recognition for Home Appliances

Episode 463: Raspberry Pi Speech to Text LED Face Mask

Episode 462: Joycon Controlled Electronic Rock'Em Sock'Em Robots

Episode 461: Portal 2 Security Camera with Raspberry Pi 2

Episode 460: Trinamic Open Source Ventilator (TOSV) Teardown

Episode 459: Raspberry Pi 4 VR Conference Call Assistant

Episode 458: DIY Arduino Automated Metal Bending Machine

Episode 457: Raspberry Pi 4 Animatronic Rosie the Robot from the Jetsons

Episode 456: Unhackable Arduino Switch Matrix

Episode 455: Arduino Unit Conversion Calculator

Episode 454: Soldering Up the rc2014 Homebrew Z80 Computer Kit

Episode 453: Build an Anti-Troll Bot Using TensorFlow and Arduino

Episode 452: Raspberry Pi 4 Experimental Resin 3D Printer Updated!

Episode 451: Build an Off Grid Wikipedia with Raspberry Pi

Episode 450: Sega GameGear Rebuild with LEDs

Episode 449: DIY Tamagotchi - Build a Virtual Pet

Episode 448: DIY Raspberry Pi 4 Boxing Game

Episode 447: DIY Stop Motion Rig with LattePanda

Episode 446: Raspberry Pi 2XL Robot Assistant Part 1

Episode 445: Raspberry Pi 4 Animatronic BD-1 Companion Robot

Episode 444: Raspberry Pi 4 DVR

Episode 443: Arduino Uno RC Remote - Can It Be Done?

Episode 442: Make Your Own Giant Servo

Episode 441: Raspberry Pi 4 International Space Station Tracker

Episode 440: DIY Arduino Helicopter Collective Joystick Control

Episode 439 - Mechanical Arcade Game with Barebones Arduino

Episode 438: Smartphone Controlled DIY Rover Using Websockets

Episode 437: DIY Motorized Zoom for Your DSLR

Episode 436: Automated Raspberry Pi Planet Tracking GOTO Telescope

Episode 435: Raspberry Pi 4 Music Player w/Analog Controls

Episode 434: Infineon Smart City Model

Episode 433: Arduino Based Love Tester

Episode 432: Super FX Sword using the BBC micro:bit

Episode 431: Room-Sized Studio Light Speakers Combo

Episode 430: Flaming Xylophone Rubens' Tube

Episode 429: YouTuber "On Air" Light with Particle Mesh Network

Episode 428: Raspberry Pi 4 CRT-based VR Headset

Episode 427: DIY Retro Gaming Portable on a Budget!

Episode 426: Retro TV Ads Holiday Ornament

Episode 425: Make Your Own Raspberry Pi 4 Photobooth!

Episode 424: DIY Escape Room Puzzle

Episode 423: Programmable Arduino Synthesizer Watch

Episode 422: Raspberry Pi E-Ink Task Organizer

Episode 421: Raspberry Pi 4 Commodore SX-64 Inspired Portable Computer

Episode 420: DIY Shapeoko CNC Pendant

Episode 419: Altair 8800 Laptop

Episode 418: Animatronic Terminator Skull with BeagleBone® AI

Episode 417: #Pipboy 2000 Mk II

Episode 416: DIY #3DPrinted Label Spooler

Episode 415: Iron Man Helmet Heads Up Display

Episode 414: Raspberry Pi 4 Experimental Resin 3D Printer

Episode 413: Animatronic Claptrap Case Mod Part 2

Episode 412: Get to Know Your ADC with a DIY Temperature Probe

Episode 411: Animatronic Claptrap Computer Case - Part 1

Episode 410: MacPro G5 Cheese Grater with Raspberry Pi 4

Episode 409: Commodore SX-64 Restoration

Episode 408: Hand Soldered LED Oscilloscope

Episode 407: The Ultimate Raspberry Pi 4 Laptop

Episode 406: Automated Robot Artist

Episode 405: RC Ornithopter Concept

Episode 404: Arduino Powered Close Encounters Midi Light Board

Episode 403: Upcycled IoT Coffee Pot Ramen Maker

Episode 402: PiPhone++ The Giant Raspberry Pi Flip Phone

Episode 401: Matrix Voice Controlled Robot

Episode 400: The Ultimate Raspberry Pi Stress Test

Episode 399: Candle-Powered Robotl

Episode 398: Let Me Out Hooman! Bluetooth Dog Doorbell

Episode 397: Steam Powered Retropie Console

Episode 396: Arduino Retro LED Matrix Handheld

Episode 395: Raspberry Pi Stop Motion Machine

Episode 394: Animatronic GLaDOS Head with Raspberry Pi

Episode 393: GameBoy Walkman

Episode 392: Multi-Line Telephone Intercom

Episode 391: First Person View RC Car with PS2 Steering Wheel

Episode 390: Retro Texting Smart Watch of the Future!

Episode 389: PlayStation Classic Portable Prototype

Episode 388: FPGA MIDI Music Synthesizer

Episode 387: Rotocell - The Rotary Cell Phone of the Future!

Episode 386: Xybernaut Wearable PC

Episode 385: 20 PCB Design Pitfalls

Episode 384: Retro Gaming Handheld Without a PCB

Episode 383: Gameboy Wireless Link Cable (DMG1)

Episode 382: Modding a Super 8 Camera into a Digital

Episode 381: Reverse Music Box

Episode 380: NES Zapper on RetroPie

Episode 379: Macroscope Soldering Tool

Episode 378: Invader ZIM Animatronic GIR

Episode 377: Altair 8800 Replica

Episode 376: 4D Gaming with the Matrix Creator

Episode 375: Hacked Fetal Detector Music Synthesizer

Episode 374: Raspberry Pi Donkey Kong Holiday Ornament

Episode 373: Raspberry Pi Fallout Terminal PC

Episode 372: Raspberry Pi Auto Etch A Sketch™

Episode 371: FPGA "Game Genie" for Atari 2600

Episode 370: Raspberry Pi NOAA Satellite Receiver

Episode 369: Recreating the Atari Portfolio

Episode 368: Arduino Automatic Wire Cutter and Stripper

Episode 367: Most Useless IoT Device Ever - Part 2

Episode 366: Infinity Icosahedron

Episode 365: Twilight Zone Fortune Telling Machine

Episode 364: Raspberry Pi Virtual Reality Arcade #VR

Episode 363 - Add a Motor to your Bike with Arduino

Episode 362: Most Worthless IoT Device Ever Pt. 1

Episode 361: R.O.B Rebuild and Upgrade

Episode 360: Make Your Own Raspberry Pi Cell Phone

Episode 359: Make Your Own CNC Pyrography Wood Burner

Episode 358: The Shrimp of Terror!

Episode 357: Raspberry Pi Asteroid Tracker

Episode 356: Bank to the Future with Arduino & TI

Episode 355: Raspberry Pi Pirate Radio

Episode 354: Tiny Vacuum Forming Machine

Episode 353: Program Your Own FPGA Video Game

Episode 352: Pripyat - DIY Geiger Counter

Episode 349: Raspberry Pi Selfie Rocket

See All Previous Episodes

Tags: episode releases, friday_release_archive, element14 presents, project videos, episodes, friday releases, episode release archive, episode archive, friday release archive, project_videos

Modern Edge AI on Raspberry Pi 5 for an Animatronic Tracker: Vision Acceleration with AI Hat+ and AI Camera

cstanton — Thu, 23 Apr 2026 12:36:38 GMT

Revision 8 posted to Documents by cstanton on 4/23/2026 12:36:38 PM

Clem revisits an earlier animatronic AI project to see what modern Raspberry Pi–based vision hardware can really do in practice. Using today’s AI accelerators and camera technology, he explores how far edge AI vision has progressed, where it still falls short, and what design trade offs emerge when performance, power consumption, heat, and physical mechanics all collide in a real build. Along the way, he works through challenges with model compatibility, motion control, LED feedback, and hardware integration, showing how small design decisions can dramatically affect how lifelike, or unsettling, a vision driven system feels. If you’re interested in building with edge AI, learning from real world limitations, or recreating parts of this project yourself, below you can access the files, code, and discussion.

Watch the Project Build

https://youtu.be/tRj-SPLl3iM

Revisiting an Unsettling Classic: The AI Animatronic Skull Returns

In 2018, Clem built what could only be described as an early warning from the future: a Terminator‑style animatronic skull powered by a BeagleBone‑AI. At the time, it was one of the first hobbyist projects to take on-device AI seriously, using machine vision to detect people and follow them with unnerving intent. It was limited, experimental, and deeply uncomfortable to be alone with, exactly what a robotic skull should be.

Several years on, AI hardware for single‑board computers has advanced significantly. Rather than assume progress on paper translated to progress in practice, Clem chose to rebuild the skull from the ground up, using modern Raspberry Pi–based AI hardware to answer a simple question: "how far have we really come, and is it any more terrifying this time?"

New Hardware, Old Questions

The updated skull replaces the original compute platform with a Raspberry Pi 5, paired with two different AI accelerators: the Raspberry Pi AI Camera and the AI Hat+, capable of up to 26 TOPS. The intent was ambitious. Clem wanted to explore whether modern edge AI could support both fast, responsive machine vision and natural language interaction in a single embedded system.

That experiment quickly revealed a hard boundary. While the AI Hat+ and AI Camera dramatically accelerate vision workloads, they provide no meaningful benefit for language models. Clem explains that even very small language models still take seconds to respond when run locally, making real-time interaction impractical:

“I tried running Tiny Llama on there… and even that takes some considerable seconds. So it’s not like you can talk to the machine and it answers back in a natural way.”

For now, conversational AI remains out of reach on this class of hardware. Vision, however, tells a very different story.

Why Vision Still Wins on the Edge

Rather than treating this as a failure, Clem reframed the project around what edge AI already does exceptionally well. In his view, vision is currently the most practical application of AI on small systems—grounded in the physical world and free from the abstractions and hallucinations of language models.

Both accelerators are strictly vision‑focused, but they behave very differently in practice. The AI Hat+ delivers significantly better performance, particularly for more complex object detection tasks, but it comes at a cost. It requires a Raspberry Pi 5, draws more power, and produces enough heat that cooling becomes a serious design consideration. Clem notes plainly that “cooling is of the greatest necessity,” and that the overall system power draw is non‑trivial.

By contrast, the Raspberry Pi AI Camera is far more power‑efficient, runs cool, and works across a wider range of boards. For simpler detection tasks—such as presence detection, motion awareness, or checking whether a person has entered a space, it can be the better engineering choice.

The key takeaway is that these two accelerators are not interchangeable parts of a single pipeline. They rely on different model formats and workflows, and while both are capable, they are best treated as separate tools rather than a combined solution.

Teaching the Skull What to Care About

With vision as the focus, the skull’s behaviour becomes far more intentional than in the original build. Instead of reacting to every detection, the system selects a single “object of interest” and commits to it. Humans are prioritised, but devices such as laptops and keyboards are also recognised and tracked when relevant.

Clem describes the selection criteria as simple but effective: the system focuses on the object it is most confident about—the closest, largest, and clearest detection in view. Once chosen, the skull moves to keep that object centred in the frame, using pan and tilt servos to follow it smoothly.

Just as important is knowing when not to move. The skull allows for a generous margin where the object can drift within the frame without triggering motion. This reduces constant jitter and gives the movement a more deliberate, lifelike quality. If nothing is detected, the skull recentres itself and waits. If something suddenly enters from the edge of the frame, it snaps to attention—an effect Clem admits can be genuinely startling when you forget the system is running.

Mechanical Reality and Software Restraint

No amount of AI can fully mask the physical realities of a handmade animatronic mechanism. Clem is candid about the skull’s construction: it is intentionally compliant, meaning it will give way if touched. This makes it safe, there’s no risk of pinched fingers, but it also introduces unavoidable jerkiness into the motion.

Rather than fight this in software, the system adapts to it. Movement smoothing, dead zones, and proportional control help reduce unnecessary corrections, but the AI ultimately learns to tolerate mechanical imperfection. The result is not polished in a cinematic sense, but it feels responsive and believable, arguably more so because of its flaws.

Visual Feedback Through Light

To make the skull’s perception visible, Clem embedded a NeoPixel LED ring into the eye socket. This acts as a direct, intuitive readout of what the system thinks it sees. When a human is detected, the LEDs glow green; laptops and keyboards are shown in red. The number of illuminated LEDs represents confidence, turning abstract probabilities into something immediately readable at a glance.

There is also an alternative mode where individual LEDs represent individual detections, effectively turning the skull into a live object counter. Additional, less certain detections are shown in blue. This dual‑mode approach makes the skull not just reactive, but informative, useful during development and strangely expressive during operation.

Getting this working on a Raspberry Pi 5 was not straightforward. Standard NeoPixel libraries no longer behave as expected due to changes in how the Pi 5 handles GPIO. Clem had to adopt an SPI‑based approach instead, which brings faster communication but also introduces its own constraints.

Building Inside the Head - A More Thoughtful Kind of AI

Clem managed to fit all processing hardware inside the skull itself; the only external component is the power supply in the base. Two hardware switches allow the system and motors to be powered independently, making it easy to shut everything down if the skull starts doing something it shouldn’t.

The servo control hardware was assembled by hand using breadboards and prototyping board, with modified headers to ensure reliable connections. It’s not elegant, but it’s practical, and emblematic of the project as a whole.

An interesting shift Clem observes is what modern vision models don’t do. Older examples often focused on profiling people, age, gender, facial attributes. The current ecosystem avoids this entirely, focusing instead on object and pose detection. Clem believes this is a deliberate move toward privacy‑conscious design, and ultimately a more useful direction for real projects.

Smaller, Smarter, and Still Uncomfortable

The rebuilt animatronic skull is not a leap toward conversational artificial intelligence, but it is a clear demonstration of how far edge‑based AI vision has come. On relatively inexpensive, compact hardware, the system can see, decide, react, and communicate its intent in real time. It is smoother, more capable, and more expressive than the original—and still deeply unsettling. Clem may joke that “maybe it wasn’t the best idea to build that,” but as a demonstration of modern AI vision, it succeeds precisely because it makes people uneasy. After all, anything that can watch you this closely probably should.

Supporting Links and Files

https://youtu.be/tRj-SPLl3iM

- Animatronic Terminator Skull with BeagleBone®︎ AI -- Episode 418

Bill of Materials

Product Name	Manufacturer	Quantity	Buy Kit
Raspberry pi 5	Raspberry Pi	1	Buy Now
RPI Ai camera	Raspberry Pi	1	Buy Now
Raspberry Pi AI HAT+ Add-On Board, Raspberry Pi 5 Boards, 26TOPS, with Built-In Hailo AI Accelerator	Raspberry Pi	1	Buy Now

Tags: real-time object detection, animatronic robotics project, embedded computer vision, privacy-aware ai vision, raspberry pi 5 ai, hailo ai accelerator, maker ai vision project, e14presents_mayermakes, servo-based object tracking, low-power ai inference, edge ai vision, edge ai hardware comparison, neopixel visual feedback, ai camera projects, friday_release, machine vision on raspberry pi, raspberry pi ai projects

Modern Edge AI on Raspberry Pi 5 for an Animatronic Tracker: Vision Acceleration with AI Hat+ and AI Camera

e14sbhargav — Thu, 23 Apr 2026 12:36:38 GMT

Current Revision posted to Documents by e14sbhargav on 4/23/2026 12:36:38 PM

Watch the Project Build

Revisiting an Unsettling Classic: The AI Animatronic Skull Returns

New Hardware, Old Questions

“I tried running Tiny Llama on there… and even that takes some considerable seconds. So it’s not like you can talk to the machine and it answers back in a natural way.”

For now, conversational AI remains out of reach on this class of hardware. Vision, however, tells a very different story.

Why Vision Still Wins on the Edge

Teaching the Skull What to Care About

Mechanical Reality and Software Restraint

Visual Feedback Through Light

Building Inside the Head - A More Thoughtful Kind of AI

Smaller, Smarter, and Still Uncomfortable

Supporting Links and Files

- Animatronic Terminator Skull with BeagleBone®︎ AI -- Episode 418

Bill of Materials

Product Name	Manufacturer	Quantity	Buy Kit
Raspberry pi 5	Raspberry Pi	1	Buy Now
RPI Ai camera	Raspberry Pi	1	Buy Now
Raspberry Pi AI HAT+ Add-On Board, Raspberry Pi 5 Boards, 26TOPS, with Built-In Hailo AI Accelerator	Raspberry Pi	1	Buy Now

Modern Edge AI on Raspberry Pi 5 for an Animatronic Tracker: Vision Acceleration with AI Hat+ and AI Camera

cstanton — Thu, 23 Apr 2026 12:15:35 GMT

Revision 7 posted to Documents by cstanton on 4/23/2026 12:15:35 PM

Watch the Project Build

Revisiting an Unsettling Classic: The AI Animatronic Skull Returns

New Hardware, Old Questions

“I tried running Tiny Llama on there… and even that takes some considerable seconds. So it’s not like you can talk to the machine and it answers back in a natural way.”

For now, conversational AI remains out of reach on this class of hardware. Vision, however, tells a very different story.

Why Vision Still Wins on the Edge

Teaching the Skull What to Care About

Mechanical Reality and Software Restraint

Visual Feedback Through Light

Building Inside the Head - A More Thoughtful Kind of AI

Smaller, Smarter, and Still Uncomfortable

Supporting Links and Files

- Animatronic Terminator Skull with BeagleBone®︎ AI -- Episode 418

Bill of Materials

Product Name	Manufacturer	Quantity	Buy Kit
Raspberry pi 5	Raspberry Pi	1	Buy Now
RPI Ai camera	Raspberry Pi	1	Buy Now
Raspberry Pi AI HAT+ Add-On Board, Raspberry Pi 5 Boards, 26TOPS, with Built-In Hailo AI Accelerator	Raspberry Pi	1	Buy Now

Modern Edge AI on Raspberry Pi 5 for an Animatronic Tracker: Vision Acceleration with AI Hat+ and AI Camera

cstanton — Thu, 23 Apr 2026 12:15:00 GMT

Revision 6 posted to Documents by cstanton on 4/23/2026 12:15:00 PM

Watch the Project Build

Revisiting an Unsettling Classic: The AI Animatronic Skull Returns

New Hardware, Old Questions

“I tried running Tiny Llama on there… and even that takes some considerable seconds. So it’s not like you can talk to the machine and it answers back in a natural way.”

For now, conversational AI remains out of reach on this class of hardware. Vision, however, tells a very different story.

Why Vision Still Wins on the Edge

Teaching the Skull What to Care About

Mechanical Reality and Software Restraint

Visual Feedback Through Light

Building Inside the Head - A More Thoughtful Kind of AI

Smaller, Smarter, and Still Uncomfortable

Supporting Links and Files