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# Prototype V2

Microstorm Prototype V2 is the second version of Microstorm. This board has allot of improvements over Prototype V1. More features are integrate onto the board like the programming interface and power supply. This board is packet with features and therefore is suitable for most projects.

With Prototype V2 the goal was to go beyond basic. A lot was learned from Prototype V1 issues with that version are no longer a thing with this. One of the most important bottlenecks of the previous version was the communication speed between the ESP-01 and the ATmega328P. Since wireless connectivity is in almost all cases a necessity, the decision was made to use an al-in-one solution that could control the hardware components as well as provide the wireless connectivity. This board is based on the ESP32 from Espressif. this chip is packed with features which you as a user can make use of.

To stick with the theme of beyond basic, this board can be programmed in more frameworks than only Arduino. You can program this board with Micropython and Espressifs own framework 'ESP-IDF' which is based on FreeRTOS. Ofcourse Arduino can still be used with this board without any issues.

All this in a 8.5% smaller formfactor than Prototype V1!

# Features

  • Wifi and bluetooth connectivity build-in (with optional external antenna)
  • Two neopixels build-in
  • Reliable motor driver
  • Improved safety features (Auto shutdown on low power)
  • on-off switch
  • USB Type-C programming interface
  • 8.5% Smaller dan Prototype V1 (64.6mm x 48mm)
  • Build-in Inertial Measurement Unit (Not functional)
  • Build-in battery voltage sensor (Not functional)

# Pin Configuration

Function Description ESP32-S - GPIO #
RXD2 Receive line of the expansion UART GPIO 16
TXD2 Transmit line of the programming interface GPIO 17
Motor A - driver - enable Pin for controlling the speed of motor A GPIO 13
Motor A - driver - input 1 Input of the motor driver to control the direction of motor A GPIO 26
Motor A - driver - input 2 Input of the motor driver to control the direction of motor A GPIO 27
Motor A - encoder - signal 1 Rotary encoder signal 1 of LEGO® MINDSTORMS® NXT/ EV3 motor A GPIO 35
Motor A - encoder - signal 2 Rotary encoder signal 2 of LEGO® MINDSTORMS® NXT/ EV3 motor A GPIO 34
Motor B - driver - enable Pin for controlling the speed of motor B GPIO 25
Motor B - driver - input 1 Input of the motor driver to control the direction of motor B GPIO 33
Motor B - driver - input 2 Input of the motor driver to control the direction of motor B GPIO 32
Motor B - encoder - signal 1 Rotary encoder signal 2 of LEGO® MINDSTORMS® NXT/ EV3 motor B GPIO 39
Motor B - encoder - signal 2 Rotary encoder signal 1 of LEGO® MINDSTORMS® NXT/ EV3 motor B GPIO 36
Neopixel - Data Data line for controlling WS2812b Neopixel LEDs GPIO12
I²C - SDA I²C Data line GPIO 21
I²C - SCL I²C Clock line GPIO 22
Battery voltage sensor Measure downscaled battery voltage GPIO 4

# Expansion connector pinout

Number Description
1 +3.3V
2 VCC (Battery)
3 GND
4 +5V
5 SCL
6 SDA
7 RXD (Programming) (not usable)
8 TXD (Programming) (not usable)
9 TXD2 (usable)
10 RXD2 (usable)
11 GPIO 14
12 GPIO 5
13 GPIO 18
14 GPIO 15
15 GPIO 23
16 GPIO 19

# I²C Connector

Label Description
SCL GPIO 22
SDA GPIO 21
+5V Supply voltage of 5 Volts with a total maximum consumption of 3 Ampère
GND GND

# Technical specifications

Microcontroller ESP32-S
Flash memory 4Mb
RAM ~520kb
Connectivity
  • WiFi (802.11 b/g/n/d/e/i/k/r (802.11n up to 150 Mbps))
  • Bluetooth v4.2 BR/EDR and BLE specification
Sensors
  • 3-axis MEMS accelerometer
  • 3-axis MEMS gyroscope
  • Battery voltage sensor
I/O 1x UART, 3x I²C (1 interface), 1x Data line (WS2812b), 5x GPIO
Buck converter Vin = 11.1V MAX / Vout = 5V
LDO Vin = 5V / Vout = 3.3V
Safety features
  • Soft Start Functionality (prevent rush current during startup on power-up. power supply waits 10ms after battery is connected)
  • Over current protection (limit the current when too much is pulled from the power supply)
  • Low voltage input protection (minimum of 6.4 volts)
  • Overheating protection (when power supply exceeds a temperature of 150°C, it turns OFF. When temperature drops, it automatically turns on again)
PCB thickness 1.6 mm
Dimensions 64.6mm x 48mm
Input voltage ~11.1V Maximum (Supported operating voltage of LEGO motors)

# Warranty & Certifications

Microstorm Prototype V2 is currently an experimental prototype. This means that there is no warranty or certifications for this board.

Only a hand-full of samples are distributed for testing and educative purposes.

# Links

Firmware
https://gitlab.projectsource.nl/microstorm/hardware/v2/-/tree/main/firmware
Issues
https://gitlab.projectsource.nl/microstorm/hardware/v2/-/issues

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