🚗 Self-Learning Robot Car
Voice-controlled robot car that drives, maps your room, learns from its crashes, speaks its mind — and has an OLED face. ESP32-S3 brain, sonar senses, IMU compass, mic ears, speaker voice, camera eyes.
More guides coming with every new build. Watch the videos, then build it yourself. ✨
← All guides
⚙️ The build
🧰 Parts list (~110 €)
| Part | Qty | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| ESP32-S3 DevKitC-1 N16R8 | 1 | the brain — 16 MB flash, 8 MB PSRAM |
| ESP32-CAM + MB base (OV2640) | 1 | the eyes |
| L298N motor driver | 1 | drives 2 TT motors |
| TT gear motors 3–6 V | 2 | 1:48 ratio, + 65 mm wheels |
| HC-SR04 sonar | 3 | front, left, right |
| MPU-6050 IMU | 1 | compass + odometry, I²C |
| INMP441 mic (I²S) | 1 | the ears |
| DFPlayer Mini + 3 W speaker | 1+1 | the voice, microSD inside |
| SSD1306 OLED 0.96" I²C | 1 | the face (4-pin version) |
| MG996R servo | 1 | front-wheel steering |
| Resistors: 1 kΩ, 2 kΩ | several | 5 V protection — see caveats |
| Capacitor 470–1000 µF | 1 | power smoothing |
| 6×AA battery holder | 1 | 7.2 V pack powers everything |
| Chassis board + caster wheel | 1 | MDF/plastic ~20×15 cm |
| Jumper wires F-F, microSD card | ~30 + 1 | check your Arduino kit first |
⚠️ Gotchas (read these twice)
🔌 Master wiring
ESP32-S3 GPIO map (23 of ~30 used)
IN1 GPIO 11 │ L298N A │ Sonar-F GPIO 13/12*
IN2 GPIO 10 │ L298N B │ Sonar-L GPIO 14/27*
IN3 GPIO 9 │ L298N A │ Sonar-R GPIO 25/26*
IN4 GPIO 8 │ L298N B │ *Echo via 1k/2k divider!
ENA/ENB = PWM GPIO 3/4 │ I²C bus GPIO 17 SDA / 18 SCL
Servo GPIO 5 (PWM) │ → MPU-6050 (0x68) + OLED (0x3C)
Mic INMP441: SCK 15, WS 16, SD 21 │ Buzzer GPIO 7
DFPlayer: TX 41 → RX 42, RX ← TX 40 (1kΩ each)
ESP32-CAM: TX 19 ⇄ RX 20 (1kΩ each), power from 5V rail
Power: 6×AA (7.2V) → L298N → 5V rail → S3, CAM, DFPlayer, servo
ALL GROUNDS COMMON (battery−, L298N, S3, CAM, DFPlayer)