Off-Road Tracked UGV Kit (ESP32 Driver)

The Waveshare UGV01 is the ultimate off-road tracked UGV (Unmanned Ground Vehicle) kit (assembled without batteries), with an ESP32 motor driver board at its heart for you to code your own awesome off-road robot!

Let’s take a look at its very long list of features!

On the outside…

The robot kit has a black full-metal body which includes two 1020 European standard profile rails for adding your own accessories. The wide tracks rest on 4×2 independent suspension ensuring optimised climbing and off-road capabilities.

At the back of this monster, you’ll find the 0.96′ OLED information display, power button, charging port, and WiFi antenna.

On the inside…

This is where it gets really interesting!

Inside the robot, you’ll find one of Waveshare’s ESP32 Robotics Driver Boards, which can be used with your smartphone for general control. However, you can also add your own microcomputer, such as a Raspberry Pi, via the 40-pin header communicating via serial port or IIC, to build on the robot’s functionality. 

The ESP32 driver board controls the motors, and gives the robot WiFi and Bluetooth capabilities and offers interfaces and ports for a range of additional optional hardware including LIDAR, I2C, serial bus servos, MicroSD cards and more. The board also includes a 3-axis electronic compass and a 6-axis motion sensor.

There’s also a built-in UPS power supply module which accepts 3x 18650 batteries (not included) to power your robot (uninterruptable) and manage charging via the front charge port.

The kit includes almost everything you need (18650 batteries not included) and comes in a quality zip-shell case.

Important Notes

• A UK 3-pin plug 12.6V 2A Battery Charger is included
• 18650 batteries not included – you’ll need 3!
• We recommend reading the Wiki to understand how this robot works (JSON etc) before purchasing.

Features

• Multi-independent suspension systems, four independent suspensions on each side
  • Excellent climbing performance. When climbing with a heavy load, the suspension shrinks and the rear wheels provide extra support
• Motor with an encoder can obtain speed feedback for speed closed-loop control
• 0.96′ OLED display for robot information display
• UPS power module supporting 3x 18650 batteries in series (batteries not included)
  • Provides outputs of 5V and 3.3V for external other devices
  • UK 3-pin plug charger included
• Onboard lithium battery protection circuit within the UPS power supply module – anti-overcharge, anti-over-discharge, anti-overcurrent and short circuit protection
• Demo developed in the Arduino IDE
  • No need to manually configure the compilation environment
  • ESP32 automatically sets a WiFi hotspot when it is turned on
  • Use a mobile phone (Android/iOS) or a computer (Linux/Windows/Mac) to connect and log in to the control page
• ESP32 slave computer
  • Can be used to drive DC motors, serial bus servos, onboard OLED screen interfaces, TF card slots, nine-axis IMU modules, WiFi and Bluetooth
  • Can be used alone without installing a host computer
• Supports a variety of external host computers
• All code is open-source
• JSON commands can be sent via serial port, USB, HTTP, ESP-NOW etc
• Most of the configuration settings can be controlled by JSON commands, for example, you can configure a WiFi connection for the product without connecting a USB cable.

Specifications

Outline dimensions	231×197×151mm
Chassis height	26mm
Track width	44mm
Track level grounding length (non-load)	115mm
Track climbing grounding length (large load)	170mm
Weight	1.9kg
Driving payload	6.2kg
Battery support	18650 Lithium battery × 3 (not included)
Charging time	1.5h
Motor power	5.2W × 2
Motor encoder	Basic pulse 11PPR
Suspension systems	4×2 (independent)
Rail Center distance	170mm
Running speed	0.25~1m/s
Suspension material	1.5mm (thickness) stainless steel
Body material	2mm (thickness) 5052 Aluminum Alloy
Vertical obstacle ability	40mm
Climbing ability	36°
Minimum turning radius	0m (In-situ Rotation)
Battery life	1h (full power continuous output)
Remote control function	WIFI AP/STA
Communication interface	UART /serial bus servo interface / IIC

Resources

• Product Wiki
  • Battery Installation
  • Basic Use (without host)
  • JSON Instruction Tutorial
  • JSON Command Set
  • Host Computer Usage Tutorial
  • FAQ
• ESP32 Driver Board Module Usage Tutorials
  • How To Install Arduino IDE
  • Tutorial I: Motor With Encoder Control Demo
  • Tutorial II: Motor Without Encoder Control Demo
  • Tutorial III: ST3215 Serial Bus Servo Control Demo
  • Tutorial IV: PWM Servo Control Demo
  • Tutorial V: IMU Data Reading Demo
  • Tutorial VI: SD Card Reading Demo
  • Tutorial VII: INA219 Voltage And Current Monitoring Demo
  • Tutorial VIII: OLED Screen Control Demo
• UGV01 Open-Source Demo
• DXF Drawing
• PDF Drawing
• UGV01 STL Model

Package Contents

• 1x UGV01 Kit (assembled)
• 1x 12.6V 2A Battery Charger (UK 3-pin Plug)
• 1x Zip-shell case

18650 batteries not included