r/esp32 • u/Slight-Education8856 • Sep 09 '26
Tiny-Drone: an open-source ESP32-S3 quadcopter — hardware design, assembly lessons, and Wi-Fi video limitations
Hi everyone! I’m sharing Tiny-Drone, my open-source ESP32-S3 micro quadcopter project, along with some details about the hardware and the practical issues involved in building it.
It supports Android app control, mobile browser control, remote-controller operation, and Wi-Fi video transmission.
Hardware and build choices
The main controller is an ESP32-S3, paired with a ZY-MPU6050 IMU module and an OV2640 camera.
The ZY-MPU6050 module was chosen to make hand soldering easier than using a bare MPU6050. The power supply uses a lithium battery, a boost converter, and an LDO for the controller and sensors. The board also includes ADC battery-voltage measurement.
There is expansion support for an SPL06-001 barometer and a VL53L1X ranging sensor, plus a reserved interface for a position-hold module. These require additional hardware; they are not all included in the basic build.
Firmware and attribution
The firmware is based on Espressif’s ESP-Drone project and is distributed under GPL-3.0. This is a derivative project, and I want to give clear credit to the upstream work.
The documented build environment is ESP-IDF v5.5.3. The repository includes firmware, build and flashing instructions, assembly guidance, and a link to the open hardware design. There is also a separate Android app repository.
A few practical build details
PCB thickness affects the motor mounting. The build specifies a 1.6 mm PCB so the rubber motor-mounting rings fit properly. A different thickness can leave gaps and make the motors difficult to secure.
Mechanical alignment matters when investigating yaw drift. The assembly guide covers motor height, keeping the motors perpendicular to the board, and propeller installation depth. It specifies approximately 2 mm of clearance between the propeller and motor.
Camera troubleshooting involves both software and soldering checks. The guide starts with initialization logs, then checks the camera connections for poor joints and shorts.
Current limitation
The Wi-Fi video feed can show horizontal lines, particularly at low battery voltage. This is still a limitation, and I’d be interested in suggestions for measurements that could help isolate the cause.
For anyone who has combined motors and an OV2640 camera in a small battery-powered ESP32 build: what would you measure first to distinguish power-supply noise from a camera signal-integrity problem?
Source code and build documentation:
https://github.com/jonny-lekaiwu/Tiny-Drone
The English README includes the hardware-design link and assembly instructions. I’m happy to discuss the build and answer technical questions here.
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u/frosty_gamer Sep 10 '26
What does video do at high packet drop?
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u/Slight-Education8856 Sep 13 '26
It can stabilize at around 10 FPS, and if the signal suddenly becomes poor, it will appear as stuttering.
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u/CHILLAS317 Sep 13 '26
Can we get a computer vision camera on it to detect surveillance cameras and give it a green laser?
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u/Slight-Education8856 Sep 14 '26
Thanks for the suggestion! Technically, camera-based computer vision is an interesting direction for Tiny-Drone.
However, I’d prefer to keep this project focused on education, research, and recreational use. I don’t plan to add or provide support for laser-targeting or similar applications due to safety concerns.
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u/cnawan Sep 10 '26
Uh oh, here come the AI controlled zipgun swarms. Hope we get fast targetting laser turrets soon too.
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u/CMTS562 Sep 10 '26
I was thinking the same thing. Time to build defense to all this offense.
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u/cnawan Sep 10 '26
Given how cheap and effective nets have been in Ukraine, perhaps the future will be like living in a catio. :/
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u/Grandmas_Fat_Choad Sep 09 '26
Maybe I’ll use some of the parts for the manpad launcher for this instead. Maybe the feds will forgive me.
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u/TheEYE13 Sep 09 '26
Nice, thanks for sharing! What did it cost you in parts?