RoboClaw ESP-IDF Library

Unofficial port of the Basicmicro Arduino Library for ESP-IDF.

This is unofficial - not made by or endorsed by BasicMicro!

Features

Motor Control

• ForwardM1(), BackwardM1(), ForwardM2(), BackwardM2() — basic speed control
• DutyM1(), DutyM2(), DutyM1M2() — direct PWM duty cycle (-32767 to +32767)
• DutyAccelM1(), DutyAccelM2(), DutyAccelM1M2() — duty cycle with hardware acceleration ramp
• SpeedM1(), SpeedM2() — encoder-based speed control
• SpeedAccelM1(), SpeedAccelM2() — speed with acceleration
• ForwardMixed(), BackwardMixed(), TurnRightMixed(), TurnLeftMixed() — mixed mode
• StopM1(), StopM2(), StopAll() — stop helpers

Encoders

• ReadEncM1(), ReadEncM2() — read encoder counts
• ReadSpeedM1(), ReadSpeedM2() — read encoder speeds
• ResetEncoders() — reset encoder counts to zero

Diagnostics

• ReadVersion() — firmware version string
• ReadError() — 32-bit error/warning status with detailed flags
• GetStatus() — comprehensive status in one call (voltages, temps, currents, encoders, speeds, errors)
• ReadMainBatteryVoltage(), ReadLogicBatteryVoltage() — battery voltages
• ReadTemp(), ReadTemp2() — board temperatures
• ReadCurrents() — motor currents
• ReadBuffers() — command buffer depths
• ReadPWMs() — current PWM output values

Configuration

• SetTimeout(), GetTimeout() — communication timeout (auto-stop if no commands received)
• SetMainVoltages(), ReadMinMaxMainVoltages() — main battery voltage limits
• SetLogicVoltages(), ReadMinMaxLogicVoltages() — logic battery voltage limits
• SetM1MaxCurrent(), SetM2MaxCurrent() — per-motor current limits
• ReadM1MaxCurrent(), ReadM2MaxCurrent() — read current limits
• WriteNVM() — save settings to flash
• ReadNVM() — reload settings from flash
• RestoreDefaults() — factory reset

Thread Safety

• roboclaw_enable_thread_safety() — opt-in UART mutex for multi-task access (zero overhead if not enabled)

Hardware Setup

Default pins:

• TX: GPIO 17 → RoboClaw S1 (RX)
• RX: GPIO 16 ← RoboClaw S2 (TX)
• Don't forget GND!

Default baud rate: 38400

Multiple RoboClaws can share the same TX/RX pins using different addresses (0x80, 0x81, etc.).

Basic Usage

#include "roboclaw.h"
#include "roboclaw_uart.h"

#define ROBOCLAW_ADDRESS 0x80

void app_main(void) {
    begin(38400);

    // Optional: enable thread safety if using multiple FreeRTOS tasks
    // roboclaw_enable_thread_safety();

    char version[64];
    if (ReadVersion(ROBOCLAW_ADDRESS, version)) {
        printf("Version: %s\n", version);
    }

    // Set duty with acceleration ramp
    DutyAccelM1M2(ROBOCLAW_ADDRESS, 16000, 5000, 16000, 5000);
    vTaskDelay(pdMS_TO_TICKS(2000));

    // Stop
    DutyM1M2(ROBOCLAW_ADDRESS, 0, 0);
}

Installation

1. Copy the components/roboclaw/ folder to your ESP-IDF project
2. Include the headers in your code
3. Build with idf.py build

Configuration

Want different pins? Edit roboclaw_uart.c:

#define TXD_PIN 17  // Your TX pin
#define RXD_PIN 16  // Your RX pin

Want different baud rate? Just change it:

begin(115200);  // Instead of 38400

Original Library

Based on BasicMicro's official Arduino library.

Compatibility

• ESP-IDF 5.0+
• ESP32, ESP32-S2, ESP32-S3, ESP32-C3
• Any RoboClaw with packet serial communication

Issues?

For RoboClaw hardware problems: contact BasicMicro For this ESP-IDF port: open an issue here