Caster v2 — ESP32-C3 Robot Car with N20 Gear Motors | minirobo

Caster is a two-wheel desk robot about the size of your palm: 84 × 84 mm, two N20 gear motors, a swivelling rear caster, two LED eyes and a piezo voice. It has four moods (excited, sulk, startled and adore), and it plays each one as lights, a tune and a little wheel movement all at once. You drive it with an Xbox controller, from your phone, or with the minirobo handheld.

v2 is the same robot as v1 with the wire nest gone. The ESP32-C3, the DRV8833 motor driver and a 5 V boost module plug into sockets on one small carrier board, minicore, which screws up under the lid's roof. Nothing expensive is soldered to anything, so a dead part just pulls out.

All the printed parts are here. The firmware, the wiring map, the parts list with buying links and the full build guide are free on the project page: minirobo.io/projects/caster-v2

Watch it built

- Episode 6 — the whole robot, built end to end

- Episode 7 — turning the wiring into a real circuit board

What to print

12 pieces from 9 files.

File

Qty

Material

Notes

chassis

1

PLA

lid

1

PLA

prints roof-down

faceplate

1

PLA

looks best in a contrast colour

wheel

2

PLA

outboard face down

tire

2

TPU

caster_fork

1

PLA

support under the two cheeks, plus a brim

caster_mount

1

PLA

caster_wheel

1

PLA