RoboClaw ESP-IDF Library

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

Why I made this

I needed to use a RoboClaw motor controller in my ESP-IDF project, but the existing library is for Arduino. So I ported it to work with ESP-IDF.

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

What works

• Motor control: ForwardM1(), BackwardM1(), SpeedM1(), etc.
• Reading encoders: ReadEncM1(), ReadEncM2()
• Reading speeds: ReadSpeedM1(), ReadSpeedM2()
• Battery voltage: ReadMainBatteryVoltage(), ReadLogicBatteryVoltage()
• Version info: ReadVersion()
• Reset encoders: ResetEncoders()

Hardware setup

Default pins:

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

Default baud rate: 38400

Basic usage

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

#define ROBOCLAW_ADDRESS 0x80

void app_main(void) {
    // Start UART
    begin(38400);
    
    // Read version
    char version[64];
    if (ReadVersion(ROBOCLAW_ADDRESS, version)) {
        printf("Version: %s\n", version);
    }
    
    // Move motor forward at 50% speed
    ForwardM1(ROBOCLAW_ADDRESS, 64);
    vTaskDelay(pdMS_TO_TICKS(1000));
    
    // Stop
    ForwardM1(ROBOCLAW_ADDRESS, 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

How it's different from Arduino version

• Uses ESP-IDF UART instead of Arduino Serial
• Simpler communication (no complex retries)
• Works with FreeRTOS
• Only includes the functions I actually needed

Original library

Based on BasicMicro's official Arduino library.

Compatibility

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

Issues?

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

---

Note: This is just my personal port. For official ESP32 support, ask BasicMicro.