ESP-FLY DIY kit is a miniature DIY drone kit based on Seeed Studio’s XIAO ESP32-S3 board that was initially introduced as a DIY project on Instructables by Max Imagination, but is now available as a complete kit for $59.99 on Seeed Studio.
It’s certainly not the first ESP32 drone, but the ESP-FLY drone must be the smallest, as the miniature (67 x 67 x 31mm) quadcopter design allows users to store into any pocket or small boxes. It’s mainly designed for STEM education, hobbyist DIY Projects, and indoor flight practice.
ESP-FLY drone kit key features and specifications:
- Main Controller – Seeed Studio XIAO ESP32-S3 board
- Wireless MCU – Espressif Systems ESP32-S3R8
- CPU – Dual-core Tensilica LX7 microcontroller @ 240 MHz
- System Memory – 512KB SRAM, 8MB PSRAM
- Wireless – Wi-Fi 4 & Bluetooth 5.0 dual-mode (Classic + BLE) connectivity
- Storage – 8MB SPI flash
- Antenna – External u.FL antenna
- USB – USB Type-C port for power and programming
- Wireless MCU – Espressif Systems ESP32-S3R8
- Flight System
- MPU6050 IMU sensor
- 4x 615 Coreless Motors (70,000 RPM)
- 4x 30mm propellers (CW & CCW)
- Connectivity
- 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi (AP mode) and ESP-NOW
- Control Range – About 50m via smartphone and 200m via ESP-NOW controller
- Power
- 3.7V 250mAh 25C LiPo Battery
- Flight Time – ~5 minutes
- Charging – 5V via USB-C port on the XIAO board
- Dimensions – 67 x 67 x 31mm
- Weight – 25 grams with battery
The firmware is the same as for the Circuit Digest LiteWing DIY ESP32 drone, which you’ll find on GitHub, and relies on the ESP-Drone Android app for control from a smartphone, or you could use an ESP-NOW radio controller instead.
The cost of the list of parts is estimated at about $37 on Instructables, but that also includes ordering a custom PCB, printing the plastic parts, and ordering from various sources. The $59.99 ESP-DIY kit on Seeed Studio has everything you need to get started.
As we could have guessed from the product name “ESP-FLY kit”, the drone comes in a kit, and you’ll still need to do some assembly and soldering, as shown in the video below, but that’s part of the fun!
Jean-Luc started CNX Software in 2010 as a part-time endeavor, before quitting his job as a software engineering manager, and starting to write daily news, and reviews full time later in 2011.
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