The ESP32-C5 C-ITS receiver project is an open-source hardware board that gathers data over 802.11p V2X communication from nearby traffic lights, public transportation (buses, trams…), trucks, cars, motorcycles, and even pedestrians to display the results on online maps.
It works using the ITS-G5 protocol built on top of 802.11p V2X (Vehicle-to-Everything), which requires a 5.9 GHz WiFi radio, and makes the ESP32-C5 an ideal candidate. The standard requires a C-ITS Station (ITS-S) found in vehicles (on-board units – OBU) or roadside units (RSU) handling both transmission and reception, and a receiver to handle incoming wireless signals, decode C-ITS (Cooperative Intelligent Transport Systems) messages, and feed the data into online maps like OpenTrafficMap (See screenshot below).
ESP32-C5 C-ITX receiver specifications:
- Wireless module – ESP32-C5-WROOM-1 (ESP32-C5-WROOM-1-N16R8 or ESP32-C5-WROOM-1-N8R8)
- SoC – ESP32-C5
- CPU
- Single-core 32-bit RISC-V processor @ up to 240 MHz
- Low-power RISC-V core @ 40 MHz acting as the main processor for power-sensitive applications
- Memory – 384 KB SRAM on-chip, 8MB PSRAM
- Storage – 320 KB ROM
- Connectivity
- Dual-band (2.4GHz/5 GHz) 802.11ax WiFi 6, with 802.11b/g/n WiFi 4 standard fallback
- 20MHz bandwidth for the 802.11ax mode
- 20/40MHz bandwidth for the 802.11b/g/n mode
- OFDMA (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access) mechanism for both uplink and downlink
- MU-MIMO capability for downlink
- Target Wake Time (TWT) support
- Bluetooth 5.0 Low Energy (LE)
- 802.15.4 radio for Zigbee 3.0 and Thread 1.3
- Dual-band (2.4GHz/5 GHz) 802.11ax WiFi 6, with 802.11b/g/n WiFi 4 standard fallback
- CPU
- Storage – 8MB or 16MB SPI flash
- Antenna – PCB antenna
- SoC – ESP32-C5
- Storage – MicroSD card slot
- Ethernet – 10/100Mbps Ethernet RJ45 port via KSZ8851SNL SPI to Ethernet chip
- USB – 2x USB-C ports for JTAG and UART
- Sensor – LM75BDP temperature sensor
- Power Supply
- 7 V – 58 V input on active/passive PoE
- TPS2378DDAR for 802.3af/at compliant active PoE
- Dimensions – 93 x 50 mm
The KiCAD 10 hardware design files (schematics, PCB layout, BoM…), the source code for the firmware, and a Node.js script that bridges raw 802.11 packets on NATS (Neural Autonomic Transport System) into tshark (Wireshark command line), and publishes the decoded JSON back to NATS are available on OpenTraffic’s Codeberg account.
The developer gave a talk at Graz Linux Days 2026 (German) about a month ago, and uploaded the presentation slides explaining the project (AI-translated version in English). At the time, they had already deployed 20 receivers with ranges of several hundred meters in urban areas, and over 10 km with line-of-sight. The ESP32-C5 can be attached to a 4G LTE modem for internet connectivity, and an OpenSCAD enclosure is also provided.
How well this works depends on whether infrastructure like traffic lights and public transport implements 802.11p V2X connectivity, and of course, the number of users deploying such C-ITS receivers.
The ESP32-C5 C-ITS receiver board is not available for sale online in the traditional way, but seeing the interest after their talks, the developers ordered 450 pieces of the board, and you can purchase a board with an optional enclosure for about 20 Euros as part of a group buy. The instructions are on the Wiki, and they only ship to several countries within Europe, or you can pick up yours in Graz, Austria.
Thanks to Karl for the tip.
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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