RC Rover

January 07, 2026

🇧🇷 Versão em Português

A remotely controlled ground rover built from 3D-printed parts and driven by an ESP32. The interesting part is how it handles remote access and video: instead of a dedicated camera module, a smartphone is mounted on the rover and does two jobs — it streams live video via an IP camera app, and acts as a network gateway through a VPN, making the rover controllable from anywhere with mobile coverage, not just on local Wi-Fi.

The ESP32 runs a small HTTP server that exposes directional endpoints (/forward, /backward, /left, /right). A mobile-friendly web page served directly by the ESP32 sends continuous requests while a button is held, driving two DC motors through an H-bridge. The phone runs Nginx as a reverse proxy to route external traffic to the ESP32.

The chassis is based on a Thingiverse 3D-printable design, with separate battery packs for the electronics and the motors.

Stack: C++ / Arduino (ESP32), Nginx, HTML, 3D printing.

GitHub Repository

Technologies: C++, ESP32, Arduino, Nginx, 3D Printing

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