stuckatprototype/racer

Analysis updated 2026-07-03

★ 3,722CAudience · developerComplexity · 4/5LicenseSetup · hard

Mindmap

mindmap
  root((Micro Racer))
    What it does
      RC race car on PCB
      Autonomous driving
      Open hardware
    Hardware
      ESP32-H2 chip
      PCB schematic
      Gerber files
      KiCad design
    Physical parts
      FDM printed enclosure
      Resin printed wheels
      Thumbtroller remote
    Software
      C firmware
      Python drive script
      Neural network training
    License
      Apache 2.0

mindmap root((Micro Racer)) What it does RC race car on PCB Autonomous driving Open hardware Hardware ESP32-H2 chip PCB schematic Gerber files KiCad design Physical parts FDM printed enclosure Resin printed wheels Thumbtroller remote Software C firmware Python drive script Neural network training License Apache 2.0

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What do people build with it?

USE CASE 1

Build a fully functional RC race car from a PCB kit by flashing the provided firmware and printing the enclosure

USE CASE 2

Drive the car from a keyboard using the provided Python script without building a physical remote control

USE CASE 3

Train a simple neural network on color sensor data to make the car follow a line autonomously

USE CASE 4

Modify the KiCad design files to create a custom version of the circuit board with different components

What is it built with?

CPythonESP32KiCadESP-IDF

How does it compare?

	stuckatprototype/racer	moby/hyperkit	neomutt/neomutt
Stars	3,722	3,722	3,717
Language	C	C	C
Setup difficulty	hard	hard	moderate
Complexity	4/5	5/5	3/5
Audience	developer	developer	developer

Figures from each repo's GitHub metadata at analysis time.

How do you get it running?

Difficulty · hard Time to first run · 1day+

Requires a resin 3D printer for wheels, a PCB manufacturer for the board, and ESP-IDF 5.3.1 for firmware builds.

Use freely for any purpose including commercial projects, as long as you include the copyright notice and license text.

In plain English

The Micro Racer Car is an open-source hardware project: a small radio-controlled race car built directly onto a printed circuit board (PCB). The project started as a Kickstarter campaign that did not fund, and the creator then released all the files publicly. Kits are also available for purchase. The car runs on an ESP32-H2 microcontroller, a small chip that handles wireless communication and motor control. The repository includes everything needed to build one from scratch: firmware written in C that runs on the chip, hardware schematics and gerber files ready to send to a circuit board manufacturer, KiCad design files for further modification, and 3D model files for the enclosure and wheels. The enclosure can be printed on a standard FDM (extrusion) printer, while the wheels require a resin (SLA) printer for finer detail. A companion repository called Thumbtroller contains the design for a hardware remote control to drive the car. If you do not want to build the remote, a Python script lets you drive the car from a keyboard using the W, A, S, D keys. The repository also includes Python scripts for training a simple neural network to drive the car autonomously based on readings from a color sensor, similar to a line-following robot. Training requires running a script against a data file that records color values and corresponding driving commands. The trained model can then be deployed to control the car. The firmware requires ESP32 IDF version 5.3.1. The scripts require Python 3 with several pip packages. The project is licensed under Apache 2.0.

Copy-paste prompts

Prompt 1

Using the stuckatprototype racer firmware, add a new driving mode that limits the motor speed to 50% and upload it to the ESP32-H2 chip

Prompt 2

Show me how to run the Python training script to train a line-following neural network on the racer's color sensor data, and how to deploy the resulting model

Prompt 3

How do I set up the ESP32 IDF version 5.3.1 build environment and flash the racer firmware to the ESP32-H2 microcontroller?

Prompt 4

Walk me through ordering a racer PCB from a manufacturer using the provided Gerber files and assembling the components

Frequently asked questions

What is racer?

Open-source hardware project for building a small radio-controlled race car on a printed circuit board, including firmware, 3D-printable parts, schematics, and Python scripts for autonomous self-driving.

What language is racer written in?

Mainly C. The stack also includes C, Python, ESP32.

What license does racer use?

Use freely for any purpose including commercial projects, as long as you include the copyright notice and license text.

How hard is racer to set up?

Setup difficulty is rated hard, with roughly 1day+ to a first successful run.

Who is racer for?

Mainly developer.

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