M5Stamp Fly ESP32-S3 WiFi drone is controlled by the M5Atom WiFi joystick controller using ESPNOW

M5Stack M5Stamp Fly is a tiny ESP32-S3 WiFi drone based on the company’s M5Stamp S3 WiFi 4 and BLE IoT module, equipped with four motors and several sensors. and controllable the M5Atom WiFi joystick controller also based on ESP32-S3 WiSoC.

We have recently seen some tiny ESP32 or ESP8266 WiFi drones with a low-cost ESP32 DIY drone and the PiWings 2.0 drone, but the M5Stamp Fly is more advanced with a total of six sensors including a barometer, two time-of-flight distance sensors, a 6-axis IMU, a 3-axis magnetometer, and an optical flow detection sensors, plus two Grove connector for additional sensors or modules.

M5Stamp Fly (K138) specifications:

Main controller – M5Stamp S3 module
- WiSoC – Espressif Systems ESP32-S3FN8 dual-core 32-bit Xtensa LX7 microcontroller with AI vector instructions up to 240MHz, RISC-V ULP co-processor, 512KB SRAM, 2.4GHz WiFi 4 (802.11b/g/n), Bluetooth 5.0 BLE + Mesh, 8MB flash
- Connectivity
  - 2.4 GHz WiFi 4, 20 MHz and 40 MHz bandwidth, IEEE 802.11 b/g/n protocol, up to 150 Mbps
  - Bluetooth 5, Bluetooth Mesh, with supports for 125 Kbps, 500 Kbps, 1 Mbps, 2 Mbps bitrate, long-range support
  - 2.4GHz 3D antenna
- USB – 1x USB Type-C port for power and programming
- Expansion – 2.54mm and 1.27mm pitch headers and castellated holes with GPIOs, SPI, PWM, etc…
- Dimensions – 26 x 18 x 5mm
Propulsion – 4x 716-17600kv brushed CW+CCW motors
Sensors
- BMP280 for barometric pressure detection
- 2x VL53L3 ToF distance sensors (up to 3-meter range) for altitude hold and obstacle avoidance
- 6-axis BMI270 attitude/IMU sensor
- 3-axis BMM150 magnetometer for direction detection
- Optical flow detection for hovering and displacement detection (PMW3901MB-TXQT)
Expansion – 2x 4-pin Grove connectors (1x I2C, 1x UART)
Misc – Passive buzzer, RGB LED, Reset button
Power Management
- 300mAh high-voltage battery
- 5V charging via USB-C port
- INA3221AIRGVR current and voltage detection chip
Dimensions – 81.5 x 81.5 x 31mm
Temperature Range – 0 to 40°C
Weight – 36.8grams

As noted earlier, the M5Stamp Fly can be controlled using the M5Atom Joystick (K137) based on the M5Stack AtomS3 ESP32-S3 IoT controller and relying on the ESPNOW low-power proprietary protocol for point-to-point communication between the drone and the joystick without the need for a router. M5Stack explains users can choose between automatic and manual modes to enable/disable functions like precise hovering and flips.

The firmware C/C++ source code is available for both the drone and the joystick and you’ll find documentation to flash both and instructions to use the drone in the documentation website. Note there does not seem to be a way to control the drone with a smartphone at this time. The company says the M5Stamp Fly drone is suitable for education, research, and various drone development projects.

The M5Aton Joystick goes for $29.95 on AliExpress or the company’s store, and the M5Stamp Fly drone can be purchased for $49.95 on the M5Stack store only for now but should soon become available on AliExpress too.

Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft)

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.