“The SwarmDrive board contains a basic motor driver setup together with a powerful, Wi-Fi-and-Bluetooth-enabled microcontroller (ESP32) and USB connectivity.

In terms of hardware, it’s the standard SBM-20 circuit augmented with a LILYGO ESP32 development board that includes a TFT display. But where this one really shines is the firmware.

While some details haven’t been finalized yet, the basic elements include an ESP32-S3 system-on-a-chip combined with a small E Ink display and a custom printed circuit board with a QWERTY keyboard.

Take the ESP32-CAM, a board that started appearing on the market in early 2019. On paper, the thing is amazing: an ESP32 with support for a camera and an SD card, all for less than $10.