X-Pad

The X-Pad is a highly customizable, feature-rich game controller built around the $\text{ESP32-S3-WROOM-1U}$, offering Wi-Fi, BLE HID, USB HID, ESP-NOW, and LoRa connectivity. It includes 14 buttons, a D-Pad, dual analog sticks, triggers, RGB lighting, dual vibration motors, and an MPU6050 gyro sensor, all powered by a long-lasting 1S2P 18650 Li-ion battery pack that delivers at least 24 hours of use. A secondary ATtiny84-MU co-processor handles stick input, localized RGB effects, and vibration control, while a latch-based auto-sleep system ensures power efficiency. The controller has the default PowerA key layout and provides a UI-driven key-mapper program for flexible input remapping.

Features

Main MCU & Connectivity

• Uses ESP32-S3-WROOM-1U as the primary MCU.

• Supports four default communication interfaces:

  • Wi-Fi
  • Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE HID)
  • USB HID
  • ESP-NOW

• Includes an additional LoRa module for extended long-range communication.

• ESP32-S3 supports multiple simultaneous BLE HID device connections.

Input & Control Hardware

• Total of 14 buttons, including:

  • 4 face buttons (A, B, X, Y)
  • 2 bumpers
  • 4 menu buttons (Master, Menu, Share, View)
  • 2 stick-click buttons
  • 2 back buttons

• Directional Pad (D-Pad)

• Two analog sticks

• Two analog triggers

• RGB LEDs placed across the controller for visuals

Sensors & Haptics

• Built-in MPU6050 gyro sensor for motion control.
• Dual vibration motors for haptic feedback.

Power System

• Powered by a 1S2P 18650 Li-ion battery pack.
• Battery protection circuit has DW01A and FS8205.
• The charging circuit has TP4056.
• A 3v3 power supply is provided and stabilised by SGM2212.
• Battery life of 24+ hours per charge.
• Includes a latch-based auto-sleep circuit to reduce power consumption when idle.

Supporting MCU (Co-Processor)

• ATtiny84-MU used due to ESP32-S3 pin limitations.

• Responsibilities include:

  • Reading analog stick inputs
  • Controlling nearby RGB LEDs for responsive lighting effects
  • Monitoring & controlling vibration motors

Software & Customization

• UI-based key-mapper program included for user customization.
• Allows mapping of different key combinations.
• Default key mapping follows original PowerA controller layout.

Developpers notes

The X-Pad is engineered on a robust dual-MCU architecture, utilizing the $\text{ATtiny84-MU}$ as a dedicated input co-processor to offload low-latency tasks-specifically analog stick reading, RGB control, and haptic feedback-from $\text{ESP32-S3-WROOM-1U}$. This separation ensures the $\text{ESP32-S3}$ can dedicate its resources to maintaining stable multi-protocol wireless communication ($\text{BLE/Wi-Fi/LoRa/ESP-NOW}$), maximizing range and reliability. This section provides the detailed pin-to-pin mapping for the V 0.1 BETA hardware design.

Schematic Diagram

PCB Design

Front Panel

Back Panel

Some more details

All Functions and their details with keymap and hex id

Keys, Buttons and D-Pad

prefix	name	footprint	hex id	net	pin	function
KEY1	MASTER	PAD	---	ST	GPIO38	Menu Buttons
KEY2	MENU	PAD	---	MB	GPIO37	Menu Buttons
KEY3	VIEW	PAD	---	HB	GPIO36	Menu Buttons
KEY4	SHARE	PAD	---	SB	GPIO35	Menu Buttons
KEY5	X	PAD	---	X	GPIO42	Face Buttons
KEY6	Y	PAD	---	Y	GPIO41	Face Buttons
KEY7	A	PAD	---	A	GPIO40	Face Buttons
KEY8	B	PAD	---	B	GPIO39	Face Buttons
KEY9	D-PAD UP	PAD	---	DU	GPIO45	D-Pad
KEY10	D-PAD DOWN	PAD	---	DD	GPIO48	D-Pad
KEY11	D-PAD RIGHT	PAD	---	DR	GPIO47	D-Pad
KEY12	D-PAD LEFT	PAD	---	DL	GPIO21	D-Pad
KEY13	LEFT BUMPER	KEY-TH_TL1105VF160Q	---	LB	GPIO18	Bumpers
KEY14	RIGHT BUMPER	KEY-TH_TL1105VF160Q	---	RB	GPIO17	Bumpers
KEY15	LEFT BACK	PAD	---	LT	GPIO5	Back Buttons
KEY16	RIGHT BACK	PAD	---	RT	GPIO6	Back Buttons

Left Joystick, Vobration Motor

prefix	name	footprint	hex id	net	pin	function
JS1	Left Joystick (X)	JOYSTICK-TH_252BXXXXXXXB	---	ST1-X	PA2	Left Stick X Axis
JS1	Left Joystick (Y)	JOYSTICK-TH_252BXXXXXXXB	---	ST1-Y	PA0	Left Stick Y Axis
JS1	Left Joystick (KEY)	JOYSTICK-TH_252BXXXXXXXB	---	ST1	PA1	Left Stick Button
M1	LCM0827A3038F	VIBRATION-MOTOR-TH_LCM0827A3038F	---	LM	PA3	Left Vibration Motor

Right Joystick, Vobration Motor

prefix	name	footprint	hex id	net	pin	function
JS2	Right Joystick (X)	JOYSTICK-TH_252BXXXXXXXB	---	ST2-X	PA7	Right Stick X Axis
JS2	Right Joystick (Y)	JOYSTICK-TH_252BXXXXXXXB	---	ST2-Y	PB3	Right Stick Y Axis
JS2	Right Joystick (KEY)	JOYSTICK-TH_252BXXXXXXXB	---	ST2	PB2	Right Stick Button
M2	LCM0827A3038F	VIBRATION-MOTOR-TH_LCM0827A3038F	---	RM	PB1	Right Vibration Motor

Gyro

prefix	name	footprint	hex id	net	pin	function
U2	MPU6050 (ADDR)	QFN-24_L4.0-W4.0-P0.50-BL-EP2.7	---	ADDR	GPIO2	MPU6050 Address Line
U2	MPU6050 (SCL)	QFN-24_L4.0-W4.0-P0.50-BL-EP2.7	---	SCL	GPIO9	General I2C rail
U2	MPU6050 (SDA)	QFN-24_L4.0-W4.0-P0.50-BL-EP2.7	---	SDA	GPIO8	General I2C rail
U2	MPU6050 (INT)	QFN-24_L4.0-W4.0-P0.50-BL-EP2.7	---	INTG	GPIO1	MPU6050 Int Line

LoRa

prefix	name	footprint	hex id	net	pin	function
U5	Ra-02 SX1278 (MISO)	WIRELM-SMD_RA-02-BL	---	MISO	GPIO13	SPI rail MOSI pin
U5	Ra-02 SX1278 (MOSI)	WIRELM-SMD_RA-02-BL	---	MOSI	GPIO11	SPI rail MISO pin
U5	Ra-02 SX1278 (SCK)	WIRELM-SMD_RA-02-BL	---	SCK	GPIO12	SPI rail SCK pin
U5	Ra-02 SX1278 (SS/CS)	WIRELM-SMD_RA-02-BL	---	CS	GPIO10	Slave Select pin for LoRa module
U5	Ra-02 SX1278 (RST)	WIRELM-SMD_RA-02-BL	---	LRST	GPIO15	Reset pin for LoRa module
U5	Ra-02 SX1278 (DIO0)	WIRELM-SMD_RA-02-BL	---	LR0	GPIO15	DIO0 pin for LoRa module

RGBs

prefix	name	footprint	hex id	net	pin	function
RGB1	SK6812MINI-HS	LED-SMD_4P-L3.5-W3.5-BR_SK6812MINI-HS	---	PWR	GPIO4	Power ON LED
RGB2	SK6812MINI-HS	LED-SMD_4P-L3.5-W3.5-BR_SK6812MINI-HS	---	RGB1	PA5	Left Stick Asthetics
RGB3	SK6812MINI-HS	LED-SMD_4P-L3.5-W3.5-BR_SK6812MINI-HS	---	RGB2	PB0	Right Stick Asthetics
RGB4	SK6812MINI-HS	LED-SMD_4P-L3.5-W3.5-BR_SK6812MINI-HS	---	FC	GPIO14	Face Buttons Asthetics
RGB5	SK6812MINI-HS	LED-SMD_4P-L3.5-W3.5-BR_SK6812MINI-HS	---	DP	GPIO46	D-Pad Asthetics

Some native sensors and drivers

prefix	name	footprint	hex id	net	pin	function
---	---	---	---	BATC	GPIO7	Battery Voltage Data
USB1	USB16P SMT 301 5A	USB-TYPE-C-SMD_TYPEC-DB-116PWB	---	D+	GPIO20	USB Type-C D+ Pin
USB1	USB16P SMT 301 5A	USB-TYPE-C-SMD_TYPEC-DB-116PWB	---	D-	GPIO19	USB Type-C D- Pin

AtTiny84-MU I2C Pins

prefix	name	footprint	hex id	net	pin	function
MCU1	SK6812MINI-ESP32-S3-WROOM-1U	WIRELM-SMD_ESP32-S3-WROOM-1U	---	SCL	PA4	MASTER I2C rail (SCL)
MCU1	SK6812MINI-ESP32-S3-WROOM-1U	WIRELM-SMD_ESP32-S3-WROOM-1U	---	SDA	PA6	MASTER I2C rail (SDA)

Slave Addresses

prefix	name	address	condition
MCU2	AtTiny84-MU	0x42	---
U2	MPU6050	0x68	AD0 low
U2	MPU6050	0x69	AD0 high

Acknowledgments

• Espressif Systems (ESP32-S3-WROOM-1U)
• LoRa Alliance (Ra-02 SX1278)
• Design Tool (EasyEDA)
• PCB Printing (JLCPCB)
• All open-source contributors.