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Design and Implementation of a Low-Cost Autonomous Surveillance Robot Using ESP32-CAM with Real-Time Object Detection
Subject area: Science,Engineering and Technology · Area of research: Surveillance Robot
Abstract
The high cost and complexity of commercial robotics platforms limit accessibility for education and rapid prototyping in developing regions. This paper presents the design, construction, and evaluation of a low-cost autonomous surveillance robot built around the ESP32-CAM module. The system integrates a dual-core ESP32 microcontroller with an OV2640 camera, L298N motor driver, ultrasonic sensor, and Wi-Fi for remote monitoring and control. The robot streams 1600x1200 MJPEG video at 10 fps over Wi-Fi while performing real-time color-based object detection using OpenCV on a remote server. Experimental results show the prototype achieves 87% navigation accuracy in indoor environments, operates for 2.3 hours on a 2000mAh Li-ion battery, and costs under $35. The design demonstrates that ESP32-CAM can serve as a viable platform for creative robotics education, IoT surveillance, and STEM outreach where budget constraints exist.
Keywords
ESP32-CAM, Robotics, IoT, Surveillance, Low-Cost Hardware, Embedded Vision, Autonomous Navigation
References
[1] Espressif, "ESP32-CAM Development Board," 2021.. Available: https://docs.espressif.com
[2] M. A. Hoque et al., "IoT based face recognition door lock system using ESP32-CAM," Proc. IEEE IC3A, pp. 1–5, 2022.
[3] S. Sharma and R. K. Singh, "Low-cost Wi-Fi robot using ESP8266," Int. J. Eng. Res., vol. 8, no. 5, pp. 112–115, 2019.
[4] M. M. Rahman et al., "Smart plant monitoring using ESP32-CAM," HardwareX, vol. 10, e00198, 2021.
[5] N. Kumar and P. Singh, "ESP32 based surveillance car," Int. J. Sci. Res., vol. 9, no. 3, pp. 234–237, 2020.
[6] P. R. Wilson, "Motor driver selection for small robots," J. Embedded Syst., vol. 4, no. 2, pp. 45–52, 2018.[1][Online][2][3][4][5][6]
How to cite this paper
@article{1718151,
author = {Dr. Madumere Smart Onyemaechi, Ihim Kingsley},
title = {Design and Implementation of a Low-Cost Autonomous Surveillance Robot Using ESP32-CAM with Real-Time Object Detection},
journal = {Iconic Research And Engineering Journals},
year = {2026},
volume = {9},
number = {7},
pages = {3015-3018},
issn = {2456-8880},
url = {https://www.irejournals.com/formatedpaper/1718151.pdf},
abstract = {The high cost and complexity of commercial robotics platforms limit accessibility for education and rapid prototyping in developing regions. This paper presents the design, construction, and evaluation of a low-cost autonomous surveillance robot built around the ESP32-CAM module. The system integrates a dual-core ESP32 microcontroller with an OV2640 camera, L298N motor driver, ultrasonic sensor, and Wi-Fi for remote monitoring and control. The robot streams 1600x1200 MJPEG video at 10 fps over Wi-Fi while performing real-time color-based object detection using OpenCV on a remote server. Experimental results show the prototype achieves 87% navigation accuracy in indoor environments, operates for 2.3 hours on a 2000mAh Li-ion battery, and costs under $35. The design demonstrates that ESP32-CAM can serve as a viable platform for creative robotics education, IoT surveillance, and STEM outreach where budget constraints exist.},
keywords = {ESP32-CAM, Robotics, IoT, Surveillance, Low-Cost Hardware, Embedded Vision, Autonomous Navigation},
month = {January},
doi = {https://doi.org/10.64388/IREV9I7-1718151}
}