Aspire Board: Dual-Channel Motor Control Development Board

Aspire Board integrates motor control, power drivers and sensing into one development platform for robotics and automation. Built around the STM32F103C8T6, it provides two independent bidirectional motor outputs, current feedback and USB connectivity.

Key features

• ARM Cortex-M3 microcontroller at 72 MHz, with 64 KB flash and 20 KB SRAM.
• Two full H-bridge motor outputs using four BTS7960B half-bridge devices, two per channel.
• Four synchronous PWM signals from TIM4 for bidirectional speed control.
• Independent analog current feedback for each motor and motor-supply voltage monitoring.
• Two single-channel encoder inputs, one per motor.
• USB-C connection with USB 2.0 full-speed device support, DFU bootloader and virtual COM port for telemetry.
• 13 digital I/O and 7 analog inputs listed in the datasheet; alternate functions share pins with board features.
• SWD debugging and access to timer, SPI, I2C and USART peripherals, subject to pin conflicts.

Recommended operating conditions

Higher-current operation requires suitable heatsinking and airflow. Verify thermal performance in the intended enclosure.

Applications

Differential-drive robotics, educational motion-control platforms, actuator and conveyor control, pump and fan drives, automated test fixtures, motor characterization and rapid prototyping.

Integration notes

• Encoder inputs are single-channel, not A/B quadrature pairs. Direction cannot be measured from the encoder signal alone.
• TIM4 is reserved for motor PWM. ADC1 is shared with current and supply monitoring.
• A5 is the Motor B current-sense connection, not a spare analog input. Do not drive it with another signal.
• The 3.3 V and 5 V header rails are regulator outputs.

Absolute maximum limits

Datasheet stress limits: 30 V motor supply; 8 A per phase without a heatsink or 20 A with thermal management; 20 kHz PWM. These are not recommended operating ratings. Operation at these limits is not guaranteed and may damage the board.

Specifications based on Aspire Board Datasheet, Rev. 1.0, January 2026. Not authorized for use as a critical component in life-support devices or systems.