Makerfabs ESP32 UWB DW3000

Overview

The Makerfabs ESP32 UWB DW3000 is a development board combining Espressif's ESP32 microcontroller with Qorvo's DW3000 ultra-wideband transceiver. It enables centimeter-accurate indoor positioning and distance measurement using UWB technology, while leveraging the ESP32's WiFi and Bluetooth for data relay and cloud connectivity.

Ultra-wideband (UWB) is a short-range wireless communication protocol that operates through radio waves, enabling secure reliable ranging and precision sensing. The DW3000 chip achieves 10cm positioning accuracy, making it suitable for real-time location systems (RTLS), asset tracking, and presence detection.

Key Advantages Over DW1000

The DW3000 represents a significant upgrade over the previous generation DW1000/DWM1000:

• Apple U1 Interoperability -- Compatible with Apple's U1 chip ecosystem for integration with iPhones and AirTags
• FiRa Compliance -- Fully aligned with FiRa PHY, MAC, and certification development for cross-vendor interoperability
• Lower Power Consumption -- Approximately 1/3 the power draw of the DWM1000
• Dual Channel Support -- Supports UWB Channel 5 (6.5 GHz) and Channel 9 (8 GHz); the DWM1000 only supports Channel 5

Hardware Variants

The board is available in two ESP32 module variants:

Variant	Module	PSRAM	Price
WROOM	ESP32-WROOM-32	None	$43.80
WROVER	ESP32-WROVER	8MB	$45.80

Both variants share the same PCB layout and DW3000 UWB transceiver.

Pin Mapping (ESP32 to DW3000)

The DW3000 communicates with the ESP32 over SPI:

ESP32 GPIO	Function	Direction
GPIO18	SPI SCK	Output
GPIO19	SPI MISO	Input
GPIO23	SPI MOSI	Output
GPIO4	SPI SS (Chip Select)	Output
GPIO27	DW3000 Reset	Output
GPIO34	DW3000 IRQ	Input

I2C pins (GPIO4 SDA, GPIO5 SCL) are available for connecting an optional SSD1306 OLED display.

Getting Started

1. Install the Arduino IDE or PlatformIO
2. Clone the Makerfabs ESP32 UWB DW3000 library into your Arduino libraries folder
3. Flash the range_tx example to one board (tag) and range_rx to another (anchor)
4. Open Serial Monitor at 115200 baud to see distance measurements

The library includes Two-Way Ranging (TWR) examples for basic distance measurement between two boards.

ESPHome Integration

A community-maintained ESPHome UWB component enables direct integration with Home Assistant. It supports multi-anchor setups (up to 8 anchors, 32 tags) for real-time indoor positioning with automatic location calculation and reporting to Home Assistant.

Applications

• Indoor Asset Tracking -- Track equipment, inventory, or personnel in warehouses, hospitals, and factories with centimeter accuracy
• Room-Level Presence Detection -- Determine which room a person or device is in for smart home automation
• Robotics Navigation -- Provide precise position feedback for autonomous robots and drones
• Secure Ranging -- IEEE 802.15.4z provides built-in security against relay attacks, useful for access control
• Sports & Motion Analysis -- Track athlete or object movement with high temporal and spatial resolution

Resources

• Makerfabs Wiki -- Setup guides and technical documentation
• GitHub Repository -- Arduino library, examples, and hardware files
• DW3000 Datasheet (Qorvo) -- Full transceiver specifications
• Hardware Schematics -- Eagle schematic and board files (open source)