PlumaN6 HD

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The PlumaN6 HD is a custom embedded controller designed for drone and robot control. Its primary target is the custom Lince N6 wheeled robot.

The controller follows a “bare-metal” design philosophy, extracting maximum performance and features from an MCU platform without relying on a Linux SBC. At its core is the STM32N6, enabling a single-chip solution for both the motion control and vision stacks. The project focuses on taking this new architecture to its limits, experimenting with applications where this no-SBC architecture can replace the traditional “Raspberry Pi (SBC) + MCU” architecture.

The key specifications for the PlumaN6 HD are:

  • MCU: STM32N6 (Cortex-M55 @ 800 MHz + Neural Art NPU @ 1 GHz / 600 GOPS)
  • Memory: 4.2 MB internal SRAM, Octa-SPI Flash (up to 400 MB/s), Hexa-SPI PSRAM (up to 800 MB/s), Micro-SD UHS-I.
  • Vision Pipeline: 2-Lane MIPI-CSI (2.5 Gbps/lane), DCMI (8-bit parallel), Hardware ISP (5 MP), H.264 Hard Encoder (1080p), JPEG Codec.
  • High Speed Comms: 1000Base-T1 Automotive Ethernet (1 Gbps), USB 2.0 HS (480 Mbps).
  • Real-Time I/O: 3x CAN-FD, 4x I2C FM+, 2x I3C (12.5 MHz), 4x SPI, 5x UART.
  • Sensors (6-DoF): On-board IMU (Accel/Gyro/Mag/Baro). Dedicated port for External Redundant IMU (Heated, Vibration Isolated).
  • Wireless: On-board ESP32-C5 (Dual-Band WiFi 6 + Bluetooth LE). Expansion headers for RC/Telemetry (e.g. ELRS).
  • Power Input: 6Vā€“30V Wide Input (for 2S to 7S LiPo). Integrated Current/Voltage monitoring on the 5V rail for system telemetry.

āš ļø Note: This project is in active development. Specs and features are subject to change as I validate the design.

Project Status: šŸš§ In Fabrication (Rev A). Follow for project updates on Twitter/X or Bluesky.

Version History

Revision 1

Schematic: Coming after validation

Gerber: Coming after validation

The PlumaN6 HD board is in the first version.

Overview

Below is a view of the PlumaN6 HD board with the location of the different functional modules:

Power In & Supply 1000Base-T1 USB-HS Low-Speed Radio High-Speed Radio STM32N6 Flash & PSRAM Int & Ext IMU MIPI-CSI PWM Debug CAN UART CAN
UART uSD UHS-I I3C DCMI PWM UART CAN UART I2C UART

Repo coming soon.

Current Phase: šŸ­ In Fabrication (Revision A)

This project is currently in the hardware manufacturing phase. The PCB and stencils are on order. Once they arrive, I will begin hand assembly and the initial board bring up.

Timeline:

  • Upcoming: Board bring-up, power rail validation, and “Hello World”.
  • 2026-01-12: Started on project documentation and landing page.
  • 2026-01-04: PCBs ordered.
  • 2025-11-08: Milestone: Layout frozen.
  • 2025-09-01: Rev A Schematic defined.
  • 2025-06 to 2025-08: Architecture defined (STM32N6, Memory, T1 Ethernet, Sensors, etc…).

Experimental Hardware This board is a “First Prototype” design. Features, pinouts and functionalities are subject to change as I validate the board design and develop the firmware.

I am planning on documenting the assembly and debugging process in “real-time”:

Follow on Twitter/X or Bluesky for regular updates.