Proximity Camera Board Design

Worked for 2 mins 32 sec

Designed and wired the schematic for ESP32-S3 Proximity Camera: ESP32-S3 compute, OV2640 camera, VCNL4040 proximity sensor, USB-C input, ESD protection, 3.3 V buck power rail, boot/reset controls, and required passives.

ERC is clean with zero open errors/warnings. I also created project files for the spec, design notes/power budget, and firmware starter:

Project Specification
Design Notes: ESP32-S3 Proximity Camera
Firmware Starter — ESP32-S3 Proximity Camera

Next step is PCB layout: board sizing, component placement, antenna/camera/proximity placement constraints, then routing after placement approval.

namtab

Add a LiPo battery charger so the board can run without USB power.

Thought for 11 sec

flux

I’ll add a single-cell LiPo power path: USB-C charges the battery, the board can run from battery when USB is absent, and the existing 3.3 V rail will be updated so it can accept the battery source safely. I’ll size it against the existing ESP32/camera peak load, then wire and re-run ERC.

Worked for 34 sec

flux

I started the LiPo battery upgrade and inspected the existing power path: USB-C VBUS currently feeds a PAM2305 fixed 3.3 V buck regulator, which powers the ESP32-S3, camera, and VCNL4040 on 3V3.

Important finding: a single-cell LiPo ranges about 4.2 V down to ~3.0 V, so the current buck-only 3.3 V regulator is not ideal for full battery operation. The right architecture is:

USB-C 5 V → single-cell LiPo charger / power-path IC
LiPo battery connector → charger BAT pin
charger SYS/output → 3.3 V buck-boost regulator
buck-boost output → existing 3V3 rail

I was blocked by project credits before I could add parts or wire the schematic. Remaining work:

Select charger/power-path IC, likely BQ24074/MCP73871-class.
Select 3.3 V buck-boost regulator rated for ESP32-S3 + camera peak current.
Add JST LiPo connector, charger passives, battery thermistor/program resistor as required.
Replace or bypass the existing PAM2305 buck with the buck-boost stage.
Update power-budget notes and rerun ERC to zero unresolved violations.

Use BQ24074

Compare charger ICs

Find battery connector

Calculate peak current

Document power architecture

Files

Schematic

Layout

3D View

ESP32-S3 Proximity Camera