WSAL23244 – RoArm-M1/en

Documentation notice: This technical documentation was independently rewritten from an archived supplier source. Check technical details and commands against the product version and manufacturer documentation before use.

Summary

The RoArm-M1 is a compact desktop robotic arm based on ESP32, featuring five degrees of freedom and controlled exclusively via a serial interface (UART). All joints use high-torque ST3215 servos; the upper axis includes a 1:3 gear reduction to increase torque and limit load. The device offers Wi-Fi, an OLED display, RGB LEDs, and open-source libraries for servo control, inverse kinematics, a web application, and ROS 2 demos.

Related products at JW Tech

• WSAL23244 – High-torque Serial Bus Servo, Desktop Robotic Arm Kit, Based On ESP32, 5-DOF, Supports Wireless Control
• WSAL23937 – High-torque Serial Bus Servo, Desktop Robotic Arm Kit, Based On ESP32, 5-DOF, Supports Wireless Control
• WSAL23938 – High-torque Serial Bus Servo, Desktop Robotic Arm Kit, Based On ESP32, 5-DOF, Supports Wireless Control

Technical overview

• Five degrees of freedom including gripper clamping; all drives are ST3215 serial bus servos with 30 kg·cm torque.
• Upper axis uses a 1:3 reduction gear set with timing pulleys, increasing effective torque and reducing structural damage from excessive loads.
• Each servo can feed back current voltage, position, current, temperature, and load.
• Controlled via USB serial port using JSON data; compatible with PCs, Raspberry Pi, Jetson Nano, and other host devices.
• Onboard features include Wi-Fi, OLED display, RGB LEDs, and open-source code for servo control library, serial communication, web app, inverse kinematics, and ROS 2 demos.
• Demos cover angle control, coordinate control via inverse kinematics, motion recording/replay, and lead-follow mode based on ESP-NOW.
• The web app works cross-platform through any browser on phones, tablets, and computers.
• A camera can be mounted on the gripper; additional resources include a URDF model, STEP file, ROS 2 package, and a VirtualBox image.

Commands and examples – verify before use: 

sudo apt install ubuntu-desktop
sudo reboot

Notes and version constraints

• High servo torques pose injury risks; keep eyes and children away from the range of motion.
• After disassembly, the arm must be reassembled and calibrated according to the assembly tutorial.
• Green nitrile rubber O-rings may shed small debris during initial operation – this is normal and stops after run-in.
• The default demo runs at a deliberately slow speed; too low speeds can cause vibration at certain positions.
• Setting up the ROS 2 environment requires downloading the provided VirtualBox image (password: roarm); manual installation often hits dependency issues.
• RViz2 display errors in VMware can be fixed by disabling 3D graphics acceleration.
• The Logitech mouse wheel will not work inside the virtual machine until smooth scrolling is turned off in the mouse software.

Source and revision record

• RoArm-M1 - Waveshare Wiki
• Source revision: 74886
• Captured: 2026-09-04T02:46:17+00:00
• SHA-256: fcae15380196e464ec4d906bb05f569ec9724cddb2f49d14ce5634b8251b5707