SteadyFrame
A handheld 3-axis camera stabilizer controlled by an STM32 board and programmed in Rust.
Author: Neagu Alexandru-Florin
Group: 1222EEB
GitHub Project Link: https://github.com/UPB-PMRust-Students/fils-project-2026-ithinktoomuch05
Description
This project represents a 3-axis camera stabilizer designed to keep a relatively small DSLR/Mirrorless camera steady while the user is moving - My Canon EOS R camera paired with an EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS II Canon lens (total weight: ~1kg).
The stabilizer uses an STM32 NUCLEO-U545RE-Q development board, an IMU sensor, brushless motors, motor drivers, a joystick and a LiPo battery.
Motivation
I chose this project because I am currently learning videography and cinematography and the prices of camera equipment are simply too much for a freelancing student (even more than the price of the standalone components, huh, that's unbelievable!, I know, until you search for how much actually good equipment costs). As such, I have started on a quest of creating my own personal equipment, starting with maybe the most important tool - stabilization (because my hands aren't the steadiest out there and it makes a world of difference on film).
Architecture
This is the initial diagram, subject to change as I develop the project, regarding how I think my project should be organized/work:
Main components:
Log
Week 6: 30 March - 6 April
Coming up with possible project ideas.
Week 7: 6 - 12 April
Conceptual stage, thinking how I would want my gimbal project to work, coming up with ideas regarding components and spending a lot of time looking for correct/compatible components, as I think this project is a bit complex for my current level of understading.
Week 8: 12 - 18 April
Ordering a big part of components (motors, drivers+encoders, STM32 board). More research.
Week 9: 19 - 25 May
Ordering next batch of components (IMU, battery and charger). More research x2. Changed to attempting CAN connection (lord have mercy).
Hardware
Hardware used for creating this project (list currently WIP): STM32 NUCLEO-U545RE-Q, GM5208-24 motors, MKS XDRIVE MINI drivers with AS5047P on board, ICM-20948 IMU, LiPo GENS ACE G-Tech Soaring 4S 14.8 V 2200mA battery with appropriate charger and 2 Axis Joystick. Photos of components will be added after they arrive (currently still being delivered).
Schematics
Bill of Materials
--- WORK IN PROGRESS, NOT FINISHED ---
| Device | Usage | Price |
|---|---|---|
| STM32 NUCLEO-U545RE-Q | The microcontroller - computes everything and sends the appropriate signals to all the components | 105 RON |
| 3x GM5208-24 | The motors - stabilize the camera along the 3 axis and move in required directions when requested to | 702 RON |
| 3x MKS XDRIVE MINI with AS5047P on board | The motor drivers and encoders - understand motor position and rotation (magnetic rotary encoders) and communicates with the motors when to rotate in order to be stabilized or moved when requested to (drivers) | 534 RON |
| AS5047P specs | The motor encoders | included with drivers |
| SN65HVD230 | CAN communication module (transceiver) for motor drivers | 11 RON |
| ICM-20948 | The 9-Axis Inertial Measurement Unit - understands the position of the camera and helps the microcontroller understand required position and rotation changes | 37 RON |
| LiPo GENS ACE G-Tech Soaring 4S 14.8 V 2200mA | The battery - supplies power to all components | 150 RON |
| LM2596S | DC-DC Buck Step Down Convertor LM2596S 4.0~40V to 1.25-37V - for supplying correct voltage to STM32 board | 48 RON |
| Gens Ace iMars mini G-Tech | The battery charger - charges the battery when needed | 245 RON |
| 2 Axis Joystick | The joystick - human input to "move" (point) the camera in a specified direction | 6 RON |
| Total: | ~1850 RON | |
| NOT CONFIRMED YET: | ||
| ILI9341 | The LCD 3.2 inch touch display - would be used for observing information displayed by the microcontroller regarding position and rotation, plus would help navigate a menu for parameters - lots of stuff to do here, not all figured out yet | 117 RON |
| Wires | No exact count, still figuring out |
Software
| Library | Description | Usage |
|---|---|---|
| embassy-stm32 | HAL for STM32 microcontrollers, with drivers for GPIO, ADC, SPI, I2C, UART, timers, and CAN/FDCAN | Used as the main hardware abstraction layer for the STM32 NUCLEO-U545RE-Q, including IMU communication, joystick ADC reading, timers, and communication with the XDrive Mini controllers |
| embassy-executor | Async executor for embedded Rust | Used to run concurrent tasks such as IMU sampling, joystick reading, control-loop updates, and telemetry/debug tasks |
| embassy-time | Timekeeping, delays, and timeout utilities for Embassy-based applications | Used for periodic control-loop scheduling, sensor polling intervals, debounce timing and startup/calibration mode |
| embedded-hal | Common hardware abstraction traits for embedded systems | Used as the generic interface layer for reusable drivers, especially for the IMU and other peripherals |
| heapless | static-friendly data structures that do not require dynamic memory allocation | Used for fixed-capacity queues, buffers, message passing, and storing small packets or samples without a heap |
| static_cell | Runtime-initialized static storage for no_std applications | Used for safely allocating shared static resources such as buses, drivers, and global state needed by Embassy tasks - apparently |
| defmt | Compact logging framework | Used for debug logging, calibration output, fault reporting and runtime diagnostics during development |
| panic-probe | Panic handler | Used to report panics cleanly during firmware development and debugging |
| embedded-can | Abstraction layer for CAN communication | Used for communication by the STM32 with the three XDrive Mini boards over CAN. |
| icm20948-rs | Platform-agnostic driver for the ICM-20948 9-axis IMU | Used to initialize the ICM-20948, read accelerometer/gyroscope/magnetometer data, and expose it to the stabilization algorithm |
| NOT CONFIRMED YET: | ||
| ili9341 | Crates for display | Should be used for displaying information regarding position parameters and menu controls |
| [Probably way more crates needed ] | Work in progress | - |
Links
- Additional CAN tutorials god help me
- Rust PID control
- FOC and Gimbal Stabilization
- IMU understanding
- Powering help
...