ESP32-NanoCam Serial Protocol Manual

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Baud rate: 115200 | Data bits: 8 | Parity: None | Stop bits: 1 | Flow control: None Compatible with the mainstream camera module AT command set, with additional NanoCam extended commands.

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1. General Rules

• Commands are case-insensitive (STA_SSID = sta_ssid)
• Commands must be followed by any English punctuation mark (, . : ; etc.) as a terminator
• Some commands trigger an automatic reboot after being changed
• Each command ends with \r\n (serial assistants usually add this automatically)

2. WiFi Configuration

STA Mode (connect to a router)

Command	Description	Example	Return
sta_ssid:name	Set WiFi SSID	sta_ssid:MyWiFi	OK
sta_pd:password	Set WiFi password (reboots after change)	sta_pd:12345678	OK (reboots)

The WiFi SSID and password are at most 30 characters; Chinese characters are not supported.

AP Mode (self-hosted hotspot)

Command	Description	Example	Return
ap_ssid:name	Set hotspot SSID	ap_ssid:NanoCam-AP	OK
ap_pd:password	Set hotspot password (reboots after change)	ap_pd:12345678	OK (reboots)

WiFi Mode

Command	Description	Parameter	Return
wifi_mode:X	Switch mode	0=AP 1=STA 2=AP+STA	OK (reboots when changed)

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3. AI Mode Switching

Command	Mode	Description	Reboot
ai_mode:0	Normal	MJPEG streaming, no AI	✅
ai_mode:1	Cat face detection	Real-time cat face boxes + confidence	✅
ai_mode:2	Face detection	Real-time face boxes + coordinates	✅
ai_mode:3	Color recognition	Box-select to enroll → real-time detection	✅
ai_mode:4	Face recognition	Enroll → identify → delete	✅
ai_mode:5	QR code	Real-time decoding → serial output	✅
ai_mode:6	LLM agent	XiaoZhi AI voice chat + AI vision	✅
ai_mode:7	ESP-Claw	Voice control + photo vision analysis + OpenAI Vision	✅

ai_mode valid values: 0-7. Out-of-range values fall back to 0 by default. The device reboots automatically after a change, and the new mode takes effect after the reboot.

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4. Information Queries

Command	Description	Example Return
sta_ip	Query STA IP	sta_ip:192.168.1.100
ap_ip	Query AP IP	ap_ip:192.168.4.1
wifi_ver	Query firmware version	NanoCam Board Ver:0.2.0

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5. System Control

Command	Description	Return
wifi_reset	Restore factory settings (reboots)	Reset_OK
nano_reboot	Soft reset	Rebooting...
nano_info	Full device info (JSON)	See below

nano_info Response Example

{
  "device": "NanoCam",
  "ver": "0.2.0",
  "chip": "ESP32-S3",
  "flash": "16MB",
  "psram": "8MB",
  "ai_mode": 1,
  "wifi_mode": 2,
  "sta_ip": "192.168.1.100",
  "free_heap": 245760
}

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6. Face Recognition Commands

Only valid in ai_mode:4 (face recognition mode).

Command	Description	Label Behavior	Example Return
face_eril	Enroll the face detected in the current frame	Blue "Enroll: ID N", flashes for 0.5s	>>> face enroll triggered
face_rz	Enter continuous face recognition mode	Green "ID: N" / red "who?", stays visible without disappearing	>>> face recognize triggered
face_del	Delete the last enrolled face ID	Red "N IDs left", flashes for 0.5s	>>> face delete triggered
face_detect	Exit recognition mode, back to plain face detection	Clears all labels	>>> face detect mode

Face Recognition Workflow

ai_mode:4          # Enter face recognition mode (device reboots automatically)
face_eril          # Enroll the face (make sure only one face is in the frame)
face_rz            # Start continuous recognition — the label stays visible without disappearing
face_detect        # Exit recognition mode — labels are cleared
face_del           # Delete the last enrolled face

Face Recognition Notes

1. When enrolling, make sure there is only one face in the frame, at a distance of 30-50cm
2. In recognition mode (face_rz) the label stays visible and does not disappear after 0.5s — this is new behavior in 0.3.0
3. To exit recognition mode, send face_detect; otherwise the label keeps showing
4. Face features are stored in the Flash fr partition, persist across power cycles, up to 47 IDs
5. Recognition uses frame skipping (MFN inference runs once every 10 frames)

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7. Extended Commands (NanoCam-specific)

Command	Description	Status
nano_server:url	Set LLM server address (saved in NVS)	✅
nano_api_key:key	Set LLM API key (saved in NVS)	✅
nano_mqtt:broker,port,topic	Configure MQTT server	🔨
nano_led:R,G,B	Set RGB LED (WS2812, GPIO18 DIN)	📋
nano_snap	Take a photo and store it (SPIFFS)	✅
nano_stream:on/off	Start/stop streaming	📋

nano_server / nano_api_key

Command	Description	Example	Return
nano_server:URL	Set LLM server address	nano_server:https://api.openai.com	OK server=https://api.openai.com
nano_api_key:KEY	Set API key	nano_api_key:sk-xxxx	OK

Supports any OpenAI-compatible API (vLLM / Ollama / local models all work). ESP-Claw mode (ai_mode:7) supports nano_server; XiaoZhi AI (ai_mode:6) uses a separate server configuration.

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8. Notes

1. sta_pd / ap_pd reboot automatically after being changed; the new password takes effect after the reboot
2. ai_mode reboots automatically after being changed (only when the mode actually changes)
3. In face recognition mode (mode 4), Type-C serial configuration may stop working (insufficient memory)
4. WiFi SSID/password cannot exceed 30 characters and cannot contain Chinese characters
5. Commands must be followed by a punctuation mark as a terminator

Next Steps

• Quick Start — the complete walkthrough from flashing the firmware to switching AI modes

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