Spacehuhn's Custom Expansion Module Gives Any Framework Laptop an Espressif ESP32 Dev Board Add-On

Pseudonymous security researcher "spacehuhn" has built an add-on for the modular Framework Laptop family which adds an on-board Espressif ESP32-S3 dual-core microcontroller coprocessor — and has released the design files so others can follow suit.

"Last year I bought a framework laptop, and one cool thing about it are the expansion cards," spacehuhn explains. "You can choose what kind of IO [Input/Output] the laptop has, whether that's USB-A, USB-C, a microSD card reader, HDMI, Ethernet, and so on. What I think makes this truly genius is that the expansion cards are basically just USB-C adapters. So I decided to make my own expansion card, and this is it."

Unveiled two years ago and recently refreshed with the choice of Intel or AMD processor and a new, more powerful 16" variant, the Framework Laptop is designed to be as modular as possible — to the point where its creators sell the single-board computer at its heart as a stand-alone unit, which has already found a home in community creations ranging from an all-in-one desktop and a retrofuturistic take on the oscilloscope-display terminal to the TRS-80 Model 100-inspired Framedeck portable.

The focus of spacehuhn's project, though, isn't the Framework Mainboard but the IO expansion bays in the laptop proper. "It's an [Espressif] ESP32-S3 Wi-Fi and Bluetooth development board with an RGB Neopixel LED, and a Qwiic or STEMMA QT connector — and I can put it in my laptop," the maker explains. "Which means I have an ESP32 dev board everywhere I go, read to start developing new hacking tools as soon as I open my laptop."

Building on Framework's own repository of example expansion card designs and their 3D-printable housings, spacehuhn's biggest challenge was one of space — ironically enough. "Even though I'm using this really small ESP module," the maker explains, "I just couldn't find a good way to make it fit. It still fits, but you have to slide the expansion card in and out a bit more carefully. If you need to access the Qwiic connector, you have to disconnect it first and plug it into another USB-C port, which isn't ideal, I know, but hey — it works."

Spacehuhn isn't the only one looking to expand on the Framework concept by designing their own add-ons for its modular IO slots. Back in October last year semi-pseudonymous maker Sean N. created a 3D-printed expansion card which offered a magnetic charging port inspired by Apple's popular MagSafe — meaning that anyone tripping over the cable won't send the laptop crashing to the ground.

More information on the project is available in the video above, while the KiCad project, SCAD, and STL files for the case have been published to GitHub under the permissive CERN Open Hardware License Version 2 — Permissive license.