This BeamNG Instrument Cluster Uses an Espressif ESP32 and Upcycled Speedo, RPM Gauges

Pseudonymous maker "diogocorreia423," hereafter simply "Correia," has turned scrap car instrumentation and an Espressif ESP32 microcontroller into a desktop dashboard cluster for the BeamNG driving sim.

"Custom-made [instrumentation] cluster for BeamNG with [Espressif] ESP32," Correia writes by way of introduction to the project. "The [dials] are from a Opel Corsa C and the motors are from other GM [General Motors] cars. It does not show up on the video but I have door warnings and brake temperatures [too]."

The cluster is designed for use with BeamNG, a driving sim launched in 2015 following a tech demo two years earlier and boasting soft-body physics for realistic handling and vehicle damage. The cluster includes a speedometer and RPM gauge, both taken from a real-world Corsa C, along with a series of lights and a central display panel.

Inside the housing is an Espressif ESP32 microcontroller, X27-168 stepper motors for the gauges, and a USB link to the host PC running the sim. "BeamNG has telemetry output via UDP [User Datagram Protocol,]" Correia explains of the link between the hardware and software. "I wasn't happy with the original data that the protocol sent so I customized it a little bit."

More information is available in Correia's Reddit post; the maker has intimated that a more detailed build log may follow in the future.