VerSaTrack Board – STM32F407 Platform with W5500 Ethernet and ESP32-C3 Wi-Fi

Project Overview

VerSaTrack Board is an open-source embedded hardware platform built around the STM32F407VGT6 ARM Cortex-M4 microcontroller.

Designed for industrial automation, IoT, robotics, and embedded applications, the board integrates multiple communication, positioning, display, and storage interfaces into a single hardware platform.

Its main components include:

STM32F407VGT6 main MCU

WIZnet W5500 10/100 Mbps Ethernet controller

ESP32-C3 Wi-Fi module

NEO-6M GPS module

2.4-inch SPI TFT LCD with touch interface

microSD card

Dual SPI Flash memory

USB Type-C interface

The project provides the hardware schematic and board images as an open reference design. Firmware and manufacturing files are currently not included.

W5500 Ethernet Connectivity

For wired network connectivity, VerSaTrack integrates the WIZnet W5500 Ethernet controller.

The W5500 is a Hardwired TCP/IP Ethernet controller that integrates a 10/100 Ethernet MAC and PHY as well as hardware support for protocols including TCP, UDP, IPv4, ICMP, ARP, IGMP, and PPPoE.

It also provides eight independent hardware sockets and 32 KB of internal TX/RX buffer memory, allowing the main MCU to offload much of the TCP/IP processing required for Ethernet communication.

A simplified architecture can be represented as:

Sensors / GPS / Storage / Display
↓
STM32F407
├── W5500 → Wired Ethernet
└── ESP32-C3 → Wi-Fi

This configuration gives the STM32-based system access to both wired and wireless networking hardware.

Wired + Wireless Network Architecture

One of the most interesting aspects of VerSaTrack is the integration of both W5500 Ethernet and ESP32-C3 Wi-Fi on the same board.

Rather than relying on a single network interface, the hardware provides the foundation for applications capable of selecting between wired and wireless connectivity.

For example, future firmware could use:

Ethernet as the primary network + Wi-Fi as backup

or

Ethernet for local industrial communication + Wi-Fi for cloud connectivity

This makes the board particularly interesting as a Hybrid Network hardware platform.

However, because the repository currently contains hardware files rather than application firmware, simultaneous Ethernet/Wi-Fi operation, automatic failover, or network routing functions are not yet demonstrated by the project itself.

Integrated Hardware for IoT Applications

VerSaTrack goes beyond a conventional MCU and Ethernet development board by integrating several peripherals required in real-world embedded systems.

The NEO-6M GPS module provides positioning capability, while the 2.4-inch TFT LCD can be used to display device status, location data, network information, or sensor values.

The combination of microSD and dual SPI Flash also provides local storage for data logging, configuration files, or application resources.

This makes the board suitable as a hardware foundation for applications such as:

Industrial monitoring systems

GPS-enabled IoT devices

Remote equipment monitoring

Network-connected data loggers

Robotics platforms

Embedded control panels

Location-aware telemetry systems

For example, location or sensor data could be collected by the STM32F407, stored locally, displayed on the TFT, and transmitted through the W5500 Ethernet interface.

Why W5500 Is Important in This Design

In VerSaTrack, the W5500 is more than an external network adapter.

Its Hardwired TCP/IP architecture allows TCP/IP communication to be processed by dedicated hardware rather than placing the entire networking workload on the STM32F407.

This architecture can be particularly useful in embedded and industrial systems where deterministic MCU resource usage and stable wired network connectivity are important.

Combined with the ESP32-C3, the board demonstrates an interesting architecture where:

W5500 provides dedicated wired Ethernet connectivity, while ESP32-C3 provides wireless connectivity.

This gives developers a flexible hardware base for building connected embedded devices that require multiple communication options.

Open Hardware Reference

The repository provides the VerSaTrack schematic in PDF format together with top, bottom, and 3D views of the board.

This makes the project useful not only as an application concept but also as a hardware reference for developers interested in integrating:

STM32 + W5500 + Wi-Fi + GPS + Display + Storage

into a single embedded platform.

Although firmware, PCB source files, Gerber files, BOM, and manufacturing files are not currently included, the published schematic provides a useful starting point for studying the overall system architecture.

Conclusion

VerSaTrack is an open-source STM32F407 hardware platform that combines WIZnet W5500 Ethernet, ESP32-C3 Wi-Fi, GPS, display, and local storage in a single board.

The integration of both W5500 and ESP32-C3 is particularly noteworthy because it provides the hardware foundation for Hybrid Network applications that can utilize both wired and wireless communication.

With its combination of networking, positioning, display, and storage capabilities, VerSaTrack provides a useful reference architecture for future industrial IoT, robotics, remote monitoring, and embedded networking applications.