A Software-Defined USB PD Charger (ESP32, FPGA, Open Source Hardware)
Details
- External ID
- 47215819
- Source
- HN
- Company
- —
- Product
- A Software-Defined USB PD Charger (ESP32, FPGA, Open Source Hardware)
- Website domain
- crowdsupply.com
- Launched
- March 2, 2026
- Cohort
- —
- Upvotes
- 6
- Upvotes percentile
- 0.2853628536285363
- Tags
- —
- Fetched at
- Sept. 7, 2026, 9:26 p.m.
- Updated at
- Sept. 7, 2026, 9:26 p.m.
Description
We built a multi-port USB-C PD3.2 system that treats power delivery as a software-defined problem rather than fixed-function silicon.This started as our internal R&D platform while developing a consumer charger. We were uncomfortable with the typical “the FAE handles the firmware, you just build the hardware” model that dominates the PD ecosystem. In that model, key behavior lives in vendor-controlled binaries, arbitration rules are opaque, and meaningful customization is either discouraged or impossible.We wanted full ownership of the system — from power stage to protocol logic — and we wanted the ability to inspect, version, test, and evolve the charging algorithms ourselves. Instead of treating firmware as a thin configuration layer on top of fixed-function silicon, we designed the charger as a programmable system from the beginning.Furthermore, we want to empower everyone.So we redesigned the stack with a clean separation of concerns:* ESP32-C3 (Wi-Fi + BLE) running open firmware* FPGA handling safety features and control plane management* 5× PD3.2 controllers (up to 140W per port capability)The ESP32 chip offers:* Local HTTP/JSON API* MQTT client* Prometheus exporter* OTA updates* Telemetry aggregationEverything works locally; no cloud required (although cloud is available).We approached this using software engineering discipline instead of traditional embedded shortcuts:* Software defined, and software as an asset not a liability* Open Source firmware* Reviewable, testable modules* Exposed APIs instead of hidden vendor blobsThe idea is simple: if modern infrastructure is observable and programmable, power delivery should be too.It’s fully solid-state, built with industrial components (Coilcraft inductors, Murata/Samsung MLCCs), and powered by an off-the-shelf Mean Well PSU for reliability and traceability.Repo: https://github.com/ifanrx/IonBridgeHappy to answer technical questions.
Enrichment
- Theme
- open-source hardware and embedded electronics
- Vertical
- Horizontal
- Function
- Hardware & robotics
- Audience
- Developer
- AI stance
- Not AI
- Project type
- Hobby / open-source project
- Normalized one-liner
- programmable usb power delivery charger
- Manually corrected
- False
Could you build this?
No This project requires custom PCB engineering, high-power AC-DC analog electronics, FPGA HDL synthesis, and low-level USB-PD protocol implementation.
What it would actually take: A real version requires custom mixed-signal PCB layout (handling high wattage and thermal management), FPGA Verilog/VHDL design (such as SALELF2) to parse high-frequency USB-PD physical layer packets, and embedded C firmware on an ESP32 for network telemetry and protocol negotiation. It demands electrical engineering expertise, test bench equipment (oscilloscopes, electronic loads), and hardware safety compliance certifications.
Discussion
No comments on this launch.
Competitors
Other products that read as similar to this one — 79 launches clear the similarity bar, closest 8 shown.
Attention rank: #60 of 80 (itself plus its competitors, highest first — normalized so YC and Product Hunt are compared fairly).
Launched 107 days after the earliest competitor.
- We built an open USB-C Power Delivery analyzer and programmable sink · hn · 2026-08-05 · 8 upvotes · similarity 0.67
- Pdsink · hn · 2025-11-15 · 6 upvotes · similarity 0.52
- esp-sdr · github · 2026-09-28 · 126 upvotes · similarity 0.50
- Ember · hn · 2025-12-06 · 7 upvotes · similarity 0.47
- I built an open-source Linux-capable single-board computer with DDR3 · hn · 2025-12-24 · 17 upvotes · similarity 0.45
- pcileech-as02-3p · github · 2026-09-17 · 8 upvotes · similarity 0.43
- MiniWatts · github · 2026-09-10 · 120 upvotes · similarity 0.42
- ESP32-PC-Control-Deck · github · 2026-09-12 · 31 upvotes · similarity 0.41
Other launches for this product
- No other launches for this product.
Same idea, different domain
Nobody's really built a hardware & robotics tool for Fintech yet.