Design and Evaluation of a Hybrid Electronic Speed Controller for Brushless DC Motors for Smart Mobility Applications

Brushless DC (BLDC) motors are widely applied in electric mobility, robotics, and energy-efficient systems, promoting the transition toward cleaner technologies. This paper presents a hybrid Electronic Speed Controller (ESC) capable of operating with both Hall-effect and sensorless strategies using a single microcontroller-based platform. Unlike conventional ESCs designed for a specific configuration, the proposed hardware integrates signal conditioning and power stages to process feedback from either type of motor, while the software unifies both control algorithms within a single framework. This dual-mode design enhances scalability, enabling flexible use across a wide range of BLDC motors without additional circuitry. Numerical and experimental results using high-power motors validate the proposed ESC demonstrating good performance in various speed ranges. The proposed ESC offers an educational and research-oriented tool for rapid prototyping and testing of BLDC drives, demonstrating potential for applications in smart mobility, industrial automation, and energy-efficient systems for smart cities.