R2 Touch vs Carvera Community Controller
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
R2 Touch
This app serves as a remote control for R2-D2 replica robots equipped with specific receiver boards. It allows users to control various droid functions like dome panels, holoprojectors, sounds, and lighting. Users can upload their own sound files for playback and customize button commands.
- Control dome panels, holoprojectors, sounds, and lighting
- Upload custom sound files
- Programmable ASCII string commands
- WiFi and serial output options
- Customizable buttons
- R2-D2 inspired interface
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This is a remote control app for members of the R2 Builders Club. Apart from looking pretty, and playing sounds (if you upload them to the application), it doesn't do anything unless you are building an R2-D2 replica robot and have MarcDuino receiver boards (as described in www.marcduino.com and on my build log on Astromech.net). If you do, lucky you, it will allow you to control the dome panels, holoprojectors, sounds and dome lighting of your Droid in all sorts of interesting ways. You can see a demo of how it works with my R2 here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AUod3LRQ1DI The app can run all the way down to iOS 8 on an iPhone 4S. The app doesn't include any sounds by default. If you want sounds to play directly from the app or through Bluetooth, you must upload your own sounds files to the App using iTunes. The sound files are typically the exact same you'd use in your remote sound system of the robot such as my MP3Trigger setup (described on www.marcduino.com). Commands, in the form of programmable short ASCII strings, are sent via the internal WiFi iPhone radio to a remote WiFly receiver. Alternately, the app also generates a 9600 baud serial output stream on the earphone audio port. This way you can send serial command to an external XBee transmitter radio for a more reliable link. You'll need a small level adapter board to use the audio serial capability, also on www.curiousmarc.com. Since you can customize most buttons and commands, you could also use this as a generic remote control app to send any short serial string via WiFi (to a WiFly radio fore example) or serial link (through an XBee). And with a spiffy R2-D2 inspired interface to boot!
Carvera Community Controller
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This app is a community-developed CNC controller designed for machines that support G-Code. It allows you to connect your iPad directly to your CNC and manage your projects in an intuitive, touch-friendly environment. With this controller you can: • Send and monitor G-Code commands in real time • Start, pause, and stop jobs directly from your iPad • View progress and status updates while your CNC is running Because the app is based on an open-source project, it is not tied to any specific CNC manufacturer. Whether you’re using a desktop CNC, a professional workshop machine, or a DIY build, as long as your system is G-Code compatible, this controller can help you operate it more conveniently. This software is maintained by the community and is distributed as open source. You can find the source code, contribute, or learn more about its development at https://github.com/Carvera-Community/Carvera_Controller Please note: this is not official software from any CNC vendor. It is a community-driven project built to make CNC control more accessible on mobile devices.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Carvera Community Controller at Free against R2 Touch's $5.99. Carvera Community Controller also leads on update cadence (every 3 months vs every 10 months). R2 Touch's advantage is iOS requirement (8.0 vs 17.6). On ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Carvera Community Controller is free to download; R2 Touch costs $5.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
R2 Touch ships an update every 10 months, Carvera Community Controller every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and November 8, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | R2 Touch | Carvera Community Controller |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $5.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 4.8 (9 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 80.0% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 9 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 10 months | Every 3 months — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 8.0 — better | 17.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 4 MB | 108 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Neil Hutchison | Carvera Community |
In-app purchases
R2 Touch
No in-app purchases
Carvera Community Controller
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is R2 Touch free?
Is Carvera Community Controller free?
Do R2 Touch or Carvera Community Controller have ads?
Which is updated more often, R2 Touch or Carvera Community Controller?
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