NORA

---

• Robot Type: Mecanum

---

Software

• Arduino IDE

---

---

---

Windows controller: builds/NORA-Controller.exe shows NORA's own web page in a window, so it always matches the page. Source: scripts/web_controller.

---

STAY CLOSE: press STAY on RITA, or STAY CLOSE on her page, and she keeps near RITA in your hand, stopping about a metre away. RITA's signal shows how far, not which way, so she tries a direction, keeps going if the signal gets stronger and turns if it doesn't. Her sensors still stop her for walls and the wheel lock still holds. She stops if RITA goes quiet. Tested in simulation only so far.

Other languages: scripts/controllers has this robot's controller in C#, F#, Rust, Go and Julia, all reading one robot.json: W A S D to drive, the mode buttons and the sensors. See its README for how to run each.

Related Projects

---

Overview

NORA is built on the ESP32. She hosts the NORA WiFi access point the rest of the fleet joins, runs the fleet registry, and drives four mecanum wheels. An Arduino UNO with a SparkFun MP3 Player Shield reads her four ultrasonic sensors, light and sound sensors, plays music and drives the buzzer, and streams it all to the ESP32.

Core Features

• Android app (Android App/, package com.synthwomb): FIND gets her address from the fleet list, or type it in. Hold the stick to drive, let go to stop, and her modes, HELLO, DANCE and the wheel lock are buttons. Build it with gradlew assembleDebug.
• FOLLOW: she keeps your hand 30 cm from her front sonar, inside her wall stop. On her web page, or F on the controller.
• HELLO and DANCE: a wiggle and a spin on the spot, in Manual (/act?do=hello, /act?do=dance; B and C on the controller). Her wall stop still holds, and any stop ends them.
• Live view: her controller draws her from above, wheels turning and walls on all four sides.
• /status: the same JSON as /sensors, with rev (her settings in one number) and moving. Her address is nora.local.
• Omnidirectional movement: drive, strafe and turn in place on mecanum wheels.
• Self-hosted AP: no router needed; she is the fleet's network and registry (port 5000).
• Reactive safety: four HC-SR04 sensors (front, back, left, right) block drive commands that would hit something, with a buzzer warning.
• Four drive modes: Manual (web / Bluetooth), Auto (obstacle avoidance), Line following, IR Remote.
• Fleet IR remote: drives IDA, MILA, WHIP, KIDA-01 and NIKA through her IR transmitter, from the web page, the Python controller or Bluetooth. The panel shows the selected robot's avatar.
• MIND mode: the LLM on her PC controller drives her, one short move at a time: she looks (her four distances, light, sound), thinks out loud on screen, says what she's doing in her own voice and personality (the fleet's boss), moves, and remembers. on the Python controller, or MIND on her web page (shown only while that controller is connected). Only on an x86 PC with 8 GB+ RAM and a GTX 1050 or better. Her wheel lock and her wall stop hold in MIND too.

---

Prerequisites

Software

• flash.bat does it all for the ESP32: on a fresh PC it installs the Arduino command line tool, the ESP32 board package (3.3.12) and the libraries by itself, then finds the port, compiles and flashes, talking you through it (unplug the serial link to the UNO first). Or the Arduino IDE with the ESP32 board package
• ESP32 libraries: IRremote 4.x, Adafruit AHTX0 (WiFi, WebServer, Preferences, BluetoothSerial and Wire come with the core)
• UNO libraries: SFEMP3Shield and SdFat
• For the ESP32, pick a bigger app partition under Tools → Partition Scheme: Huge APP (3MB No OTA/1MB SPIFFS) or Minimal SPIFFS (1.9MB APP with OTA)

Hardware

Component	Details
Microcontroller 0	ESP32 (ACEBOTT QA007 Max controller board)
Microcontroller 1	Arduino UNO + VS1053 MP3 board with line in, microphone and headphone jack (microSD card)
Chassis	Omnidirectional (mecanum) robot chassis
Motor drivers	2× L298N
Motors	4× 5 V DC motors
Battery	2S 18650
Distance	4× HC-SR04 (front, back, left, right)
Ground	3-channel line tracking sensor
Environment	AHT10 temperature / humidity (I2C), photoresistor (LDR)
Sound	Sound sensor module (clap detection), buzzer, speaker on the MP3 board
FM radio (planned)	TEA5767 module, 76-108 MHz, 5 V: I2C at 0x60 on H13, H14 or H15, audio by aux cable into the VS1053 board's LINE IN
Light	UV LED
Remote	NEC IR receiver + remote, IR transmitter LED
Controllers	Web page, Python controller (WiFi or Bluetooth), IR remote

---

---

Pinouts

[!CAUTION] Ground Loop Warning: All modules must share a common GND. Failure to bridge grounds will cause erratic motor behavior and sensor noise.

L298N-0 (front drive)

Motor	PWM Pin	Dir 1	Dir 2
M0	GPIO 5	GPIO 16	GPIO 17
M1	GPIO 23	GPIO 18	GPIO 19

L298N-1 (rear drive)

Motor	PWM Pin	Dir 1	Dir 2
M2	GPIO 12	GPIO 13	GPIO 14
M3	GPIO 27	GPIO 26	GPIO 25

Sensors and outputs

Component	Pin
Line follower L / M / R	GPIO 34 / GPIO 35 / GPIO 39
UV LED	GPIO 4
IR receiver OUT	GPIO 32 (power it from 3.3 V, not 5 V)
IR transmitter LED	GPIO 33 (sends the fleet IR link)
AHT10 SDA / SCL	GPIO 21 / GPIO 22 (H13-H15 are this same I2C bus, with 5 V power)
TEA5767 FM radio (planned)	I2C, 0x60: H13, H14 or H15
UNO link	RX0 / TX0 (UART0, 9600 baud)

Ultrasonic sensors

All four TRIG pins are joined to one shared trigger.

Signal	Pin
TRIG (all four)	A4
Front ECHO	A0
Right ECHO	A1
Back ECHO	A2
Left ECHO	A3

Other

Component	Pin
Photoresistor (LDR)	A5
Sound sensor	D5
Buzzer	D10
ESP32 link	D0 (RX) / D1 (TX), 9600 baud

The MP3 shield reserves D2, D3, D4, D6, D7, D8, D9, D11, D12 and D13.

UART at 9600 baud on the UNO's hardware serial (pins 0/1). Like WHIP, unplug the link before uploading to either board.

UNO → ESP32 (one line per reading):

F:23.4,L:10.1,B:45.0,R:8.3,MT:101,MS:1,LT:62,SND:0

Distances in cm, MT current track, MS music state, LT light %, SND 1 if a sound was just heard.

ESP32 → UNO:

M:PLAY  M:NEXT  M:PREV  M:STOP  M:REPEAT     music
V:UP  V:DOWN  V:MUTE                          volume
BZ:SPD:<0-100>  BZ:MODE:<0-3>  BZ:UV:<0-2>    buzzer feedback
BZ:LOCK:<0|1>   BZ:DENIED

[!TIP] Pro-Tip: Common GND is non-negotiable. If the motors behave erratically or the sensors give "0" readings, check your ground bridge first!

---

Controls

Network Configuration

Parameter	Value
SSID	NORA
Password	12345678
Control page	http://192.168.4.1:5002
Fleet registry	http://192.168.4.1:5000 (/register, /robots, /ping)
Bluetooth	Device name NORA (serial)

RIFT Integration

Connect to the NORA network, then reach NORA through RIFT at http://192.168.4.1:5002. When a RIFT hub is running it takes over as the fleet authority, and NORA defers to it.

Drive Modes

Key	Mode	Description
1	Manual	D-pad control from the web page, the Python controller or Bluetooth
2	Auto	Omnidirectional obstacle avoidance using all four ultrasonic sensors
3	Line	Line following with the 3-channel sensor. Stops for anything closer than 15 cm in front
4	IR Remote	The remote's D-pad drives directly. Enter swaps left/right between strafing and turning

Only NORA's own remote (NEC, address 0x00) is obeyed: IR noise that decodes as some other protocol can't switch her mode any more. Every mode change records who made it (web, bt or ir) as msrc in /sensors and in the Bluetooth ? reply.

The mode keys, music, volume and mute work in every mode. The D-pad and Enter only drive in IR Remote mode, so they never fight the web driver or the autonomous logic. There's no key-up over IR, so a 250 ms gap with no repeat counts as "released". The full button map is in ir_mapping.txt.

Controls

Every key, remote button and Bluetooth letter. The same list opens in its own window: F1 in the Python controller, KEYS on her web page (/keys), or python scripts/keymap.py.

Keyboard: controller and web page

Key	Does
W / Up	forward (hold)
S / Down	back (hold)
A / Left	strafe left (hold)
D / Right	strafe right (hold)
Q / E	turn left / right (hold)
Two at once	blend (controller): W+A forward and sliding left, W+Q a curve (her /drive)
	driving with the wheels unlocked; in Auto / Line / IR the controller takes over (Manual)
1 / 2 / 3 / 4	Manual / Auto / Line / IR-remote mode
F	FOLLOW mode: she keeps your hand 30 cm from her front sonar (controller; a button on her web page)
B / C	HELLO / DANCE, on the spot, in Manual (controller; buttons on her web page)
Space	play / pause music
M	next track
U	UV light: off, on, blink
X	speed preset: 25, 50, 75, 100 %
+ / -	speed up / down 10 % (controller)
N	her MIND mode on / off: the LLM on this PC drives her (x86 PC, GTX 1050+; controller)
H	IDA's mind on / off: drives IDA over the IR link, blind and careful (controller)
I / J / K / L	drive the picked fleet robot through NORA's IR link (hold)
Tab / Shift+Tab	pick the next / previous fleet robot (controller)
O / P / Y	picked robot: auto / manual / speed (controller)
G / V	picked robot: unlock / lock its wheels (controller; UNLOCK / LOCK on the web page)
STOP	stops her in any mode (controller: the D-pad's middle, or the pad's A)
THEME	controller colours: default, light, custom (all from colour_scheme.xml)
Emulate	controller: a pretend NORA on this PC, no robot (connection screen, or --emulate)
F1	this window (controller; KEYS on the web page)
Esc	quit (controller)

Gamepad or joystick (controller; ARM's flight stick works too)

Key	Does
Left stick / D-pad	drive: forward, back, strafe, blended (half left is both; takes over from Auto)
LB / RB, right stick, twist	turn left / right
A (button 0)	stop
B (1)	UV light: off, on, blink
X (2)	play / pause music
Y (3)	next track
Back (6) / Start (7)	Auto / Manual mode
	plug it in any time; Xbox, PlayStation and Switch pads all have these buttons

IR remote

Key	Does
Up / Down	forward / back (IR mode, hold)
Left / Right	strafe or turn (IR mode, hold)
Enter	switch Left / Right between strafing and turning
1 / 2 / 3 / 4	Manual / Auto / Line / IR-remote mode
5	the wheel lock: unlock / lock (one button, no PIN)
6 / 7	slower / faster: speed down / up 10 %
Play/Pause	play / pause music
Stop	stop music
Next / FFWD	next track
Prev / Rewind	previous track
Repeat	repeat the song
Vol+ / Vol- / Mute	volume
	the wheel lock blocks driving here too: 5 frees the wheels

Bluetooth serial (the controller's BT link)

Key	Does
F / B / L / R	forward / back / strafe left / right
Q / E	turn left / right
S	stop
1 / 2 / 3	Manual / Auto / Line mode
U	UV light: off, on, blink
K	lock the wheels
V1234	unlock the wheels (V, then her PIN)
M / N / P / X	music: play-pause / next / previous / stop
+ / -	speed up / down
?	status
I or T, then a letter	drive IDA (I) or another robot (T) through the IR link
... then U / K	unlock / lock that robot's wheels
H, then name:caps	register a fleet member (DREAM over Bluetooth)

Python controller

pip install -r requirements.txt
python scripts/controller.py                 # WiFi, NORA at 192.168.4.1:5002
python scripts/controller.py --bt COM7       # Bluetooth serial instead
python scripts/controller.py --emulate       # a pretend NORA on this PC (scripts/fake_nora.py), no robot

run.bat / run.ps1 / run.sh offer the web page, the controller, or the controller on EMULATE.

• Two keys blend: W+A drives forward and slides left at once, W+Q curves, and the pad's stick is analog (her /drive?f=&s=&t=, mixed over the four mecanum wheels; she stops by herself 0.5 s after the last one). Firmware older than that gets the stronger of the two, one move at a time.
• Driving takes over: driving her while she's in AUTO, LINE or IR puts her in MANUAL, so she does what's pressed and stops when you let go. STOP works in any mode.
• Settings stick: mode, UV and speed are sent again until her /sensors says so.
• Pads: Xbox, PlayStation and Switch pads all have the same buttons (SDL's controller layer, gamepad_drive.py); a flight stick or an unknown pad is read raw.
• THEME: DEFAULT, LIGHT or CUSTOM, all from colour_scheme.xml (sampled from her avatar). The parts every robot's controller shares are in scripts/controller_kit.py.
• EMULATE (the connection screen, or --emulate): a pretend NORA in a pretend room: her four sonars change as she drives, she won't drive into a wall closer than 15 cm, and she boots with her wheels locked.
• Her MIND log: ~/.robot_minds/logs/NORA-<date>.log (and IDA-<date>.log).

Fleet IR link

NORA drives IDA, MILA, WHIP, KIDA-01 and NIKA through her IR transmitter (GPIO 33). The frames are Samsung-format IR, one address per robot, with the same commands 0x48–0x4F for all of them. No remote in the fleet uses that protocol, so nothing else reacts, and NORA ignores her own frames on her receiver. Drive commands repeat every 150 ms while held, with stop on release; each robot stops by itself if the link goes quiet.

Robot	Address	Receiver
IDA	0x0DA1	IDA.ino
MILA	0x0DA2	MILA.ino
WHIP	0x0DA3	esp32.ino
KIDA-01	0x0DA4	arduino01 sketch (prints the IR lines the Pi already reads)
NIKA	0x0DA5	NIKA.ino (her beacon from NORA is her synth brain's social drive)

Pick the robot with the tabs on the web page's panel, or < > / Tab in the Python controller. The panel's avatar, name and colour follow the selection.

	Forward / Back / Left / Right	Stop	Obstacle mode	Manual	Speed
Web page (fleet panel)	I K J L or the buttons	buttons	button	button	button
Python controller (right column)	I K J L or the buttons	release	O	P	Y
HTTP	/link?r=ida|mila|whip|kida|nika&c=fw bw left right	stop	auto	manual	speed
Bluetooth	T + robot (I M W K N) + F B L R	…S	…O	…W	…X

/ida?c=... and Bluetooth I + letter still drive IDA directly. WHIP has a single gait speed, so speed does nothing there.

Voice

make_voice.bat turns her lines into MP3s with Windows text-to-speech (Zira) and ffmpeg: voice\track200.mp3–track231.mp3. Copy them to the root of the SD card next to track000.mp3 (make_voice.bat E: copies them for you). The lines are listed at the top of scripts/make_voice.ps1:

Track	Line	When
200–203	Manual / Auto / Line follow / Remote mode	mode changes
204 / 205	Motors locked / unlocked	motor lock
206	Something's in the way	a drive command blocked by an obstacle (at most every 3 s)
207–209	UV off / on / blinking	UV changes
210	Hello, I'm NORA	after the startup sound

Missing tracks fall back to the old beeps, and she stays quiet while music is playing. The ESP32 can play any line with SAY:<n> on the UNO link.

Talking with the fleet

Every 30–90 s, when she hasn't driven anyone over the link for 15 s (and isn't being driven by the IR remote), NORA says something to IDA: she beeps a phrase on her buzzer and, once she's finished, sends it over the link, and IDA answers with her reply. The robots talk in Brainfuck: every phrase is a Brainfuck program that prints its words (hello is ++++++++[>+++++++++++++<-]>.+. → hi), and a robot says it by beeping the program on its buzzer, one tone per symbol, pitched to its own voice. The phrasebook (talk_bf.h) is generated by RIFT's Fleet/brainfuck_talk.py: phrases 0–6 (hello, how are you, happy, curious, sleepy, let's play, bye) and their replies 7–13. Between phrases a silent "I am here" beacon goes to IDA, MILA, WHIP and KIDA-01 in turn (each hears it every 8 s); IDA greets NORA when it comes back after a minute away. Her clap detector ignores sounds while she talks, so the beeps don't start the music. RIFT also has her chat with the other robots over WiFi (GET /chirp?u=<0-13>) and merges her IR chats into its conversation log.

Phrases (link commands): 0x40 hello, 0x41 how are you, 0x42 happy, 0x43 curious, 0x44 sleepy, 0x45 let's play, 0x46 bye, 0x47 "I am here" beacon (silent).

• GET /talk returns the last 12 things she said, as JSON ({"now":ms,"log":[{"ms":..,"from":"NORA","to":"IDA","said":"hello","text":"hi","bf":"++++++++[>+++++++++++++<-]>.+."}]}) — the web panel shows the latest four.
• /talk?r=ida&p=hello says one now (p = hello how happy curious sleepy play bye); SAY HI on the fleet panel does this for the selected robot.

---

---

• ACEBOTT ESP32 Max V1.0 Docs
• ACEBOTT: Getting started with ESP32
• CH340 Driver Download

---

---

Who's nearby (ESP-NOW + Bluetooth LE)

Every robot sends a small "I'm here" beacon twice a second and listens for the others'. From the signal strength it knows roughly how close each one is, and from how that changes over time whether it's coming closer, steady or leaving:

Signal	Zone
above −45 dBm	very close
−45 to −60 dBm	near
−60 to −75 dBm	medium
below −75 dBm	far

It's coarse (walls, bodies and antenna angle all change it): for "who's around", not distance. Precise collision avoidance stays with the ultrasonic and ToF sensors.

They tell each other what they're doing, because a rising signal looks the same from both sides even when only one robot moves. Over ESP-NOW they say it in Brainfuck, like the fleet's conversations: each beacon carries a program that prints park, go, wait or hand (a human is driving), and the receiver runs it. Bluetooth adverts are too small for a program, so BLE carries the same state as one byte.

Who makes way, in self-driving modes only:

The other robot...	So this one...
is parked	is the one closing in: steers away
is yielding	carries on, carefully
is driven by a human	makes way (it's unpredictable)
drives itself	follows the alphabet: KIDA00, KIDA01, NORA, WHIP; everyone makes way for MILA, who can't hear the others
is leaving	carries on

Making way = stop for 2 s, turn away, then drive on (and not yield again for 5 s, so two robots that stay close don't take turns forever). While another robot is near, or coming closer, it drives slower with wider margins.

NORA hears the others over ESP-NOW (WHIP, MILA) and Bluetooth LE (WHIP and the Pi robots KIDA-00 / KIDA-01), alongside her WiFi network and classic Bluetooth. In Auto mode she drives slower with wider margins while a robot is near, and gives way (stop, wait, turn away) when one with right of way is very close. In Line mode she waits on the line instead of turning. GET /near shows her list. Code: scripts/esp32/fleet_near.h and fleet_near_ble.h.

---

Screenshots

---

---

The DREAM Robotics ecosystem

Minds — DREAM companion · TINA engineer · NINA caretaker · RIFT fleet hub · LYCEA training school
Robots — NORA · MILA · WHIP · KIDA-00 · KIDA-01 · IDA · ARM · NIKA · ARIA
Remotes — RITA handheld remote