BattleDroidNet

Communication and Control system for HADB BattleDroids.

Check out the Sequence Syntax Guide to learn how to create timed droid performances.

Firmware

The firmware is located in firmware/BattleDroid/. It is designed for ESP32 boards and uses ESP-NOW for peer-to-peer communication.

Servo & Pin Assignments

Component	Channel / Function	Command Identifier	ESP32 GPIO Pin	Details
Servo	Head Turn	headturn	GPIO 13	500µs – 2500µs pulse range
Servo	Head Tilt	headtilt	GPIO 14	500µs – 2500µs pulse range
Servo	Torso Turn	torsoturn	GPIO 12	500µs – 2500µs pulse range
OLED Display	I2C SDA / SCL	-	GPIO 4 / GPIO 5	SSD1306 128x64
SD Card	SPI (CS, SCK, MISO, MOSI)	-	22, 18, 19, 23	SPI SD module
Audio DAC	I2S (BCLK, LRC, DOUT)	-	26, 25, 27	Makerfabs I2S Audio

Build Instructions

This project is compiled and uploaded using arduino-cli or the Arduino IDE.

Important

Critical Board Package & Hardware Constraints:

1. ESP32 Core Version 3.3.7 Required: Core version 3.3.8 contains a regression in standard SPI mapping that breaks SD card operations. You must use version 3.3.7.
2. PSRAM Enabled: On ESP32-WROVER boards (like the Makerfabs ESP32), PSRAM must be explicitly enabled during compile. If omitted, the internal cache conflicts with the SPI/SD lines, resulting in an SD FAIL on boot.

1. Setup the Environment

To ensure compilation consistency, install and lock the core package version to 3.3.7 via arduino-cli:

# Downgrade/install core 3.3.7
arduino-cli core install esp32:esp32@3.3.7

Required Libraries: Ensure the following libraries are installed in your sketchbook directory:

• Adafruit GFX Library
• Adafruit BusIO
• Adafruit SSD1306
• ESP32-audioI2S-master
• ESP32Servo
• FastLED

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2. Compile Firmware

Compile the BattleDroid sketch using the fully-configured WROVER FQBN:

arduino-cli compile --fqbn esp32:esp32:esp32:PSRAM=enabled,PartitionScheme=huge_app firmware/BattleDroid

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3. Upload Firmware

Upload the compiled binary to the designated COM port using the same FQBN:

arduino-cli upload -p <PORT> --fqbn esp32:esp32:esp32:PSRAM=enabled,PartitionScheme=huge_app firmware/BattleDroid

(For example, replacing <PORT> with COM14 or COM17 depending on the active USB-to-UART bridge).