Vector Robotics 2026 Retreat - Prep
Hopefully we make slightly more tangible progress this time?
Latest
Motor Driver Settings Engine
A bit more info on some functionality that I've eluded to before, but not yet described in much detail
Vector Robotics 2025 Retreat
At long last, the post I'm sure you've all been waiting for!
Vector Robotics 2025 Retreat - Prep
A summary of the smaller pre-retreat activities & progress
CAN + Power Pi Helmet
Not to be confused with a Pi HAT...
No Pi-Wars 2026
Another year older, but not actually that much closer to a working robot...
My Lastest PCB Assembly Setup
Nothing fancy, but far better than manually soldering every part
Signal Integrity Design Considerations
The second technical deep-dive into an electronics topic that probably isn't particularly relevant to the hobbyist-level
The Low-Down on Slowing Down
A Mechanical post!? from Henry!?!?!?!
A Few Nuggets of Progress
Not much, but it's something?
FOC Motor Control!!!
It actually spins 😲
A Brief Tangent on Capacitors
Well, maybe not all that brief...
Electronics Development
Modular Motor Driver Rev-B
So it's been something like 6 months since I started writing this post, adding bits and pieces as I found errors in my design, but for the most part it was actually complete after about a month. Now that I've spun a motor, albeit not very
Electronics Development
Motor Control Board Motor Test
"A blog to hold us accountable for the lack of robotic project progress" - well that's worked flawlessly hasn't it... We're not dead, nor have we been completely idle, there's just been a lot going on in the background for both
Electronics Development
Motor Driver FPGA Development
Perhaps you're wondering: * What is an FPGA? * Why would you use an FPGA? * How do you use an FPGA? Or maybe not, I don't know what you're thinking. Either way, I'll try to answer these questions since FPGAs are relatively niche in
Electronics Development
The Arduous Process of Hardware-Software Integration
I've realised I'm going to need to split this into quite a few posts if I want to have anything resembling frequent updates, rather than one mega-post in like 6 months. So here's, what I presume will be, the first of a series
Electronics Development
A Failure in Frugality
A short story about trying to be thrifty, and probably spending more money in the end. The Problem Programmers are Expensive. A new ST-Link (ST-LINK/V2-ISOL) costs upwards of £75, and a new Lattice programmer (HW-USBN-2B) will run you some £220. On top of those
Electronics Development
Modular FOC Motor Driver
So it's been a about 3 months since we started work on the next design iteration, and what have we got to show for it? Well I've been busy in Altium, and the first prototype of the new motor controller PCB has been delivered. There'
PiWars
No Pi-Wars 2025
Of course we're a bit disappointed that there won't be a 2025 Pi-Wars. The 2024 event was great and it's a shame to not be able to go again so soon. We fully understand the reasoning behind it though, and after getting past
PiWars
Thoughts about System/Electronics Architecture
I've spent some time thinking about what I liked about the previous architecture and what I didn't. I'd really like to have a proper battery management system (BMS) PCB, and to get everything on a CAN bus this time (and actually use it). This
PiWars
Pi Wars 2024 Aftermath
Having now spent a few weeks recovering from the panic, chaos, and overall stress of the month or so before the Pi Wars 2024 “disaster zone” competition, I think this is a good point to go over how we did at the competition and talk a bit about what worked