Elena¶
A robot growing one subsystem at a time¶
Elena is an evolving mobile robot built around three cooperating systems: Mother, Nolena, and Melissa. This site records the design decisions, wiring, software, experiments, successes, and problems encountered during her development.
Mother¶
The PC application that receives telemetry, records logs, sends commands, and connects Elena to Ollama.
Nolena¶
The Raspberry Pi Pico 2 W responsible for movement, Wi-Fi, I²C sensors, infrared input, and communication with Mother.
Melissa¶
The Waveshare RP2040-Plus responsible for Elena's E-Ink display and connected to Nolena through UART.
Follow the build¶
The Development Log presents each milestone chronologically. Every entry records its goal, components, wiring, software changes, tests, problems, solutions, media, and next steps.
Current stage¶
Architecture and power-system development
- The robot has been named Elena.
- Responsibilities have been divided among Mother, Nolena, and Melissa.
- Separate motor and electronics battery systems have been selected.
- A shared command language and subsystem communications are being developed.
Living documentation
This site should change with Elena. Record failed tests and abandoned ideas as well as successful milestones; those details make the journal useful later.