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Parts List
You'll need: about AU$100–150 for the electronics, plus the body · Read Safety first
| Part | How many | What it does | Where to get it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adafruit RP2040 Prop-Maker Feather | 1 | Lola's brain. It has the motion sensor (accelerometer), a speaker amplifier and a battery charger built in. | Adafruit 5768 |
| Adafruit 8-Channel PWM or Servo FeatherWing | 1 | Stacks on the Feather and drives the two wings and both eyes. | Adafruit 2928 |
| FEETECH FS90 micro servo (9 g, 180°, 1.5 kg·cm) | 2 | Move the wings. | Any hobby electronics shop |
| RGB LED, common cathode | 2 | The main and small eyes. | Any electronics shop |
| White LED | 1 | The "thinking" light. | Any electronics shop |
| Small speaker (4–8 Ω) | 1 | For her sounds. Connects to the Feather's speaker terminals. | Any electronics shop |
| LiPo battery (3.7 V, JST-PH plug) | 1 | So she can run without a cable. | Adafruit, or a hobby shop |
| USB-C data cable | 1 | To put the firmware on her. | |
| Wire, header pins, heat-shrink | some | Joining it all up. |
- Soldering iron and solder
- Wire cutters and strippers
- Small screwdriver for the screw terminals
- A computer with a USB port
Lola's body and wings are custom-made. Each wing is a panel turned by a servo on its hinge.
Got everything? Next: Wiring.
- Why common cathode? The firmware makes an eye brighter by raising its PWM duty (more "on" time). That suits LEDs whose shared leg goes to ground (common cathode). Common-anode LEDs would light the wrong way round.
-
Why that servo? The simulator models the FS90 at 4.8 V (0.12 s per 60°,
sec_per_60deginsimulator/sim.toml). A different servo works, but you may need to recalibrate the wings and updatesim.toml. -
Different parts? The firmware expects the PCA9685 at its default I²C address on the same bus as the accelerometer, and the white LED on the Feather's
EXTERNAL_NEOPIXELSpin. See the Channel map.