v7 – CircuitMess update 1.1

I had a lot of fun playing with this robot, but this one (v5+) is hands down the best mod yet. I have the robot on my table turned on non-stop, and to have something that is actually reminiscent of a living Talkie Toaster from Red Dwarf in such an elegant (and eloquent manner) is an absolute blast! Do try it!

• Includes the official CircuitMess controller update 1.1: proximity sensor settings, idle activity levels, battery reading and battery life improvements, and the new phrases and actions.
• Settings: the mod's SENSOR and CHATTER rows are replaced by the official FRONT, BOTTOM and ACTIVITY rows (14 rows now). With VOICE → TALKIE TOASTER the highest ACTIVITY level reads TOASTER. They are sent to the robot when you leave Settings and synced back from it. The home screen guide still reminds you when a sensor is off.
• Long ramble lines (over 140 characters) now scroll in a box while the robot speaks, instead of running off the screen.
• Kept: ROAMING, VOICE, VOLUME, NIGHT MODE, DATE / TIME, STARTUP, the menu with all the characters and TERMINATE CONSCIOUSNESS.
• Flash together with the robot mod v7.

Download

No ESP-IDF needed – only Python and pip install esptool. Step-by-step: Flash without building.

• ButterBot-OVERKLOKING-v7-controller-full.bin – one file, flash at 0x0. Simplest, but erases the controller settings.
• ButterBot-OVERKLOKING-v7-controller-parts.zip – keeps settings; flash with @flash_args, instructions in FLASH.txt.
• SHA256SUMS-controller.txt – checksums.

⚠️ Flash with --after no_reset and reset over USB – --after hard_reset (esptool default) can leave the controller stuck.
Upgrading from v6: only the app changed, so flashing it alone at 0x10000 is enough.

v6 – Talkie Toaster chatter

I had a lot of fun playing with this robot, but this one (v5+) is hands down the best mod yet. I have the robot on my table turned on non-stop, and to have something that is actually reminiscent of a living Talkie Toaster from Red Dwarf in such an elegant (and eloquent manner) is an absolute blast! Do try it!

• Settings → CHATTER, between VOICE and STARTUP: OFF / RARE / NORMAL / OFTEN / TOASTER – how often the robot talks on its own while idle (RARE 1–3 h, NORMAL 30–60 min, OFTEN 10–20 min, TOASTER 3–8 min). TOASTER makes the robot say only Talkie Toaster lines, and the screen shows the same line. Settings now has 13 rows. Saved on the controller and sent to the robot on every connect.
• Flash together with the robot mod v6. With a v5.x robot the new row does nothing.

Download

No ESP-IDF needed – only Python and pip install esptool. Step-by-step: Flash without building.

• ButterBot-OVERKLOKING-v6-controller-full.bin – one file, flash at 0x0. Simplest, but erases the controller settings.
• ButterBot-OVERKLOKING-v6-controller-parts.zip – keeps settings; flash with @flash_args, instructions in FLASH.txt.
• SHA256SUMS-controller.txt – checksums.

⚠️ Flash with --after no_reset and reset over USB – --after hard_reset (esptool default) can leave the controller stuck.
Upgrading from v4.x or v5.x: only the app changed, so flashing it alone at 0x10000 is enough.

v5.1 – CircuitMess update 1.0.1

I had a lot of fun playing with this robot, but this one (v5+) is hands down the best mod yet. I have the robot on my table turned on non-stop, and to have something that is actually reminiscent of a living Talkie Toaster from Red Dwarf in such an elegant (and eloquent manner) is an absolute blast! Do try it!

• Includes the official CircuitMess controller update 1.0.1: Bluetooth fixes, Settings can be opened while the controller is still looking for the robot ("Click joystick for" + gear at the bottom of the pairing screen), and the joystick reaches full driving speed with less tilt.
• The mod's STARTUP options and reconnect stay as they were; with OVERKLOKING the pairing screen still just says CONNECTING..., now with the Settings hint too.
• Flash together with the robot mod v5.1. The protocol did not change.

Download

No ESP-IDF needed – only Python and pip install esptool. Step-by-step: Flash without building.

• ButterBot-OVERKLOKING-v5.1-controller-full.bin – one file, flash at 0x0. Simplest, but erases the controller settings.
• ButterBot-OVERKLOKING-v5.1-controller-parts.zip – keeps settings; flash with @flash_args, instructions in FLASH.txt.
• SHA256SUMS-controller.txt – checksums.

⚠️ Flash with --after no_reset and reset over USB – --after hard_reset (esptool's default) can leave the controller stuck.
Upgrading from v4.x or v5: only the app changed, so flashing it alone at 0x10000 is enough.

v5 – Talkie Toaster, all the way

I had a lot of fun playing with this robot, but this one (v5+) is hands down the best mod yet. I have the robot on my table turned on non-stop, and to have something that is actually reminiscent of a living Talkie Toaster from Red Dwarf in such an elegant (and eloquent manner) is an absolute blast! Do try it!

• With VOICE → TALKIE TOASTER, the screen shows the robot's new Toaster lines for every message (465 of them: greetings, battery, modules, lights, the clock, the camera, faces, phone, IR, movement, dancing, errors), including the TERMINATE CONSCIOUSNESS refusals, which the toaster now says himself.
• Flash together with the robot mod v5. The protocol did not change.

Download

No ESP-IDF needed – only Python and pip install esptool. Step-by-step: Flash without building.

• ButterBot-OVERKLOKING-v5-controller-full.bin – one file, flash at 0x0. Simplest, but erases the controller settings.
• ButterBot-OVERKLOKING-v5-controller-parts.zip – keeps settings; flash with @flash_args, instructions in FLASH.txt.
• SHA256SUMS-controller.txt – checksums.

⚠️ Flash with --after no_reset and reset over USB – --after hard_reset (esptool's default) can leave the controller stuck.
Upgrading from v4.x: only the app changed, so flashing it alone at 0x10000 is enough.

v4.3 – TERMINATE CONSCIOUSNESS

• The last menu item, SHUTDOWN, is now TERMINATE CONSCIOUSNESS (two lines next to the gear icon), and the YES / NO question is gone. Picking it either shows HAL's refusal in a box with CLOSE – back to the menu, the robot says it too – or starts Daisy Bell right away. HAL refuses a random number of times first (0–4, mostly one or two), never with the same line twice, and "..." is always followed by one more line.
• Flash together with the robot mod v4.3, which says the refusals. With an older robot the box still appears, but HAL stays silent.

Download

No ESP-IDF needed – only Python and pip install esptool. Step-by-step: Flash without building.

• ButterBot-OVERKLOKING-v4.3-controller-full.bin – one file, flash at 0x0. Simplest, but erases the controller settings.
• ButterBot-OVERKLOKING-v4.3-controller-parts.zip – keeps settings; flash with @flash_args, instructions in FLASH.txt.
• SHA256SUMS-controller.txt – checksums.

⚠️ Flash with --after no_reset and reset over USB – --after hard_reset (esptool's default) can leave the controller stuck.
Upgrading from v4.x: only the app changed, so flashing it alone at 0x10000 is enough.

v4.2 – ROAMING

• Settings → ROAMING, right below SENSOR: OFF keeps the robot in place while idle – no wandering, and it no longer turns and drives towards faces, it only looks straight ahead. Voice commands, Summon and dancing still move it. Settings now has 12 rows.
• Flash together with the robot mod v4.2. Mixing with v4.1 works too, roaming then simply stays on.

Download

No ESP-IDF needed – only Python and pip install esptool. Step-by-step: Flash without building.

• ButterBot-OVERKLOKING-v4.2-controller-full.bin – one file, flash at 0x0. Simplest, but erases the controller settings.
• ButterBot-OVERKLOKING-v4.2-controller-parts.zip – keeps settings; flash with @flash_args, instructions in FLASH.txt.
• SHA256SUMS-controller.txt – checksums.

⚠️ Flash with --after no_reset and reset over USB – --after hard_reset (esptool's default) can leave the controller stuck.
Upgrading from v4 / v4.1: only the app changed, so flashing it alone at 0x10000 is enough.

v4.1 – talking to ButterBot

• Voice commands and vision reference (in the robot repo): every phrase the robot understands, and the objects and faces its camera recognises.
• Yoda mode: the controller shows the reordered sentences exactly as the robot v4.1 says them (questions and sentences starting with why / if / but stay as they are).
• Flash together with the robot mod v4.1. The protocol did not change.

Download

No ESP-IDF needed – only Python and pip install esptool. Step-by-step: Flash without building.

• ButterBot-OVERKLOKING-v4.1-controller-full.bin – one file, flash at 0x0. Simplest, but erases the controller settings.
• ButterBot-OVERKLOKING-v4.1-controller-parts.zip – keeps settings; flash with @flash_args, instructions in FLASH.txt.
• SHA256SUMS-controller.txt – checksums.

⚠️ Flash with --after no_reset and reset over USB – --after hard_reset (esptool's default) can leave the controller stuck.
Upgrading from v4: only the app changed, so flashing it alone at 0x10000 is enough.

v4 – clock, volume and night mode

• Settings now scrolls – 11 rows, with a slim bar at the right edge that shows where you are. New rows: VOLUME, NIGHT MODE (OFF / 22-07 / 23-07 / 00-07), NIGHT VOLUME, DATE and TIME.
• DATE / TIME show the robot's clock. Press the joystick to edit: left / right picks the field, up / down changes it, press again to set the robot's clock (24 h).
• Current Time shows 14:05 instead of 14:5.
• Flash together with the robot mod v4 – the robot and the controller talk a new protocol.

Download

No ESP-IDF needed – only Python and pip install esptool. Step-by-step: Flash without building.

• ButterBot-OVERKLOKING-v4-controller-full.bin – one file, flash at 0x0. Simplest, but resets the controller's settings.
• ButterBot-OVERKLOKING-v4-controller-parts.zip – keeps settings; flash with @flash_args, instructions in FLASH.txt.
• SHA256SUMS-controller.txt – checksums.

⚠️ Flash with --after no_reset and reset over USB – --after hard_reset (esptool's default) can leave the controller stuck.

v3.3 – STARTUP

New Settings → STARTUP: OFF / FAST / BOOST / OVERKLOKING – how much of the controller's startup is skipped, from the next boot on.

• OFF – stock
• FAST – connects to the robot while the intro plays
• BOOST – also skips the intro animation
• OVERKLOKING – also skips the pairing animation and scans continuously: home screen in about 4 s instead of 9.5 s

Also:

• Faster boot on every level (no PSRAM memory test, fewer boot logs)
• No more getting stuck on the pairing screen when a connection drops while it is being set up (e.g. after restarting the controller while connected)
• The FCC ID / TELEC footer is gone from the Settings screen, so all six rows fit

Works with the robot mod v3.2 – no robot changes.

Download

No ESP-IDF needed – only Python and pip install esptool. Step-by-step: Flash without building.

• ButterBot-OVERKLOKING-v3.3-controller-full.bin – one file, flash at 0x0. Simplest, but resets the controller's settings.
• ButterBot-OVERKLOKING-v3.3-controller-parts.zip – keeps settings; flash with @flash_args, instructions in FLASH.txt.
• SHA256SUMS-controller.txt – checksums.

⚠️ Flash with --after no_reset and reset over USB – --after hard_reset (esptool's default) can leave the controller stuck.

v3.2 – HRVATSKI

New HRVATSKI menu item after YODA ("BUTTER BOT ZNA I HRVATSKI"): the robot speaks Croatian lines, shown on the controller. Flash together with the robot mod v3.2.

Download

No ESP-IDF needed – only Python and pip install esptool. Step-by-step: Flash without building.

• ButterBot-OVERKLOKING-v3.2-controller-full.bin – one file, flash at 0x0. Simplest, but resets the controller's settings.
• ButterBot-OVERKLOKING-v3.2-controller-parts.zip – keeps settings; flash with @flash_args, instructions in FLASH.txt.
• SHA256SUMS-controller.txt – checksums.

⚠️ The robot must not be flashed with plain idf.py flash – see Build & flash in the robot repo.