Skip to content

Getting Started

Jump to bottom
Jessica Janiuk edited this page Jun 27, 2026 · 3 revisions

Getting Started

This page walks you through setting up Amidala for the first time — from hardware choices through your first Wi-Fi connection.

1. Choose Your Hardware

Audio

Option Description
HCR (default) Human Cyborg Relations vocalizer board. Three independent channels (Voice, Ambient, Background) with emotion, emote, and Muse ambient playback modes. Recommended for most builds.
VMusic2 USB-based audio. Sound banks are organised as folders on a USB drive.

Set audio=hcr or audio=vmusic in your config.txt.

Dome Drive

Option Description
RoboClaw + Encoder Closed-loop control. Requires a Pololu encoder motor, RoboClaw motor controller, and a hall-effect sensor. Supports automatic homing, calibration, random wander, and absolute positioning. Recommended for precision builds. See Dome Drive — RoboClaw.
Basic PWM / Syren 10 Simple open-loop speed controller. No position feedback. See Dome Drive — PWM.
Roam-a-dome RDH serial position sensor. See Dome Drive — Roam-a-dome.

Foot Drive

Option Description
PWM (default) Standard PWM motor controller (e.g. Dimension Engineering Sabertooth in RC mode).
Sabertooth Serial Packet-serial mode for a Sabertooth controller.
RoboteQ PWM RoboteQ controller driven by PWM signals.
RoboteQ Serial RoboteQ controller driven via serial.
RoboteQ PWM+Serial Hybrid mode.

Set via DRIVE_SYSTEM in drive_config.h (compile-time choice).

Controller

Option Description
XBee Pocket Controllers Two XBee 3 Pocket (Stealth) controllers — one for drive, one for dome. Recommended. See XBee Setup.
Bluetooth Gamepad Standard Bluetooth HID gamepad. Pair via the Connectivity page in the web UI.
RC (PPM) Analog RC receiver connected to the PPM input.

2. Initial Config File

Configuration lives in a file called config.txt on the micro SD card. Create the file and add the settings you need. Start minimal — most defaults are sensible.

Migrating from a Stealth RC or OG Amidala config? Use the Config Converter wizard — it handles renamed keys, splits joystick calibration values, and walks you through naming any serial strings. Download the converted file and drop it on your SD card.

A fully annotated reference config is available at example_config.txt in the repo.

3. Flash the Firmware

You'll need PlatformIO installed (CLI or the VS Code extension).

  1. Clone or download the Amidala Firmware repository.
  2. Connect the Amidala PCB to your computer via USB.
  3. Run:
pio run --target upload

The first flash must be done via USB. After that, firmware updates can be done wirelessly via the Firmware Update page.

Note: The first USB flash also programs the partition table. This only needs to happen once.

4. Connect to Wi-Fi

After booting for the first time, Amidala creates a Wi-Fi access point:

  • SSID: Amidala (configurable)
  • Password: none by default (configurable)

Connect your phone or laptop to that network and open http://amidala.local in a browser. If mDNS doesn't resolve, try http://192.168.4.1.

From there you can configure everything through the web UI. See Web Configuration for a page-by-page guide.

Clone this wiki locally