# SaltyLab — Ideal Team

## Project
SAUL-TEE 4-wheel wagon robot using ESP32-S3 BALANCE (PID/CAN master) and ESP32-S3 IO (RC/sensors), with Jetson Orin Nano Super for AI/SLAM.

## Current Status
- **Hardware:** Assembled — ESP32-S3 BALANCE + IO, VESCs, IMU, battery, RC all on hand
- **Firmware:** Balance PID + VESC CAN protocol written, ESP32-S3 inter-board UART protocol active
- **Status:** See current bead list for active issues

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## Roles Needed

### 1. Embedded Firmware Engineer (Lead)
**Must-have:**
- ESP32-S3 firmware (Arduino / ESP-IDF framework)
- PlatformIO toolchain
- CAN bus protocol and VESC CAN integration
- Inter-board UART protocol (460800 baud, binary framed)
- Safety system design (tilt cutoff, watchdog, arming sequences)

**Nice-to-have:**
- VESC firmware / VESC Tool experience
- PID control loop tuning for balance robots
- ELRS/CRSF RC protocol

**Why:** Core firmware runs on ESP32-S3 BALANCE (PID/CAN master) and ESP32-S3 IO (RC/sensors). Need expertise in ESP32-S3 firmware and CAN bus integration with VESC motor controllers.

### 2. Control Systems / Robotics Engineer
**Must-have:**
- PID tuning for inverted pendulum / self-balancing systems
- Complementary filter / Kalman filter for IMU sensor fusion
- Real-time control loop design (1kHz+)
- Safety system design (tilt cutoff, watchdog, arming sequences)

**Nice-to-have:**
- VESC motor controller experience
- ELRS/CRSF RC protocol
- ROS2 integration

**Why:** Once USB is fixed, the balance loop needs real-world tuning. PID gains, filter coefficients, motor response curves, safety margins — all need someone with hands-on balance bot experience.

### 3. Perception / SLAM Engineer (Phase 2)
**Must-have:**
- Jetson Orin Nano Super / NVIDIA Jetson platform (JetPack 6)
- Intel RealSense D435i depth camera
- RPLIDAR integration
- SLAM (ORB-SLAM3, RTAB-Map, or similar)
- ROS2

**Nice-to-have:**
- Person tracking / following
- Obstacle avoidance
- Nav2 stack

**Why:** Phase 2 goal is autonomous navigation. Jetson Orin Nano Super with RealSense + RPLIDAR for indoor mapping and person following.

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## Hardware Reference
| Component | Details |
|-----------|---------|
| BALANCE MCU | ESP32-S3 BALANCE (Waveshare Touch LCD 1.28, QMI8658 IMU) |
| IO MCU | ESP32-S3 IO (RC/sensors/LEDs board) |
| Motors | 2x 8" pneumatic hub motors |
| ESC Left | VESC left (CAN ID 68) |
| ESC Right | VESC right (CAN ID 56) |
| CAN Bridge | CANable 2.0 (Jetson USB → can0, 500 kbps) |
| Battery | 36V pack |
| RC | BetaFPV ELRS 2.4GHz TX + RX |
| AI Brain | Jetson Orin Nano Super + Noctua fan |
| Depth | Intel RealSense D435i |
| LIDAR | RPLIDAR A1M8 |
| Spare IMUs | BNO055, MPU6050 |

## Repo
- Gitea: https://gitea.vayrette.com/seb/saltylab-firmware
- Design doc: `projects/saltybot/SALTYLAB.md`
- Archived bug doc: `USB_CDC_BUG.md` (legacy STM32 era)