ATOM controller board
The ATOM is an M5Stack ATOM Matrix. It plugs into a socket at the end of the arm. It is on the servo bus, so it can control the servos directly.
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Chip | ESP32-PICO-D4, revision v1.1 |
| CPU | 2 × 240 MHz (Xtensa) |
| Flash | 4 MB, embedded |
| Radio | WiFi 2.4 GHz and Bluetooth |
| MAC address | e8:6b:ea:31:4c:f4 |
| WiFi address | 192.168.1.107 on the home network (DHCP; check the status log) |
| Function | Pin | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Servo bus RX | G19 | Verified with the bus probe. |
| Servo bus TX | G22 | Verified. The ATOM does not receive its own transmissions. |
| LED matrix (25 × SK6812) | G27 | Keep the brightness low (the firmware uses 20/255). |
| Button (under the matrix) | G39 | Active low. |
| IMU (MPU6886, I²C 0x68) | SDA G25, SCL G21 | ±8 g and ±2000°/s in the firmware. |
| IR LED | G12 | Not used. |
| Header (free) | G23, G33 | |
| Grove port | G26, G32 |
The socket in the arm
Section titled “The socket in the arm”Elephant’s documentation calls this socket function interface group 6.
The arm end also has a 3-pin side port for a gripper (Elephant’s adaptive gripper). The gripper servo is probably on the same bus as ID 7. This is why the stock firmware pings ID 7. See Gripper.
The ATOM’s USB-serial chip reports as FTDI 0403:6001 (vendor “Hades2001”,
serial A952DE0075). On macOS it is /dev/cu.usbserial-A952DE0075.
| Condition | USB connects | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| ATOM out of the arm | Yes | Use this to flash over USB. |
| ATOM in the arm, 12 V on | No | |
| ATOM in the arm, 12 V off | Yes | Do not use. The USB port then supplies the servos (4.4–5.4 V). |
- Flash and read at 115 200 baud. Reads at 250 and 750 kbaud corrupted data.
- After the first USB flash, update the firmware over WiFi (OTA). See Build, flash and update.
Firmware
Section titled “Firmware”| Firmware | Status |
|---|---|
| Elephant stock firmware v7.2 | Backed up. See Stock firmware backup. |
atom_controller |
Installed. See Controller firmware. |
atom_probe |
Diagnostic firmware. See Bus probe firmware. |
In the arm, the LED matrix faces out. It shows the firmware state:
See LED matrix signals.