Project Calvin
A self-balancing
robot with a brain.
Calvin is a two-wheeled self-balancing robot built around dual-core real-time firmware, an AI-capable edge computer, and a desktop monitoring app — all wired together into a single coherent system.
What is Calvin?
Calvin is a robotics platform for exploring real-time balance control, edge AI, and human-robot interaction. It rides on two brushless motors driven by ODrive S1 controllers, staying upright via a PID control loop running on an Arduino GIGA R1.
A Jetson Orin Nano rides on top as the "brain" — handling computer vision via an OAK-D Pro W stereo camera, LLM integration, and acting as a serial bridge to the lower-level firmware running on a Teensy 4.1. A custom Electron desktop app provides real-time telemetry and remote control over local Wifi.
Calvin is simultaneously over- and under-engineered by someone with more enthusiasm than knowledge. Don't mistake this for professional-grade work.
Three Interconnected Systems
Instinctus
Teensy 4.1 handles comms, sensors, and higher-level commands. Drives two ODrive S1 motor controllers over CAN bus.
Cogitator
High-level intelligence running on a Jetson Orin Nano. Handles computer vision with an OAK-D Pro W depth camera, future LLM integration, and bridges commands down to Instinctus over serial.
Explorator
A cross-platform Electron + Vue 3 desktop application for real-time telemetry, live camera feeds, and manual control. The human window into Calvin's inner world.