🧪 Experimental Lab: Digital Nervous System

This directory serves as the Living Lab for the MatsRobot project. It documents the step-by-step evolution of the communication backbone, from basic heartbeats to complex multi-node CAN configurations.

Strategy: We maintain a modular environment where each stage is autonomous, reproducible, and documented with its own firmware and circuit logic.

View GitHub Repository

📅 Experimental Roadmap & Status

Each stage builds upon the last. Use these links to find specific circuit diagrams, firmware, and test results.

Stage	Focus	Status	Hardware Reference
Stage 1	Blink Test & Basic GPIO	✅ Verified	ESP32 / Arduino Nano
Stage 2	I2C Sensor Integration	✅ Verified	MPU6050 / BME280
Stage 3	Bidirectional CAN-Bus	✅ Verified	MCP2515 Transceivers
Stage 4	Practical CAN Bus with 4 Nodes	✅ Verified	PC via USB, ESP32-S3, ESP32-C3, Arduino Nano

🛠️ Setup & Strategy

To maintain a "simple and effective" repository, each stage is kept autonomous. Each folder contains only the essential files required to reproduce the experiment:

circuit-diagrams/: Visual wiring guides (PNG/PDF).
src/main.cpp: The specific firmware logic for that stage.
platformio.ini: Environment configurations and library dependencies.
main.py: Laptop-side scripts for bus monitoring or data logging.

💻 Developer Workflow

🔌 Firmware (VS Code + PlatformIO)

When testing a node, use the PlatformIO interface or terminal:

1. Initialize/Build: pio run
2. Upload: pio run --target upload
3. Live Debugging: pio device monitor

🐍 Python Host Setup (Laptop)

To interact with nodes, use a Virtual Environment to manage dependencies:

# Create and Activate Environment
python -m venv venv
source venv/bin/activate

# Install Requirements and Run
pip install python-can pyserial
python main.py