CU Droplet

Project notes

Begin with the selected manufacturing package

The original 2016 top-copper Gerber layer was retrieved and matched to its pinned Git identity. It contains actual manufacturing drawing operations rather than only a board image. The selected shell payload and BOM workbook were also retrieved. A copper layer and native shell container do not establish a complete editable EDA project, fully decoded geometry, a matching assembly or fabrication readiness. [5] [6] [8]

The package notes explicitly warn of unresolved issues: leg pins can short adjacent floor strips, and the supercapacitor choice was not fully investigated. They also say the BOM was prepared for replacing one motor with a speaker; a three-motor version needs another motor and source changes. Choose that configuration deliberately rather than treating the dated list as an interchangeable, complete robot recipe. [3]

The floor, programmer and shell are separate dependencies. Planned surface-mount motor changes are not established features of the inspected configuration. No parts availability or current complete delivered price was established, including the testbed, programming tools and host. [3] [4]

Preserve the historical firmware setup

The getting-started guide is explicitly Windows-specific. It uses Atmel Studio, a PDI programmer and the ATxmega128A3U target; it describes linking repository source/include files into the project and selecting the external Droplets.mak. The programmer interface is PDI, with the documented clock and EEPROM preservation settings. Those are configuration details to inspect, not a modern cross-platform toolchain verified here. [2]

The sampled hardware_test.c is commented-out historical hardware-test logic: its includes, declarations and function bodies are inactive. [7] It was not compiled or run and does not establish an active test program. Expected behavior described by source or documentation is not a measured sensing, motor or communication result. Before adapting that historical logic, identify an active program entry point and supporting definitions. The getting-started route begins with droplet_code/user_template.c and selects the main init/loop/handle_msg file through USER_FILE in Droplets.mak; compatibility remains unverified. [2]

Treat the restriction and version details explicitly

The README links CC-BY-NC-SA-4.0 while its badge image references 3.0. This entry preserves that discrepancy and the noncommercial restriction rather than labeling the platform unrestricted open hardware. Purchased parts and separately hosted simulator material retain their own terms. [1]

A bounded next investigation is the matched 2016 manufacturing/BOM variant, shell/floor and historical programmer route. No native CAD load, PCB DRC, fabrication, programming, current draw, locomotion, IR networking, simulator run or swarm performance was tested. [2] [3] [5] [6] [7]