linux.conf.au 2018 Open Hardware Miniconf · Australia · 2018

LCA2018 LoliBot

ESP32 soccer-robot kit for the linux.conf.au Open Hardware Miniconf

linux.conf.au 2018's Open Hardware Miniconf used LoliBot, an ESP32 two-wheel robot kit with MicroPython workshop material, public example software, USB serial setup, WiFi/MQTT configuration, sensors, motors, neopixels, and a front kicker servo.

linux.conf.au Open Hardware Miniconf Australia Sydney LoliBot ESP32 MicroPython MQTT robotics Oceania

Eventlinux.conf.au 2018 Open Hardware Miniconf

Serieslinux.conf.au Open Hardware Miniconf

LocationSydney, New South Wales

CountryAustralia

Image Provenance

Asset: optimized WebP from official upstream repository raster render
Status: licensed official upstream raster render
Source: LoliBot-Render-Top.png
License: TAPR Open Hardware License
Attribution: CCHS Melbourne / LoliBot repository contributors
Notes: Original 1149x926 PNG top render downloaded from the official CCHS-Melbourne/LoliBot repository and preserved in Public/images/source. The repository README states that the project is licensed under the TAPR Open Hardware License and credits John Spencer, Angus Gratton, Andy Gelme, Jon Oxer, and Mark Wolfe. The published WebP delivery asset is metadata-stripped and otherwise keeps the upstream robot-board render; this is an official upstream raster render, not AI imagery, article screenshot material, placeholder art, or a synthetic approximation. The published badge.gallery delivery file is an optimized WebP generated from the rights-cleared local derivative/source with metadata stripped, WebP quality 82, and a maximum side cap of 1600 pixels when the source is larger; upstream source URL, license, and attribution remain unchanged.

People

Authors & Credits

LoliBot repository publisher

CCHS Melbourne

Publisher of the public LoliBot repository used for software-guide, example-code, and workshop source evidence.

Source

MicroPython tutorial maintainer

Nick Moore

The MicroPython tutorial page says the project is maintained by nickzoic and documents the OHMC LoliBot MicroPython exercises.

Source

attendee writeup publisher

Marc Merlin

Published first-hand LCA2018 Open Hardware Miniconf notes corroborating the ESP32 MicroPython robot activity and adjacent hardware sessions.

Source

kit vendor and hardware reference publisher

Freetronics

Publisher of the retired LoliBot robot-kit page documenting the ESP32 robot hardware feature set and resource links.

Source

workshop support

Open Hardware MiniConf organizers and helpers

The software guide directs LCA2018 OHMC participants to organizers and helpers for workshop assistance, but this pass has not mapped every helper name to the LoliBot record.

Source

Why It Mattered

LoliBot broadens the Oceania LCA hardware lineage from badge-shaped boards into event-built programmable robots: it kept the Open Hardware Miniconf pattern of public hardware evidence, hands-on assembly, ESP32 experimentation, and attendee follow-on hacking.

Hardware

Freetronics documents LoliBot as a retired two-wheel robot kit with a Lolin32-Lite ESP32 brain, 2-wheel skid steering, onboard 18650 Li-Ion holder, USB battery charging, WiFi, Bluetooth, 9-DOF IMU, and a front-mounted kicker servo for robot soccer. The MicroPython tutorial adds three APA106-style neopixels, a reflection sensor, H-bridge motor control pins, I2C accelerometer pins, and exposed headers.

Software & Apps

The CCHS Melbourne software guide documents LCA2018 Open Hardware MiniConference workshop setup for MicroPython on ESP32, CH340 USB serial access, esptool.py flashing, ampy/rshell file transfer, bundled January 2018 firmware, LoliBot application installation scripts, WiFi configuration, MQTT configuration, RGB LED boot status, and serial REPL interaction.

Lore

The source trail presents LoliBot as a soccer-playing robot kit built at the Open Hardware Miniconf, with Nick Moore's MicroPython tutorial telling attendees to bring theirs along and Marc Merlin's field report describing an ESP32 MicroPython programmed robot alongside FPGA, Tomu, and protocol-analysis sessions.

Lifecycle

Add-ons & Upgrades

firmware workflow source-backed

MicroPython workshop firmware path

The CCHS software guide covers CH340 serial access, esptool.py flashing, MicroPython firmware installation, ampy/rshell workflows, application install scripts, and REPL interaction.

Compatibility: LCA2018 LoliBot

Source

hardware architecture source-backed

Lolin32-Lite ESP32 robot core

Freetronics documents LoliBot as a two-wheel robot kit with a Lolin32-Lite ESP32 brain, WiFi/Bluetooth, onboard 18650 power, USB charging, and skid-steering drive.

Compatibility: LCA2018 LoliBot

Source

network configuration source-backed

WiFi and MQTT configuration path

The software guide documents WiFi credential setup, RGB LED boot status, MQTT host configuration, and serial-console checks for networked LoliBot behavior.

Compatibility: LCA2018 LoliBot

Source

workshop challenge surface source-backed

Robot soccer and sensor exercise surface

The tutorial documents neopixels, motor H-bridges, reflection sensor input, exposed headers, and a kicker servo, with exercises for lights, wheels, servo motion, sensor detection, and touch inputs.

Compatibility: LCA2018 LoliBot

Source

Operational history

Issues & Camp Impact

image provenance upgrade note

The LoliBot visual uses the official `LoliBot-Render-Top.png` repository top render under the CCHS Melbourne repository README's TAPR Open Hardware License statement.

The public badge page, image archive, and API now point at an exact upstream LoliBot render with source URL, license, attribution, and processing notes preserved instead of generated or placeholder imagery.

Confidence: official repository license and exact raster source
Status: licensed official upstream render applied
Timeframe: current catalogue build
Source note: CCHS-Melbourne/LoliBot README, official `LoliBot-Render-Top.png`, and badge.gallery image policy.

kit-artifact classification note

The source trail proves an Open Hardware Miniconf LoliBot robot kit built and programmed at LCA2018, not a conference-wide admission credential.

The entry is modeled as a conference hardware kit in the linux.conf.au badgelife lineage rather than an attendee identity badge.

Confidence: primary and first-hand sources
Status: documented
Timeframe: 2018 Open Hardware Miniconf
Source note: Freetronics LoliBot page, MicroPython OHMC tutorial, and Marc Merlin LCA2018 writeup.

production-depth caveat note

The public trail documents kit features, workshop software, pin assignments, attendee use, repository license context, and an official render, but this pass did not audit exact production-board revision, BOM completeness, manufacturing quantity, or whether every repository image maps to distributed LCA2018 kits.

The dossier records verified hardware/software behavior and image provenance while avoiding unsupported production-run or board-revision claims.

Confidence: source-backed but historical
Status: needs board-revision audit
Timeframe: 2018 hardware-kit archive pass
Source note: CCHS Melbourne LoliBot repository, Freetronics product page, and MicroPython tutorial.

Resources

CCHS Melbourne LoliBot repository hardware and software source · Public repository for the LoliBot project used as the LCA2018 Open Hardware MiniConference software and example-code source trail. LCA2018 attendee hardware writeup first-hand attendee writeup · Marc Merlin's attendee writeup corroborating an ESP32 MicroPython programmed robot at the LCA2018 Open Hardware Miniconf alongside FPGA, Tomu, and protocol-analysis sessions. Linux.conf.au 2018 Sydney context attendee event writeup · Attendee event-context source for the January 2018 Sydney linux.conf.au setting and Open Hardware Miniconf highlight. LoliBot robot kit reference hardware reference · Freetronics retired-product page documenting the LoliBot robot kit, Lolin32-Lite ESP32 brain, 2-wheel skid steering, 18650 holder, USB charging, WiFi/Bluetooth, 9-DOF IMU, and front kicker servo. LoliBot software guide workshop guide · Workshop setup guide documenting LCA2018 OHMC context, Wemos Lolin32 Lite, CH340 USB serial setup, esptool.py, MicroPython firmware flashing, application install scripts, WiFi configuration, and MQTT configuration. LoliBot top render image source · Official repository top render used as the local rights-cleared LoliBot image under the README's TAPR Open Hardware License statement. MicroPython on the OHMC LoliBot workshop tutorial · MicroPython tutorial linking LoliBot to the Open Hardware MiniConf, identifying ESP32 MicroPython use, and documenting pin assignments, neopixels, reflection sensor, motor H-bridges, kicker servo, and exercises.

Sources

Freetronics: LoliBot Robot Kit Retrieved 2026-05-15 · Primary hardware reference for the retired LoliBot robot kit, ESP32/Lolin32-Lite platform, power features, IMU, WiFi/Bluetooth, two-wheel steering, and robot-soccer kicker servo. GitHub / CCHS Melbourne: CCHS-Melbourne/LoliBot Retrieved 2026-05-15 · Public project repository for the LoliBot hardware/software source trail cited by Freetronics and the MicroPython workshop material. GitHub / CCHS Melbourne: LoliBot-Render-Top.png Retrieved 2026-05-15 · Image-provenance source for the official repository top render of the LoliBot robot kit; the repository README states the project is licensed under the TAPR Open Hardware License. GitHub / CCHS Melbourne: LoliBot - Software Guide Retrieved 2026-05-15 · Primary software guide for LCA2018 Open Hardware MiniConference participant setup, CH340 serial access, MicroPython firmware flashing, ampy/rshell workflows, application install scripts, WiFi, MQTT, and RGB LED boot status. Marc Merlin: Lolibot, FPGA Primer, MicroPython for ESP8266/ESP32 and Protocol Analysis Retrieved 2026-05-15 · First-hand attendee source corroborating LCA2018 Open Hardware Miniconf LoliBot activity and adjacent hardware sessions. Marc Merlin: Linux.Conf.au 2018 in Sydney Retrieved 2026-05-15 · Event-context source for the Sydney LCA2018 setting and Open Hardware Miniconf highlight. Nick Moore / mpy-tut: MicroPython on the OHMC LoliBot Retrieved 2026-05-15 · Primary workshop tutorial evidence tying LoliBot to the Open Hardware MiniConf and documenting ESP32 MicroPython setup, pin assignments, neopixels, motors, reflection sensor, and kicker-servo exercises.