Candidate UNO Q physical AI teaching kit
Status: Purchasing and prototype discussion draft, checked against linked product pages on September 20, 2026. Prices and stock can change. The priced bill below is for the one-axis fallback sequence; the proposed SO-101 course station has unquoted STM32-to-servo interface and fixture costs. Follow the feasibility plan: build and measure one station before buying a class set.
What each station should let students observe
One tabletop station should expose the entire loop: a camera observes a soft pointer and hand-placed target; a compact Hugging Face model runs on the UNO Q’s Qualcomm Linux processor; Linux sends a bounded proposal over Bridge; the STM32 microcontroller decides whether to drive one low-force axis; a position sensor and the next camera frame report what actually moved. Students can later swap the pointer for a retained-object holder without replacing the computer, camera, wiring, or motor. Two or three students can share one station.
Core parts for one station
| Module | Candidate and link | Connection and teaching purpose | Planning price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Computer and MCU | Arduino UNO Q 2 GB, ABX00162 | Qualcomm runs local vision inference; STM32 owns actuator pins. Pilot on the 4 GB ABX00173, then test the identical stack on 2 GB before a class order. | CHF 48; 4 GB adds about CHF 16 |
| USB and board power | Arduino 8-in-1 USB-C hub, TPX00241, 45 W USB-C PD supply, TPX00242, and a full-feature USB-C cable | The hub powers the Q and exposes USB-A for a camera. Arduino’s camera example uses a camera and powered hub in network mode. | CHF 13 + 16 + about 5 |
| Vision | Logitech C270 USB webcam, mounted rigidly at a fixed oblique angle | A 720p USB camera is a candidate input for the compact visual action policy and for tracking the moved fixture. Lock framing, exposure settings where possible, and light before collecting data. | Allow CHF 35 at a Swiss distributor; a direct sale currently shows CHF 20 |
| Light and camera mount | Diffused LED task light, rigid arm, and a simple light shield; choose locally after testing | Makes changes in viewpoint measurable without room lighting becoming the dominant variable. | CHF 15–30 fabrication allowance |
| One feedback actuator | Parallax Feedback 360 servo, 900-00360 | The MCU sends a 3.3 V compatible PWM command and reads the servo’s separate 3.3 V position-feedback PWM. The same shaft can turn a light stage or move a soft pointer. Its nominal supply is 6 V and its listed stall current is 1.2 A. | CHF 22 at Swiss distributor |
| Independent SPI angle feedback | AS5048A magnetic angle sensor, suitable adapter board, shaft magnet, and staff-made mount | The STM32 reads absolute angle through the UNO Q’s 3.3 V SPI header. Compare this reading with servo feedback and camera evidence; disconnect one source to expose missing-data behavior. Staff must prove alignment, pin mapping, and signal levels on the assembled fixture. | Pilot quote required |
| Separate motor power and cutoff | Regulated 6 V, 2 A adapter, matching local AC blade, accessible inline DC switch, and a staff-selected fuse or current limit | Motor power is independent of the UNO Q. The switch physically removes actuator power while the board can keep logging. Staff verify switch rating, connector polarity, and behavior when power returns. | About CHF 10–18 plus harness |
| Position reference | One lever home switch or a magnetic index sensor on the fixture | Gives an independent reference when the stage starts or after a reset; the camera also checks whether the object actually changed view. | CHF 2–5 allowance |
| Fixture and guard | Laser-cut or 3D-printed base, guarded soft pointer, marked target arc, servo mount, common attachment bolt pattern, M3 hardware, and a bearing-supported stage only for the inspection attachment | Keeps mass and contact energy low. Staff manufacture and qualify the pointer fixture before students use the station; the later stage needs its own pilot. | CHF 20–40 materials allowance |
| Wiring | Short preterminated servo and switch harness, common signal ground, strain relief, and labeled connectors | Avoids loose motor wiring on a breadboard. The motor supply never feeds the UNO Q power pins. | CHF 5–10 allowance |
The UNO Q datasheet gives 3.3 V MCU I/O, a 3.3 V JSPI header, and a warning that A0/A1 are not 5 V tolerant. The proposed servo’s control accepts 3–5 V PWM and its feedback is 3.3 V PWM, so a direct MCU digital-pin interface is plausible; staff must verify the exact pin choice and timing on the board. The SPI sensor requires a mechanically aligned magnet and a tested adapter, not just four wires. The UNO Q’s Qwiic port is a useful 3.3 V I2C expansion path. The UNO Breakout Carrier exposes additional high-speed connectors and 1.8 V MPU signals; this kit does not need it.
The feedback servo has its own drive electronics, so the base station needs no motor shield. Students develop from a laptop through Arduino App Lab or network access; no monitor or keyboard is budgeted for each station. The Q’s built-in user button and LEDs can support arming and state display, while the separate motor-power switch remains the physical cutoff. Staff should check for unintended servo motion at boot, Linux restart, cutoff, and motor-power return.
Three mechanical attachments, one electrical kit
| Attachment | Parts added or swapped | Physical AI task |
|---|---|---|
| Visual follower | Soft pointer arm and a hand-placed target card outside the guard | Model locates the target, MCU moves the pointer, and the next frame measures tracking error. This is the first staff prototype; keep target speed below the measured loop rate. |
| Inspection stage | Lightweight indexed disk and several small, retained objects with diagnostic faces | Model decides whether the current view is enough, requests another bounded view, then decides or abstains. A VLM-guided version requires a separate on-board feasibility pilot. |
| Verified routing | Retained cup or carrier on the disk plus printed destination marks | Model proposes a destination; the MCU moves the carrier; position and camera feedback verify the endpoint before a person removes the object. The carrier retains the object throughout. |
The motor and guarded fixture are shared. These attachments are design candidates; only the follower should be assumed available until staff have built and qualified the others. A Qwiic/STEMMA QT time-of-flight sensor or Arduino Modulino Distance can be an optional CHF 10–15 proximity and sensor-fusion module. A cheap IMU can be a later experiment, but neither sensor is needed to close the first camera–action–camera loop.
Planning cost and first prototype decisions
At the linked Swiss distributor prices, the board, hub, board supply and cable, camera, and servo total roughly CHF 140 per station before VAT. Motor power and cutoff, home switch, and wiring add a provisional CHF 17–33. Lighting, mounting, guard, and fabricated mechanics add another CHF 35–70 in materials. The earlier CHF 190–245 base estimate per station before VAT and shipping excludes the now-proposed SPI sensor, adapter, magnet, and mount. Staff must quote and prototype those parts before calculating a class-set price; the base figure is no longer the complete checklist kit cost. It also excludes staff fabrication time, tools, spares, and optional proximity sensors.
The Parallax servo is attractive for a first prototype because control and position feedback need only two MCU digital pins. Parallax currently lists it in a “Last Chance” category, so staff should check supply before standardizing it. An actively listed but more involved alternative is a Pololu 6 V gearmotor with quadrature encoder and DRV8833 driver; it adds wiring, motor-control code, and a shaft coupling. A plain hobby servo without an exposed feedback signal would make incomplete motion harder to observe.
Tests before a bulk order: run the chosen Hugging Face model and camera together on the exact UNO Q RAM variant; measure capture-to-action and second-observation time; confirm feedback and home behavior after power cycling; show that the physical switch stops motion while Linux continues logging; verify that the guard contains the rotating attachment; and reproduce the build from a documented parts list. The class kit also needs a frozen board image, pinned model and preprocessing files, sample traces, and spare camera, servo, and harness parts.
SO-101 manipulation station and possible class center
The Seeed SO-101 Assembled Kit Pro is the proposed shared first station for calibration, teleoperation, demonstration episodes, and LeRobot ACT and SmolVLA exercises. If staff reproduce the STM32-to-servo command path, it can become the center of the weekly curriculum. Inventory the delivered kit before assuming it contains a leader arm, camera, power adapter, or mounting hardware. Its STS3215 joints communicate on a serial motor bus through a BusLinker controller; the LeRobot SO-101 setup connects that bus to a host through USB. A stock host-to-bus connection gives the UNO Q’s STM32 no per-command permission point. The arm-centered kit must add and test an STM32-to-servo interface, independent motor cutoff, guard/fixture, camera mount, and the chosen UNO Q memory variant. Their parts, labor, and per-station cost are not in the CHF 190–245 one-axis estimate. The student competency checklist records this interface as unresolved staff work.
A VENTUNO Q could be a shared research board for larger local models after availability and runtime tests. It does not replace the UNO Q reference station or solve SO-101 command authority by itself.