Replacing Vector Robot Brain Board

Created a project doc
Passive Wiretap Board Status
This board has been redesigned as a safe listen-only wiretap for the Vector head/body 4-wire cable. It no longer includes the ESP32-C3 or ac...
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Done โ€” I redesigned it as a passive listen-only wiretap.
What changed:
  • Removed ESP32-C3 and level-shifter from the signal path.
  • Kept only headers + protection resistors.
  • Mapped the confirmed Vector wires:
    • black GND
    • red VMAIN
    • white BODY_RX
    • green TX1.8
  • Routed the simplified PCB.
  • Ran ERC/DRC checks: no errors/warnings came back in the checked categories.
Saved status here:
Passive Wiretap Board Status
Open item:
  • This is still a hand-wired/probe board, not the final drop-in Vector connector board.
Document, BOM, export
Create wiring guide
Check BOM cost
Export files
Review manufacturability
GND
J2
R3 P2 - J2 2
R2
Resistance
10kฮฉ
GND
J1 Pin_3 - R1 P1
R1
Resistance
10kฮฉ
J1 Pin_4 - R2 P1
J1 Pin_4 - R2 P1
R2 P2 - J2 5
J1 Pin_3 - R1 P1
R1 P2 - J2 4
J1 Pin_2 - R3 P1
J1 Pin_2 - R3 P1
R2 P2 - J2 5
R3 P2 - J2 2
R1 P2 - J2 4
R3
Resistance
100kฮฉ
J1

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Passive Wiretap Board Status
What This Board Is Now
This board has been redesigned as a safe listen-only wiretap for the Vector head/body 4-wire cable.
It no longer includes the ESP32-C3 or active level translator in the signal path. That means this revision cannot accidentally transmit into Vector's head/body communication wires.
Confirmed Vector 4-Wire Cable Labels

Table

Vector wireLabel on Vector boardDebug board handling
BlackGNDCommon ground to J2 pin 3
RedVMAINSense-only through 100kฮฉ to J2 pin 2
WhiteBODY_RXListen tap through 10kฮฉ to J2 pin 4
GreenTX1.8Listen tap through 10kฮฉ to J2 pin 5
Debug Board Connectors
J1 โ€” Vector-side temporary input
Use only the first four pins:
  1. GND / black wire
  2. VMAIN / red wire
  3. BODY_RX / white wire
  4. TX1.8 / green wire
All other J1 pins are intentionally unused.
J2 โ€” Probe/debug output
  1. Unused
  2. VMAIN_SENSE_TAP through 100kฮฉ
  3. GND
  4. BODY_RX_LISTEN_TAP through 10kฮฉ
  5. TX1V8_LISTEN_TAP through 10kฮฉ
  6. Unused
Current Hardware Contents
The board now only has:
  • J1 Vector-side header
  • J2 probe/debug header
  • R1 10kฮฉ BODY_RX series protection resistor
  • R2 10kฮฉ TX1.8 series protection resistor
  • R3 100kฮฉ VMAIN sense protection resistor
Checks Run
ERC/DRC checks requested after the redesign returned no ERROR/WARNING results for the checked categories, including airwires, overlapping copper/traces, dangling traces, under-connected vias, ERC floating/power/single-pin/no-connect checks, and missing footprints.
Important Use Warning
This board is for listening only.
Do not inject power or data into Vector through this board. Do not connect a 3.3 V ESP32 pin directly to the green TX1.8 wire.
Remaining Limitation
J1 is still a temporary generic 2.54 mm header, not the exact physical Vector connector. This is okay for a hand-wired probe/wiretap, but it is not a drop-in mechanical replacement connector yet.

  • What This Board Is Now

  • Confirmed Vector 4-Wire Cable Labels

  • Debug Board Connectors

  • J1 โ€” Vector-side temporary input

  • J2 โ€” Probe/debug output

  • Current Hardware Contents

  • Checks Run

  • Important Use Warning

  • Remaining Limitation

Documents

  • Project Specification โ€” Vector Robot Smart Brain Replacement

  • Reverse Engineering Notes โ€” Vector Robot Boards

  • Software Architecture Notes โ€” wire-pod / Vector Home Server

  • Reverse Engineering Software Work Package โ€” Vector Robot Smart Brain

  • Vector Brain Board Replacement โ€” Claude Code Requirements Package

  • Actual Reverse Engineering Deliverables

  • Vector Reverse-Engineering Interposer โ€” Pin Map and Build Notes

  • Interposer Layout Status and Blockers

  • Beginner Next Steps โ€” Vector Debug Board

  • Vector Head Board Connector Notes

  • Passive Wiretap Board Status

Assets

Assets are files uploaded to this project which can be used in various ways.

Vector Robot Smart Brain Replacement thumbnail
Custom replacement brain board for Anki Vector Robot 2.0 that preserves stock robot functions while offloading conversation, context, and LLM behavior to a home server.

Properties

Pricing & Availability

Distributor

Qty 1

Digi-Key

$1.33

Mouser

$1.44

Controls