Food Dispenser Control

NuChef^TM - AI Culinary Assistant

Table of Contents

1. Final Product
   • Photos
   • YouTube Demo
2. How to use our repo?
   • Init
   • Managing the submodule Unity folder
   • Network Configuration
   • Troubleshooting
3. Third-Party Libraries & Licenses

1. Final Product

Photos

YouTube Demo

2. How to use our repo?

2.1 Init

Freshly Clone 1st time

git clone --recurse-submodules <repo-url>

This does everything:

• clones the parent repo
• initializes submodules
• checks out the correct commits

Already cloned repo

git submodule update --init --recursive

2.2 Managing the submodule Unity folder

2.2.1 Before Work/Update

In parent folder

git pull
git submodule update --init --recursive

2.2.2 Post-work

cd path/to/submodule
git checkout main
git pull origin main
git add .
git commit -m "Update submodule"
git push origin main

cd /path/to/parent-repo
git add Software/src/Unity-PassthroughCameraApiSamples
git commit -m "Bump submodule"
git push origin main

Verify Health

git submodule status

Tip

git config --global submodule.recurse true
# if we wanna track the specific branch
git submodule set-branch --branch tony Software/src/Unity-PassthroughCameraApiSamples
git submodule update --remote

3. Network Configuration

Kill previous run

kill $(lsof -t -i:8000) 

Update IP Address before operation

Check the current ip address: 

When switching networks, update the backend IP (192.168.x.x) in these files:

Note: The ESP32 now communicates via BLE (not WiFi), so it no longer needs an IP address or network config.

Then start the backend and BLE bridge:

# Terminal 1 — backend
cd Software/src/web_app
source .env   # loads OPENAI_API_KEY, OPENAI_MODEL, USE_LLM_PLANNER from .env file
uvicorn backend:app --host 0.0.0.0 --port 8000 --reload

# Terminal 2 — BLE bridge (connects to ESP32 over Bluetooth, forwards to backend)
pip install bleak httpx   # first time only
python ble_bridge.py

4. Troubleshooting

Upload new ESP32 file

~/.platformio/penv/bin/pio run 2>&1 | tail -20

ESP32 BLE not broadcasting / bridge can't find device

1. Press the physical RESET button on the ESP32-S3 board. It will re-advertise as NuChef-Dispenser within a few seconds.
2. If the bridge still can't find it, kill and restart ble_bridge.py. Linux's BlueZ stack sometimes caches stale BLE data.
3. As a last resort, power-cycle the ESP32 (unplug & replug USB).

Serial port changed (/dev/ttyACM0 ↔ /dev/ttyACM1)

After a reset or replug the port may shift. Check with:

ls /dev/ttyACM*

Then update upload_port and monitor_port in Software/src/esp_driver/platformio.ini if you need to re-flash.

Permission denied on /dev/ttyACM*

sudo usermod -aG dialout $USER
# then log out & back in (or reboot) for the group to take effect

Bridge connects but dispense doesn't trigger from the UI

• Make sure the backend (uvicorn) and ble_bridge.py are both running.
• Verify BACKEND_URL in script.js is window.location.origin (not a hardcoded IP).
• Check the bridge terminal for BLE CMD → and write OK logs when you click Dispense.

Quick sanity check (motor spin from CLI)

# Direct BLE test — bypasses the backend entirely
python3 -c "
import asyncio
from bleak import BleakClient, BleakScanner
SVC  = '4e7a9b1c-d203-4e2a-b8f1-67c1d9e3f5a0'
CMD  = '4e7a9b1c-d203-4e2a-b8f1-67c1d9e3f5a1'
async def test():
    dev = await BleakScanner.find_device_by_name('NuChef-Dispenser', timeout=10)
    async with BleakClient(dev) as c:
        await c.write_gatt_char(CMD, b'spin', response=True)
        await asyncio.sleep(5)
        await c.write_gatt_char(CMD, b'stop', response=True)
asyncio.run(test())
"

5. Third-Party Libraries & Licenses

Unity Utility Packages (MIT)

• Repository: https://github.com/meta-quest/Unity-UtilityPackages
• Author: Meta Platforms, Inc. and affiliates
• License: MIT License

Meta Quest, "Unity-UtilityPackages," GitHub. [Online]. Available: https://github.com/meta-quest/Unity-UtilityPackages. [Accessed: May 7, 2026].

MIT License attribution:

Unity Utility Packages
Copyright (c) Meta Platforms, Inc. and affiliates.
Licensed under the MIT License.
https://github.com/meta-quest/Unity-UtilityPackages