The Tac
The portable lab for minimal autonomy.
Oct 5, 2026
Tac is the minimal device we test our autonomy software on: one motor to act, one sensor to know where it is, and a mind that checks both. It runs on a Raspberry Pi and goes where we go.
One of each
Act
Motor
Drives the lever along its slot. A hand can move it too, and Tac tells the two apart.
- Actuator
- Motorized fader
- Travel
- 60 mm
- Moved by
- Motor or hand
Sense
Potentiometer
Runs under the lever, so every point along the slot has a reading. It is how Tac knows where it is.
- Sensor
- Linear potentiometer
- Resistance
- 200 kΩ
- Part
- Bourns PSM01
Think
Self Machine
Reads the fader, drives the motor and checks one against the other. When they disagree, it says so.
- Compute
- Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W
- Runs
- Self Machine
- Display
- 0.96 in OLED
Parts
Supply chain
Fader
The slider. You can move it by hand or the motor can, and a sensor reads where it is.
- Part
- Bourns PSM01-081A-204A4
- Type
- Motorized slide potentiometer
- Travel
- 60 mm
- Resistance
- 200 kΩ, ±20%
- Power
- 0.25 W
Resources
People
Build