SB-555V AUTO VAJIN 2.0

Scope freeze & the sim that proves it (≈$5,200, ~2 weeks)

Buy: nothing yet — this phase is desk work. If you don't have one, a QGroundControl-class laptop ($1,200).

Commission: 2D inverted-pendulum kinematic sim of steer-correction balance (Python + ROS2 mock) plus a failure-mode matrix (by-wire fault at 40 km/h, UWB dropout mid-follow, GNSS multipath near buildings). This is remote/agent work — no shop needed.

Pre-order long-lead: Livox Mid-360 LiDAR ($750) + first Emlid Reach RS2+ ($2,700) at the end of this step so they arrive during the by-wire build.

Gate 0 — sim holds a virtual CRF300L upright at 3–25 km/h for 10 simulated minutes of trail noise. Watch the trace; no pass, no next step.

The K-Touch = K-SLAB — one device, built first (v4: $3,165, ~3–4 weeks)

Buy (all-retail, per Full Parts List): LattePanda Mu Ultra 256V kit $733 (lattepanda.com/dfrobot product-3147), 1 TB NVMe $50, VSDISPLAY 7″ 1280×800 touch kit $70 (ASIN B0CRNX8K29), 74 Wh PD bank $40, 3× Sanwa OBSF-30 + zero-delay encoder $35, wiring $45, shell print + 2 mm aluminum base $100 (JLCPCB/SendCutSend), UWB USB dongle (DWM3000-class) $60, USB LTE modem + SIM $80, USB mic + speaker $30. HW $1,245; commission build 24 h = $1,920.

Commission (agent/dev, 24 h): assemble slab; K-Touch launcher — 9 tiles, jingles, mode logic, kiosk mode; K-BRAIN — 8B Q4 at 10–15 tok/s (14B ~8 tok/s); UWB bring-up slab dongle ↔ bike DW3000 anchors; LTE FETCH path. The device is built before a single bike part is bought.

No phone route (v3, retired): a pocket flagship (Galaxy S21+/Pixel 7 Pro) could serve as K-Touch — 3B-class brain, smaller, but $2,650 and a second device to maintain. v4 merges: one slab, 8B-class brain, zero duplicates.

Gate K — daily-drive the slab for a week; tiles fire bench-rig commands; slab UWB ranges one bench anchor at ±15 cm.

Donor baseline — a perfect stock bike (≈$6,800, ~1 week)

Buy the donor: used CRF300L, 2021–23, under 8k miles, $4,800–5,600 (CycleTrader / Facebook Marketplace / eBay Motors). Inspect: valve service done, chain & sprockets <50%, no tip-over scars on the bars.

Commission (shop): full service — oil, air filter, valve clearance check, fresh brake fluid; suspension clickers set for +25 kg payload (rear spring swap ~$120 if needed); Tusk pannier racks $180; 6 mm 6061 mounting plates on rack + handlebar clamps, $250.

You do: photograph every connector; record base ride data (0–60, braking, figure-8) as the control baseline.

Gate 1 — bike rides flawlessly stock. All later phases are additive and reversible.

Ride-by-wire — the computer's hands (≈$15,900, ~2 months)

Buy: Roboteq-class steering servo 15 N·m @ bars $4,500; e-bike linear brake actuator $900 (actuonix.com); throttle by-wire servo $600; hardware dead-man relay $400; Blue Sea-class inverter/relays/fuse block $800; custom harness $1,200; limit switches + E-stop $700.

Commission (shop, 80 h): bolt steering servo to triple clamp with quick-release coupling; brake servo on rear lever; throttle servo + cable on twist grip (reversible). Every connection soldered by the shop — you never touch it.

Human-priority proof (the one test that matters): servo active, yank the bars — the servo must yield every time, mechanically, not in code.

Escalation: straight-line hold at walking pace in an empty lot → 10 → 20 km/h straight lines → gentle sweepers.

Gate 2 — computer holds a straight line at 20 km/h for 500 m; dead-man proven with the cut-power yank test.

Den cradle dock — rear rack (fits Phases 2–4, $2,400)

Buy: Tusk top rack $103; magnet array + 8-pin pogo assembly ~$120 (promaxpogopin-class); CAN-to-USB bridge ~$80; 20 W buck charge + PD trigger ~$45; latched cradle plate w/ Sorbothane, draw latches, crash tether ~$150 (commission fab).

Commission (inside P2/P3 labor): dock mates at ~45°, magnets self-align in <2 s; 20 W pogo charge (full top-up ~48 min); USB2 over pogo = the slab becomes the bike's dashboard; CAN bridge carries real commands; BLE/NFC handshake so a stranger's device gets dumb charge only.

Safety rule (never violated): docking alone never enables ignition — the physical key/fob stays a requirement. Dock = command authority, not a hotwire.

Lore skin (+$15, worth it): Final Kamen Ride jingle on mate; cradle backlights magenta while docked.

Balance + follow — the pack-mule trick (≈$19,200, ~2.5 months)

Buy: VectorNav VN-100 or Bosch BMI088 IMU stack $1,500; 2× Hall wheel encoders $300; 3× Qorvo DWM3000 UWB modules $450 (Mouser/Digi-Key); 2× 48 V 20 Ah Li-ion saddle packs $1,600 (em3ev.com); balance contingency $700.

Commission (90 h): IMU at CG hard-wired to compute; balance loop — steer-correction, no gyros, tuned at 3 km/h first; two bike anchors + pocket tag → follow controller; self-balancing stop-and-hold (the CES 2017 Honda trick); follow tests parking lot → gravel → mild trail.

Gate 3 — bike follows you 100 m through a parking lot, self-balances at every stop, never drops.

Fetch autonomy — the whistle (≈$18,600, ~2 months)

Buy: Jetson Orin NX 16 GB $1,300; Livox Mid-360 (from Step 0) $750; 2× Emlid Reach RS2+ rover+base $5,400; Insta360-class 360 cam $400; LTE link $150; geofence/kill-switch integration $600.

Commission (70 h): sensor fusion LiDAR + camera + RTK → local costmap (ROS2 Nav2); waypoint nav at 15–30 km/h; obstacle tests — pedestrian dummy, parked car, 30 cm drop; geofence + hard kill (relay cuts ignition + by-wire power).

Gate 4 — 20 successful fetches across a field with obstacles. The money shot: whistle from 200 m, it drives to you. Ship.

How you operate it after ship

Daily: slab in the Den cradle = FOLLOW brain. Whistle or slam the FETCH tile — it comes. At stops it holds itself upright.

Docked: slab seated in the cradle = Complete Form — all four modes armed, the slab runs the HMI, logging. Undock → authority returns to bike fallback, HOLD after 10 s.

Never: Battle Mode, transformation hardware, dock-enables-ignition. The walls are held on purpose.

Standing rule — every gate is a video you watch and an approval you give. No phase starts without your GO.