Ollo gives your plant a voice, helps you understand what it needs, and makes caring for it feel a little more playful.
⚙️ Firmware • 📡 Server • 📚 Docs
An early concept render of Ollo's aesthetic, personality, and sensor information.
We all know someone who tries their best and still ends up with a dead plant. It isn't always a lack of effort. Plants are constantly communicating, but most of us don't know what to look for.
Ollo brings the technology gardeners have been using for years to everyday plant owners. Sensors in the pot turn soil and environmental readings into clear insights, helping you understand what your plant needs and why.
With fun animations, customization, and mobile app integration, Ollo gives your plant a personality and a way to communicate with you, making plant care more engaging and fun.
The goal is simple: make plant care easier, more informed, and more fun.
💧 “I'm thirsty.” ☀️ “Could I get a little more light?” 🌿 “I'm feeling great today!”
| Step | What happens |
|---|---|
| 1. Sense | Sensors collect plant and environmental readings. |
| 2. Understand | The firmware, with optional server support, turns raw readings into a useful picture of the plant's current state. |
| 3. Express | The pot's screen shows care information and a cute face that reflects how the plant is currently feeling. |
| 4. Connect | The server makes that state available to future services such as a mobile app or web app. |
| 5. Reach out | Ollo can eventually send friendly notifications when the plant needs water, light, or attention. |
plant + sensors → ESP32-C6 firmware - - optional Wi-Fi - -→ server → mobile / web experiences
↓
face + local display
Ollo is being designed around a connected experience. Connecting the pot to Wi-Fi and creating an account will unlock mobile app syncing, friendly remote notifications, plant history, and future online services.
We still want people to use Ollo in the way that works best for them. Standalone mode will keep the core sensor readings, local care guidance, and expressive display available without requiring an account or internet connection.
These are planned product modes. The features below are not implemented yet.
 Connected Ollo The main product direction |
 Standalone Ollo Core plant care without the internet |
| Planned capability | 📡 Connected | 🪴 Standalone |
|---|---|---|
| Sensor readings | Yes | Yes |
| On-pot face and current status | Yes | Yes |
| Basic local care guidance | Yes | Yes |
| Use without an account | No | Yes |
| Mobile app syncing | Yes | No |
| Notifications while away from the plant | Yes | No |
| Synced history and deeper server analysis | Yes | No |
| Future web and service integrations | Yes | No |
Ollo will begin with USB power. If testing shows that it is practical, battery power would come next, followed by a possible solar-assisted version that also utilizes the battery.
Battery and solar power are ideas for later, not confirmed features. Both will need real-world testing before we know whether they are practical for Ollo.
| Folder | Purpose |
|---|---|
firmware |
Embedded Rust firmware for the Seeed Studio XIAO ESP32-C6 |
server |
Local sensor-data ingestion service and future device API |
docs |
Project notes, setup instructions, and design decisions |
assets |
README artwork and visual concepts |
The repository is intentionally small right now. New things will be added as the project grows. 🌱
Ollo is an early prototype. The personality, sensor system, server, and apps described above are the product direction and not yet implemented.
What works today:
- The ESP32-C6 Rust firmware template builds successfully.
- The firmware flashes to the physical XIAO ESP32-C6.
defmtlogging printsHello world!every 500 milliseconds.- Wokwi project files are included for basic testing without physical hardware.
Next, sensors will be tested individually before they are integrated into the main Ollo firmware.
Connect a XIAO ESP32-C6, then run:
cd firmware
cargo run --releasecargo builds the firmware, then espflash flashes the board and opens the
serial monitor.
For simulation, install the Wokwi extension for VS Code, build the debug firmware, and start the included Wokwi project:
cd firmware
cargo buildOllo's original source code and configuration files are publicly available under the PolyForm Shield License 1.0.0. You may study the code, modify it, and reuse parts of it in open or closed-source projects that do not compete with Ollo. If you distribute any part of the software, you must also provide the license and Ollo's required credit notice.
The license does not permit repackaging Ollo, or a practical substitute for Ollo, as a competing product. This makes the repository source-available, not OSI-certified open source.
The Ollo name, mascot, logos, renders, and other original visual assets are not included in that license. See ASSETS-LICENSE.md for the artwork and branding terms.
Project documentation is publicly viewable for learning and reference, but is not granted for reuse under the software license.
Generic boilerplate and third-party dependencies remain under their original licenses. See THIRD-PARTY-NOTICES.md for details.
If Ollo later includes original PCB, enclosure, or other hardware design files, those files may receive separate terms.
Ollo is being built from the ground up, one sensor and one behavior at a time. The hardware, software architecture, and visual design will evolve as the prototype gets closer to becoming a real plant companion.
