Unboxing, assembly, first boot
- Log
- 3 of 26
- Date
- Reading
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Skills in this log
The box waited three days. On the evening of 17 October I filmed everything from above, and started.
The assembly, measured on the video
The official guide says two to three hours. Each step has a short video, and the maker insists on following it on screen next to the paper booklet. I did both.
It took me two sittings, the evening of 17 October and the night that followed. The camera above the desk gives the time of each stage:
| Stage | What it is | Filmed time |
|---|---|---|
| The base | a disc, the battery, the first cables | 25 min |
| The body | the shell, then the arms and motors that carry the head | 69 min |
| The head | the shell, the circuit board, the flat camera cable, the face, the antennas | 45 min |
| Total | from the first bag opened to the head on the body | 2 h 20 min |
The body is the long part. Six small rods link six motors to the head, and each rod clips onto a motor horn with a ball joint. It is the most delicate gesture of the evening.
When the head finally sits on the body, the booklet’s last page says: “You nailed it! Congrats!”. A booklet that congratulates you at one in the morning is a good booklet.
First boot
The robot booted on the first try. Its software was already up to date. Its control loop, the program that talks to the motors, ran at 49.4 times a second with zero errors.
What I changed on day one
- The default SSH password. Every robot ships with the same one, and it is in the public documentation. Changed before anything else.
- The volume. The maker’s system check confirmed the robot was healthy, and on the way it set the speaker and the microphones to 100%. I brought the speaker back to 80%.
- Nothing else. No app installed, no remote access added. First I wanted to know what was already there.
A detail I learned later
After a cold start, the robot does not wake up by itself. It boots, its software answers about forty seconds after the switch, and it stays asleep, head down. To wake it, push one antenna gently. It is a lovely gesture, and nobody tells you.
Next: teaching it to recognise me.
