Robot Network Connectivity

Connecting your Robot to WiFi for the First Time

1. Plug in and turn on the Robot.
2. If the network being utilized is 5 Ghz only, first complete the instructions here
   1. Setting up 5GhZ WiFi >
3. With the robot in range of the WiFi network, use the chest screen to press the Utilities - Network - Setup WiFi on the robot.
4. Use the up and down arrow buttons until the SSID for your network has an asterisk in front of the name, then press OK.
   1. If you are having trouble identifying the correct network SSID, please contact your information technology help desk.
5. Enter your pre-shared key or password. (Note: keys are case-sensitive)
   1. Use the keys highlighted below to access additional ranges of numbers and characters, and then press OK. 
   2. If are instead connecting to a network requiring enterprise authentication with username and password, you will have screens titled Username and Password to enter each value.
6. The robot will connect to the network and then start a network test.

Connecting to Ethernet

1. Connect an Ethernet cord to the robot and to a hub/switch or live Ethernet port.

2. Power the robot on.

3. Go to Utilities - Network - Test Network.

Troubleshooting Robot Network Connectivity

Unable to establish initial WiFi Connection

Please check Utilities - Network - Network Info - WiFi (button on the right).

• Look for an IP address below the IPv4 line. If not disconnected, then you should also see the SSID of the robot immediately above the MAC: line. If you have both of these fields populated, then your robot is connected to the network, and you may be experiencing a different issue. Learn more about testing the network connection >

Verify the following with your IT support team:

• The WiFi network supports the 2.4Ghz band, or the robot has a 5.0 Ghz adapter installed and configured. Learn more about 5GhZ connections >

• The SSID for the wireless connection Note: SSID’s are case sensitive.

• The Pre-Shared key or password

• Verify that the network in question is not blocking MAC address that begin with 2E, which can happen if a customer is disabling randomization. (RoboKind does not use MAC address randomization, but does utilize MAC addresses in a locally addressed range that can get blocked).

Network connection is unreliable

Using the companion apps network testing tool, run the network test 10 different times and make note of the average latencies for each of the tests. If you see that the times are slow, intermittent, or inconsistent, then that is an indication of a heavy load on the Internet connection.

The Wi-Fi indicator in the top right hand corner of the robot's control panel can indicate wireless signal strength.

If you have fewer than 2 bars of signal strength:

1. For troubleshooting, physically move your robot closer to the access point it is connecting to.

2. Please verify that your robot is connected to the correct network.

3. If the robot works well in one area, but not in the location where it is needed, then we recommend submitting a service request with your internal information technology team to advise of the poor signal strength and request that a router be positioned to better service the coverage area.

If your Wi-Fi indicator changes to an X, it is possible that the internet connection was temporarily lost. Please reset the robot using the Power menu on the chest screen, the reset switch on the back, or the power switch on the foot.

1. If the Wi-Fi indicator changes to an X on a frequent basis and there are more than 2 bars of signal, this can be a sign of heavy network traffic or interference on the 2.4 Ghz network band used by the robots for WiFi.

   1. If your wireless network supports the 5 GhZ band, you can learn more about setting up a 5GhZ connection here >

Ensure that affected iPad’s are not connected in Low Data mode.  

Learn More: Use Low Data Mode on your iPhone and iPad

If the above steps do not match and you are having intermittent lesson interruptions affecting more than one lesson, please run an Internet test on the same network using https://www.speedtest.net/ and submit a support request, including a screen print of the test results. 

Submit a RoboKind Support Request >

Unable to connect to Ethernet network

See How-to Show the IP Address of the Robot to verify if it is indeed connected or not connected. If an IP address is available, check with your IT Support Team to confirm if it is a valid IP address for the connected network.

• Check to ensure that 802.1x (network based authentication) is not required for the Ethernet port the robot is connected to. (RoboKind presently supports enterprise authentication only for WiFi network ports)

• Test a different device with the same network port and cable and ensure that it is able to connect to the Internet and visit robokind.com.

Confirm with IT Support team to ensure that the network is configured to give out IP address, subnet, and default gateway to the connected robot. How-to manually assign IP address to robot

Additional Support

If all of the above fail, please make a short video recording so that we can see what is happening. Please include:

• Results of network test when run from the companion app or web companion.

• Run a network test - Utilities - Network - Network Test

• Show information from the following screens:

  • Utilities - About - Software Version

  • Utilities - About - Serial Number

  • Utilities - Network - Network Info - and then press the WiFi button on the right

  • Utilities - Network - Saved WiFi

Submit the recording (or a link to the recording) here >