Stand Up and Walk
Take control on the Drive Robot page, bring a supported robot from Damp to Walk, release its support, and bring it back down.
Every drive starts and ends here. The robot is always in one of three postures — Damp, Stand and Walk — and you move between them one step at a time. This page takes a supported robot to walking on its own, and back.
This moves a 35 kg robot
Keep the robot supported until it is in Walk, and support it again before you leave Walk. Clear the area, keep the robot in sight, and know your stops.
Before You Start
- The firmware is running: Overview shows Drive Robot. If it doesn't, see Start the Robot.
- The robot hangs from its gantry hook with both feet flat on a clear, level floor.
- For your first sessions, lower Max speed well below its default — see Speed Limits.
Take Control
Open Drive Robot from the sidebar, or select Drive Robot on Overview.
- Select Take Control. The page asks: "Area clear? Check around the robot before it can move."
- Check around the robot, then confirm. On a desktop, select Start Driving before its ten-second countdown ends. On a phone, press and hold Start Driving for one second.
You now hold the robot's only drive session, and the posture controls unlock. Taking control sends nothing to the robot by itself.
Only one window drives at a time. A second browser opens in watch mode — "You’re watching. Another window has the controls." — and its Take Control Here takes the session over. A gamepad paired to the robot drives only when nobody holds a session — see Gamepad.
The Three Postures
| Posture | The Drive Robot page says | Support |
|---|---|---|
| Damp | "Releases all actuators instantly. The robot will fall unless it’s seated on a bench or hanging from its gantry hook." | Required |
| Stand | "Actuators engage, the robot rises and balances on both feet." | Keep it on the gantry hook |
| Walk | "Accepts drive input — moves only when you drive it." | None, on a flat floor |
On a desktop, select a posture on the Damp · Stand · Walk switch. On a phone, the posture pill opens the Robot posture sheet. You can't skip a step: on a desktop, asking to go straight from Damp to Walk, or back, opens a guide (Start Walking, or Damping the robot) that takes you through Stand; on a phone the far step stays locked.
Stand Up
If the robot is lying on the ground, use the easier method shown in the video below:
How to stand up the robot from the ground
You have two options:
- Recommended: Follow the video above to stand the robot up from the ground. Keep the area clear and stay ready to use the stop procedure.
- Alternative: Follow this order:
- Select Stand. The robot stiffens into Stand mode.
- Lift the robot straight up.
- Hold the robot and do not let go.
- Select Walk so the robot can auto-balance.
- Let go only after Walk is active and the robot is balancing.
After either option, wait until the Drive Robot page shows the robot in Stand. Walk unlocks only once the robot reports it.
Start Walking
- Select Walk (Start Driving on a phone). The robot balances in place and moves only when you drive it.
- Slacken the gantry gradually until the robot carries its own weight.
- Drive with the Drive Robot controls or a gamepad.
Bring It Back Down
Never damp a free-standing robot — it falls.
- Stop driving. Select Pause or press
Space, somewhere level, with the robot not mid-stride. - Support it. Take up the gantry's slack so it holds the robot again.
- Select Stand. On a phone, press and hold Hold to stand for one second.
- Select Damp. Tick The robot is physically supported, then hold Hold 2 s to damp.
On a desktop, selecting Damp straight from Walk opens a guide that takes you through Stand first.
End Your Session
On a desktop, select End Control. On a phone, leave the page — End Control isn't available there.
Ending your session stops the Drive Robot page sending commands. It doesn't change the robot's posture or stop the firmware, so bring the robot down before you leave. Then turn it off when you are done.