Get Started with Ohbot
1. Safety
Human Safety

  • Use by children is for ages 7+ under adult supervision.
  • Any external power supply used with the product shall comply with relevant regulations and standards applicable to the country of intended use.
  • This product should be operated in a well ventilated environment and, if used inside a case, the case should provide adequate ventilation.
  • This product should be placed on a stable, flat, non-conductive surface in use and should not be contacted by conductive items.
  • All peripherals used with the product should comply with relevant standards for the country of use and be marked accordingly to ensure that safety and performance requirements are met. 
  • Where peripherals are connected that do not include the cable or connector, the cable or connector used must offer adequate insulation and operation in order that the requirements of the relevant performance and safety requirements are met.

Robot Safety
​
  • Do not expose it to water, moisture, or place on a conductive surface whilst in operation.
  • Do not impede the product’s motors from moving whilst they are powered to move.
  • Do not expose it to heat from any source; the product is designed for reliable operation at normal ambient room temperatures.
  • Take care whilst handling to avoid mechanical or electrical damage to the printed circuit board and connectors.
  • Avoid handling the printed circuit board while it is powered. Only handle by the edges to minimise the risk of electrostatic discharge.

Ohbot v2.1 is designed, engineered and manufactured in the UK by Ohbot Ltd. Halliday’s Mill, London Road, Chalford, Gloucestershire.
For more about Ohbot visit www.ohbot.co.uk.
Ohbot is a registered Trademark of Ohbot Ltd.
All parts are RoHS compliant.

Support for Ohbot is available from [email protected]
2. What's in the box?
Picture
Ohbot
Picture
Dual USB cable
3. At a glance
Ohbot is a seven motor programmable robot head. 

Ohbots 'sense' spoken words and recognise faces and movements. They can be programmed to 'think' using either a graphical block programming language or Python textual language.

Ohbots 'act' using motors and sound. They can be made to look around, blink and smile. Each servo can be set to a precise position and they can speak by converting words into sound. ​Ohbot's speech comes from speakers or headphones attached to a computer.

Ohbots have to stay connected to a computer via a USB cable to work.
4. How will you program Ohbot?
Ohbot App
Scratch
Python
Carefully designed to work like Scratch and recommended for anyone new to programming. It features a simulation of Ohbot so can be used without an Ohbot connected.
Scratch can be used to program Ohbots on a wider range of operating systems than the Ohbot app. It has more limited functionality than the Ohbot App.
Python is a text based programming language, suited to more experienced programmers.
​Available for:
Windows
Available for:
Windows
macOS
Chromebook
​Available for:
​Windows
macOS
​Raspberry Pi
- Using the Ohbot app (on Windows PC)
1. Install the app. If you are using Windows 10 Anniversary Edition or later a 'Get it from Microsoft' image will appear below.  Click on this to install the app straight from the Windows Store.   
If you are using an earlier version of Ohbot including v1.1, 1.2, 1.3 or 2.0, or if you wish to install the app on a network please follow the software install instructions here before progressing to step 2 below. 
2. Connect the small USB plug on the USB cable to the socket on the Ohbrain circuit board.
3. Connect the two large USB plugs to your computer.

The black plug provides Ohbot with a signal and power. The red one provides extra power. 
4. Click on the Start menu and find the Ohbot app.
5. Activate Licence pop-up. This should be completed by someone over 18. If you have bought a site licence for the app click on the Site Licence button and a box will appear to enter the number. Each Ohbot comes with licences to use the app on four computers. Enter an email address and your name to licence the app. Click OK. 
6. Check Ohbot is working. In the Ohbot App a program called Welcome will have opened.
Click the Green Flag icon to start the program.
  1. Check that when you move the mouse left and right Ohbot's head and eyeballs turn left and right.
  2. Check that when the mouse moves forward and backwards Ohbot's head and eyeballs tilt up and down.
  3. Check that Ohbot blinks occasionally.
  4. Press the Space key and check that you can hear Ohbot speak and its lips should move as it speaks. Speech will be heard through speakers or headphones connected to your computer.
  5. If you have illuminated eyes fitted Ohbot's eyes should light red, green, blue and turn to a random colour when the Space key is pressed.  
- Using Scratch (on Windows PC, macOS and Chromebook)
You will need Google Chrome or the latest version of Microsoft Edge browser.  
​
1. Install the OhBridge Chrome plugin:
  • Open Chrome or Edge browser and click on this link. 
  • Click 'Add to Chrome'
  • 'Add Extension'
2. Enable Experimental Web Platform features.

  • Type the following into the Chrome or Edge address bar: chrome://flags/#enable-experimental-web-platform-features
  • Next to 'Experimental Web Platform Features' change the menu option to 'Enabled' 
  • Click Relaunch to restart Chrome or Edge
3. Connect Ohbot to the computer
The black plug provides Ohbot with a signal and power. The red one provides extra power for less powerful computers. The red plug can also be plugged into a USB power adaptor if required.
Connect the small USB plug on the USB cable to the socket on the Ohbrain circuit board.
4. Go to scratch.ohbot.co.uk,
  • Click anywhere on the page. A popup should come up,
  • Select the port (Should be 'Arduino Micro' or 'USB Serial Device'.)
  • Click connect and Ohbot should reset (if it is not in that position already).
​​5. Write and run a simple test program. You can find the Ohbot specific blocks in the Ohbot Extension menu at the right of the page.
- Using Python (on Windows PC, macOS and Raspberry Pi)
Setup for Windows
1. ​Download a Python installer from here.  We have tested the Ohbot library with Python versions 3.6 to 3.11.  Please always install Python from the approved Python website www.python.org.
2. Tick the option to Add Python to PATH then click on Install Now.  You may need to reboot your computer after installing.
3. Once install is complete type “Command” into the Windows search box. Right click on Command Prompt and select Run as administrator.
This will open a command prompt window.
​
4. Type the following into the command prompt window and press enter:

pip install ohbot
If you see errors here then try using the version of pip that is specific to your version of Python.  For example, for Python3.11 try:

pip3.11 install ohbot
 5. Connect the two large USB plugs to your computer.

The black plug provides Ohbot with a signal and power. The red one provides extra power. 
6. Connect the small USB plug on the USB cable to the socket on the back of Ohbot.

7. Check Ohbot is working:
  • ​Go to the Windows Start Menu, locate the Python 3.6 folder and run IDLE.
 
  • Inside IDLE select New file from the File menu. This opens a Python editor window.  




  • In a web browser go to the hellworldohbot example on Github, select all the code and copy to the clipboard. 




  • Paste the copied code into the Python editor window.
  • Select Save from the File menu in the editor window and name the file helloworldohbot.
  • Select Run Module from the Run menu.
Ohbot should speak and move.

With some versions of Python you may need to install extra Python libraries.  For example, when running with Python 3.11 we saw error messages about missing lxml and comtypes and we fixed these by going back to the command window and typing:
pip3.11 install lxml
pip3.11 install comtypes

More example programs can be found here.
Setup for Raspberry Pi
​If you don't have Python or pip3 (the Python package manager) installed, open terminal and execute the following, one line at a time:

sudo apt-get install python3
sudo apt-get install python3-pip
Ohbot requires some libraries to be installed, execute the following commands in the terminal to install lxml, festival and finally the ohbot package.

sudo apt-get install python3-lxml
sudo apt-get install festival
sudo pip3 install ohbot
Ohbot is tested with Python 3 running on a Raspberry Pi 3 Model B.
​
To upgrade to the latest version of the library run the following in the console: 

sudo pip3 install ohbot --upgrade
​Hardware Required:
​
  • Raspberry Pi
  • Ohbot
  • USB Y Cable
  • A 5 volt 1 amp USB power supply (for Ohbot)
  • Speakers/headphones with 3.5mm headphone jack
​

Setup:
 1. Connect the two large USB plugs.

The black plug provides Ohbot with a signal and power and plugs into your Pi. The red one provides extra power and plugs into a USB power adaptor.  
2. Connect the small USB plug on the USB cable to the socket on the Ohbrain circuit board.
3. Plug your speakers into your Raspberry Pi audio output.
Running Python Programs​
​
  • ​Open the IDLE application.
  • ​Inside IDLE select New from the File menu.
  • Go to the hellworldohbot example on Github, copy the code and paste it into the new Python window.
  • Select Run Module from the Run menu.

Ohbot should speak and move.
More example programs can be found here.
Setup for Mac
Install the latest version of Python from here.
​
Open the Terminal app, you can find the Terminal app by searching for it in spotlight.
To install the library run the following in the console:

sudo pip3 install ohbot
​
​To upgrade to the latest version of the library run the following in the console:

sudo pip3 install ohbot --upgrade
​Hardware Required
​
  • Mac running OSX
  • Ohbot
  • USB Y Cable
  • A 5 volt 1 amp USB power supply (may not be required for newer USB3.0 enabled devices).
  • Speakers/headphones.​ ​
Setup:
 1. Connect the large USB plugs.

The black plug provides Ohbot with a signal and power and plugs into your Pi. The red one provides extra power and plugs into a second USB socket on your computer or a USB power supply. (On newer devices the red plug may not be required). 
2. Connect the small USB plug on the USB cable to the socket on the Ohbrain circuit board.
Running Python Programs
​
  • ​Open the IDLE application.
  • ​Inside IDLE select New from the File menu.
  • Go to the hellworldohbot example on Github, copy the code and paste it into the new Python window.
  • Select Run Module from the Run menu.

Ohbot should speak and move.
More example programs can be found here.
5. Learn to program Ohbot
Ohbot App

1 hour course
Ohbot project ideas
Ohbot scheme of work
Ohbot code snippets
Shared programs
​Block glossary
Scratch
For some tips on getting started with Ohbot in Scratch check out the Ohbot tutorial from the tutorials page on scratch.ohbot.co.uk.
Python

Programming Ohbot in Python
Example programs
​Ohbot Ltd. 2A Halliday's Mill, London Road, Chalford, Gloucestershire, GL6 8NR, UK
Copyright © Ohbot Ltd.  All rights reserved.
​Ohbot® is a registered trademark of Ohbot Ltd.