This guide is intended to help customers update to the latest version of robots4autism®, which includes support for our newest features.
Table of Contents
3.2 Release Information
We are pleased to launch the 3.2 release of our robots4autism® software which includes the following features:
New support for using an avatar in cases where an R25 robot is not readily available at the location of the student
New support for remote situations where a teacher/facilitator may not be in the same physical space as the student
New one time pairing process between student and facilitator tablets - no more QR Code scanning!
New friendly aliases can be assigned to robots to make easier to identify robots for a lesson, and again, no QR code scanning!
New Student Quick reports providing at a glance analysis of student progress (Available on our website at https://central.robokind.com)
New Web Companion support, which can be used in place of an iPad where 2 devices are not available.
Note that to conduct lessons remotely, it is expected that there would be a video conference of some fashion in progress (Zoom, Chime, WebEx, etc.) to monitor the students progress.
Legacy platform customers: If you are currently using our legacy platform (at portal.robokind.us), then it is necessary to follow the migration check list here: RK Central 3.x Platform - Pre migration check list
Updating RK Central, Tablets and Robots to 3.2
An organizational admin should check the list of Robots that appears under their account under central.robokind.com and the Organization List screen and compare to the organization's active robots. How-to Find a robot's serial number
Teacher accounts do not have access to view the list of robots in RK Central, this step must be performed by a user with administrative access.
If the list of robots is incorrect or if the Robots & Avatars section is missing from the Organization list, please submit a robot registration request at https://robokind.atlassian.net/servicedesk/customer/portal/5/group/23/create/80. Please include the exact serial number(s) of robots to be added or removed. How-to Find a robot's serial number
2. In the RoboKind Central portal at https://central.robokind.com, we recommend using the … button (3 dots) to the right of each robot to assign a friendly Alias. As an example, if a robot is dedicated to a specific classroom, the name of that classroom might be a good alias. An itinerant robot that travels between schools might be assigned an alias of the teacher/facilitator who is using that robot.
3. On each robot, choose Utilities - Update Software and ensure that it completes successfully. See How-to Update the Robot for details and troubleshooting. Note that the update process usually takes 30-60 minutes.
4. After all robots are updated successfully, update the RoboKind Companion App on each iPad. RoboKind Companion App Installation and Update Guide (iPads)
Facilitator Tablet First Time Setup
Open the newly installed RoboKind 3.2 application.
Choose yes to allow camera access if prompted.
Select Facilitator mode.
Login to the tablet with the same facilitator credentials used to log in at https://central.robokind.com.
If necessary, you can visit https://central.robokind.com and reset your password.
If prompted, create a 4 digit pin for your account.
Use the Add New Tablet button
*Pairing codes expire within 10 minutes, so pause at this point if the student device is not already updated and ready.
Assign a Nickname or alias for the student device, and click Generate Code.
We recommend a Nickname or alias that describes the scope of the students that might be sharing that tablet, for example “Classroom A”.
Tablet aliases cannot be re-used, so you can use a “-1” or such if needing to re-use a similar name.
Characters including comma’s, parenthesis, and quotation marks are not allowed in Device names.
We recommend labeling a tablet according to the nickname that has been assigned to it.
The 6 digit code that is provided after tapping Generate Code will be needed during the Student device setup.
After the pairing code has been written down, click the Back button.
Student Device First Time Setup
New in release 3.2, a facilitator login is no longer required on a student device.
Note that a student device can be paired just once and then shared among multiple students.
On the student device, open the newly updated or installed Web Companion 3.
Choose yes to allow camera access if prompted
Select Student mode. No login is required.
If prompted for camera access, choose Allow. (This is used in certain lessons of the emotional modules)
Enter the 6 digit numeric code generated during the Facilitator setup and click Connect.
Starting a Lesson
From the facilitator tablet, select the alias of the student device in the column on the left.
In the Select a Robot column on the right, you may select a robot or Use Virtual Avatar. If you select the virtual avatar option, both you and the student will see a friendly virtual version of Milo teaching each lesson.
If you are running a lesson with a physical robot and the robot is not appearing in the list, please troubleshoot using the following steps:
Make sure that Milo is powered on
Run a network test and ensure that all tests are passing.
Go to Utilities - Update Software and update the robot if prompted to do so.
Restart the robot and wait 5 minutes.
If the above do not resolve the issue, please submit a support ticket using https://robokind.atlassian.net/servicedesk/customer/portal/5/group/23/create/60. How-to Find a robot's serial number
On the Select Classroom page, select the classroom and student who will be taking the lesson.
If you have selected “Virtual Avatar” the facilitator and student will see a virtual representation of Milo.
If you have selected a physical robot, then there will not be an avatar, and the selected robot will direct the lesson.
On the facilitators tablet, use the side bar menu to access tools such as stopping a lesson or switching to a calm down tool
Changing Devices
If you wish to change which student device or robot/avatar is selected, then note the following instructions.
During a lesson, you cannot change devices. To change devices, you must first use end lesson from the side bar menu.
From the side bar menu of the facilitator tablet, choose the Change Devices button.
If the student device no longer appears as available after using the change devices command, then instruct the student or parent to select the Student button.
Documentation
RoboKind Central for Administrators and Managers
RoboKind Central for Teachers & Aides
RoboKind Companion App Installation and Update Guide (iPads)