Furhat Robotics

Appearance

Using the Furhat robot ​

Unboxing ​

To get started, carefully unpack your robot by following these steps:

Place the case on a firm, flat surface with the feet down and the Furhat logo facing up.

Next, locate the four lid locking clasps. Open each one by pulling it up firmly. Then, lift the lid of the case to reveal the white robot cover plate with the Furhat logo cut-out. Remove this cover plate and place it safely to the side, you’ll return it to the case later.

Carefully lift the robot unit out of the case. Take special care not to put stress on the neck as you lift. Place the robot on a stable, flat surface that is free of clutter and close to an AC power outlet.

Before moving on, take a moment to visually check that the robot is clean and undamaged.

Preparation ​

Once your robot is unboxed and set up on a suitable surface, you can begin the initial setup:

Plug in the USB microphone to one of the USB ports located on the back of the robot.

If you plan to connect to a wired network, plug a live ethernet cable into the ethernet port at the rear of the unit.

For Wi-Fi setup, you'll need an input device to enter the password—see the relevant section below for compatible devices.

Now, locate the power supply module and firmly insert the DC plug into the power port on the robot. Finally, connect the AC mains cable to the power supply module and plug it into a suitable outlet.

Connecting to network ​

Accessing your Furhat requires it to be connected with a LAN-cable or connected through Wi-Fi.

Attention

Currently you can not use Furhat with a Wi-Fi that requires a browser signup/log-in or is hidden (not broadcast).

Connecting to the robot through LAN-cable ​

  1. Plug in a LAN-cable.
  2. Press the rotary button on the back of the robot (or CTRL+I on a connected USB-keyboard) to show the setup dialog on Furhat's face, with Furhat's IP-address shown.
  3. Close the menu again using the rotary button (or press CTRL+X on a connected USB-keyboard) to close the dialog window.
  4. Enter the IP in a browser on a computer connected to the same network.

Connecting to Wi-Fi with USB-keyboard ​

If you are accessing an open network (i.e. neither having a password or requires a browser signup/login), you can use the rotary button to connect.

If a Wi-Fi password is required, you will need to plug in an external keyboard in order to type the password.

  1. Connect an USB keyboard to the Furhat.
  2. Press CTRL+I to show the setup dialog on Furhat's face.
  3. Select Connect to WLAN, select your Wi-Fi-network and press enter.
  4. Enter your password and press enter again.
  5. Once connected, you will see the IP of the Furhat. You might have to close the dialog and reopen it again.
  6. Press CTRL+X to close the dialog window.
  7. Enter the IP in a browser on a computer connected to the same network.

Connecting to Wi-Fi without USB-keyboard ​

  1. Press the rotary button on the back of the robot
  2. Scroll to 'Manage network'
  3. Select Hosted network and then Start hosted network.
  4. Once set up, you will see the IP of the Furhat.
  5. Connect to the Furhat's Wi-Fi from your computer. The network name is Furhat-XX and the default password is furhatrobotics.
  6. Enter Furhat's IP in a browser on your computer.
  7. Input the password in the browser (default is 'admin').
  8. Go to the 'Settings' in the left side menu
  9. Select the WIFI-network you want to use
  10. Once Furhat has connected to that network, change your computers network to the same
  11. You can now turn off the hosted network on Furhat
  12. Use the rotary wheel to go back and you will see Furhats new WIFI ip-address
  13. Enter the IP in a browser on a computer connected to the same network.

Resetting known Wi-Fi networks ​

The robot will remember any Wi-Fis and try to connect whenever available. This can sometimes cause unnecessary admin, for which reason we've added the possibility to forget known Wi-Fis. You can do this using the on-face menu.

Using the Furhat robot ​

Turning the robot on/off ​

To turn on the robot, ensure the power supply is connected and press the power button on the back of the robot. The power button is also used to power off the on-board computer. However the projector will still be powered and showing a blue screen. If you wish to power off the robot completely you need to unplug the power cable.

Accessing the robot in Furhat Studio ​

To access the Furhat Studio web interface, press the rotary wheel on the back of your robot and, if Furhat is connected by Wi-Fi or ethernet, its IP address will be displayed. Open a browser on a computer that is on the same network as the robot and input the IP address in the URL field.

The default password for the web interface is admin. The password can be changed in the Security tab in the Settings and reset through the selection wheel menu on the robot.

Note: You can also access the Furhat web interface through furhat-XXX.local instead of the IP-address, where XXX should be replaced with your robot's unique robot identifier. Whether this works depends on the network configuration.

Changing volume ​

The volume can be controlled in three ways. Rotary button, web interface or programmatically through a skill. Note that full volume (100%) is very loud.

Rotary button ​

By rotating the rotary button the volume should increase/decrease, and the LED ring should light up based on the current volume.

Web interface ​

In the top bar of the web interface a volume icon can be seen, upon hovering it expands into a volume slider. Drag or click on the slider to change the volume. By clicking the volume icon, the robot will mute, click again to unmute and reset to the previous volume.

There is also a volume slider under Settings > Voice. It is also possible to disable the robot's internal speakers there, this can be done to reduce echo when the robot is connected to an external speaker.

Support mode ​

If you have been in contact with our support and been asked to give access to the robot to a Furhat technician, you can do so by activating Support mode on your Furhat from the robot's web interface. For this to work,

  1. The robot needs to be connected to the internet.
  2. You have to be connected to the robot's web-interface from a computer on the same network as the robot (see the sections above for how to do this).

Updating the robot ​

You can see which version of the software your robot is running by going to the Update tab under Settings in the web interface. If your robot is running 1.8.0 or newer you can update the robot by clicking the update button, otherwise manual steps will be needed. If so, please contact our support to get your robot upgraded to the latest software: support@furhatrobotics.com.

Community Slack channel ​

To interact with other Furhat users and get peer-to-peer support, please post in our community Slack channel - contact us for an invitation.