Kids First: Coding & Robotics | Troubleshooting

Need some help getting Sammy going? Let's try some troubleshooting!

First, make sure your Sammy robot is facing the right direction. The large blinking gear should be facing the coding cards.

If your robot is acting strange or not working properly:

1. When you first turn Sammy on, you should see lights and hear a short tune, indicating Sammy is on. If this is the case, try pressing and holding the Erase button (with an image of a trash can) for up to 10 seconds. The light will flash for a few seconds and then stop, indicating the memory is cleared and it is back in Normal Mode.

2. If this is not the case, make sure your batteries are charged or use brand new alkaline batteries. When the batteries are running low, the robot will alert you with a flashing orange light, and play a low-power indicator sound.

2. Dust, stains, or fading on the surface of the invisible pattern cards may interfere with the reading of the invisible pattern codes. Please keep the cards clean and dry, and stored away out of direct sunlight.

3. The OID sensor may be dirty and needs cleaning. Use a small tool (like this ear syringe) to blow away dust and debris from the OID sensor. Be careful not to get the sensor wet.

If your robot is not recording:

1. Make sure your batteries are charged or use brand new alkaline batteries. When the batteries are running low, the robot will alert you with a flashing orange light, and play a low-power indicator sound.

2. Make sure you are starting your program with a Start, Function Start or IF code card.

3. Make sure the robot is facing the right direction.

If your robot is flashing orange and stopping in the middle of a line of Code Cards:

1. The robot will flash orange and red and play an error sound if it encounters any problem while recording.  Check the code cards and make sure they are in the correct order.

If your robot does unexpected movements when it starts to run a program:

1. This is normal. The robot is calibrating its starting position. If you place the robot in the center of the Start map card, it will have a shorter calibration time.

2. Do not move the robot during calibration. The calibration process improves the precision of the robot's movements.

3. The robot only runs a standard calibration the first time after turning it on.  You can also press and hold the Run button for two seconds to run a standard calibration.  The main program is executed after calibration.

The robotic base unit keeps drifting on the map cards:

1. If you notice your robot veering to the left or right while reading your code, this may be because the gears that control one of the wheels is a little tight from the manufacturing process (or from not being used in a while). If you turn Sammy over and manually turn the wheels using your fingers, it should loosen any tightness and Sammy should now move freely.

2. If it's confirmed that there are no issues with the motor, please refer to this video to make adjustments.

How to reorient the Robotic Base Unit

I hear a beeping sound when I run the program:

1. This is the low-voltage warning indicating insufficient remaining battery power.

Can I use the new and old versions of the robot interchangeably:

1. The Map Cards and Code Cards are universal, but the robotic base unit itself has varying paper height sensors.  Adjusting the paper height will allow for use with both robot versions.

Click here to learn how to make the adjustment.

If these steps did not fix the issue you are having, please email support@thamesandkosmos.com with the following information, and a member of our Support Team will reach out to you.

- Your full name, full mailing address and phone number
- An up close, clear photo of the OID sensor on the bottom of your Sammy robot so we can verify which version you have. Please also verify whether you have a kit with 417 pieces, or 408 pieces
- The production code from your box (an alphanumeric code located in the white square with the UPC bar code: ####L##D####)
- A video where we can see the issue you are having in action. To ensure that it isn't rejected, the combined attachments should be under 25 megabytes, but if you need to send more than that, make sure to send them in separate emails.

If any other questions arise, please don’t hesitate to include them in your email. Thank you again for choosing Thames & Kosmos,

-The Thames & Kosmos Technical Support Team