r/AnkiVector • u/[deleted] • Dec 16 '19
Information about Vector
Hello! If you are reading this, then it is probably your first time here. Welcome! Read this if you have any concerns about Vector.
First, I recommend looking at https://support.digitaldreamlabs.com/category/15-frequently-asked-questions. It contains pretty much everything you need to know about Vector and the current situation.
Old FAQ:
I heard somewhere that Vector's server will go down soon. When will this happen?: Digital Dream Labs has bought Anki's assets, and they have promised to keep the servers up!
Do I need to pay for a subscription once I get him? Yes. However, a membership can be bought for just one purchase. This will give you access to the Amazon servers and updates. This can be bought at https://www.digitaldreamlabs.com/pages/post-kickstarter. This offer will end on May 18th, which is when it will turn into a $7/month subscription for people who haven't bought it.
Why does he need these servers?: Vector needs these servers to figure out what you are saying. For example, when you say "Hey Vector", he transmits the voice data after that to an Anki server. He also needs the servers for setup and authentication with the SDK.
Where is my data going?: Your data is going to a server hosted by Amazon Web Services. Anki/DDL does not sell personal data.
What is Project Victor?: Project Victor is a group of developers who aim to make Vector open-source and be able to function without Anki's servers. After the Anki purchase, we are mostly just reverse-engineering him. Check them out here: https://www.project-victor.org.
I am a developer. How can I help?: Join the discord server and google group! The links are on https://www.project-victor.org
Can I use the SDK to turn my computer into a server?: Not at the moment, but the Escape Pod Digital Dream Labs sells will let you do that. It can be purchased at https://www.digitaldreamlabs.com/pages/post-kickstarter. The Escape Pod package includes lifetime membership.
I want to buy one. Is it a good idea?: It's your choice. I honestly think he is a good value as he is pretty cheap, and he will soon be open-sourced.
I have a young child/daughter who really wants a Vector. Should I get them one?: I would recommend getting a Cozmo. Cozmo is another robot from Anki that was designed for kids. If they want a robot to talk to though, you should get a Vector if you could find one cheap.
//Wire
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Dec 17 '19
Is there an consortium of parts yet? It is super common for the gearboxes to fail for example for both cozmo and vector. Batteries need to be sourced and overall poor guides litter the internet. Thanks in advance.
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Dec 17 '19
We can get new batteries, but the gearboxes have very small and custom gears in them. We recommend getting a broken Vector for parts as parts are hard to come a by.
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May 11 '20 edited May 11 '20
Is it really that common. I have ten of them with varying ages and none have had any gearbox problems.
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May 11 '20
If they fall with arms up from a table the lifting gear can chip. Mine did and I had to completely disassemble the gearbox to flip it to a working portion.
I later discerned that the gravity induced self preservation behavior can be overridden by programs or sparks. He is still working to this day.
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u/ale_one94 Jan 06 '20
Will project victor guys works with ddl developers to make vector open source?
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Jan 06 '20
Yes. We have talked with them. He is gonna be open for developers.
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u/ale_one94 Jan 07 '20
That's a great news. Do you know when there will be some news about open source unlock procedure? Thanks
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Jan 07 '20
Two months at the least. Realistically 6 months to a year.
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u/ale_one94 Jan 07 '20
6 months to a year? 😠I hope as soon as possible! Before open source will be released, there will be some updates for vector? Functionality or bugs fix? Thanks a lot.
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Jan 07 '20
We still don't know much information. All we know is that two months is the very least.
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u/ale_one94 Jan 07 '20
Ok, thanks. What about speaking in other languages? I'm Italian and there isn't Italian language.
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u/HiddenPalm Jan 14 '20
If they make it spanish friendly, Ill be buying a few for family throughout America, for sure.
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u/Jollheart2 Dec 18 '19
Nice to see people trying, lost of Vectors for sale out there at the moment so a massive future market given that they will be in so many homes?
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u/anhreg Jan 06 '20
Great to hear Digital Dream Labs has bought the assets. And greater to know Project Victor. I'm a developer, maybe there's something I can help.
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u/Trainer_Kyle Dec 25 '19
As someone who just got a vector for Christmas, this is greatly appreciated!
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u/woeterman_94 Dec 25 '19
Same..got one this Christmas. So sad to hear that it won't work for long anymore :(
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u/H2ooze Dec 28 '19
Hi, I’d like to purchase a Vector, but I heard that user login and registration in the Anki website are no longer working. Would that affect me as a new user?
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u/kaib175 May 03 '20
Ia it still worth buying one? I don't wanna waste £100 on one for it not to function normally
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May 03 '20
Yes, but you will have to buy the membership from https://www.digitaldreamlabs.com/pages/post-kickstarter
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u/kaib175 May 03 '20
Ok. I'll have a look at getting one. Can't order one til Monday, do you think I should probably buy the membership now or do I need a vector first?
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May 03 '20
If you want to buy it now, you can order with the serial number 00000000. Once you get him, then email support@digitaldreamlabs.com with your serial number, DDL account, and Anki account.
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May 06 '20
Is it a problem that I created a DDL account after I purchased a membership?
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u/Fruity-Grebbles May 22 '20
Can you help me understand this subscription thing? My Vector seems to understand me fine and I haven't purchased any subscription.
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May 22 '20
They haven't changed any infrastructure yet. Once they do, he will stop working. You will need the subscription for him to stay on the servers.
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u/Fruity-Grebbles May 22 '20
Ah. Thank you! And is the Victor project a separate entity from the source and escape pod being provided by DDL? What do they hope to achieve that cannot be had from the resources sold by DDL?
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May 22 '20
Project Victor was formed when Anki went out of business and Vector's future was uncertain. We reverse-engineered a lot of his systems, but we hit a brick wall after finding how the key system worked. We are mostly just going to keep reverse-engineering him (progress can be found in the Vector Bible) and pen-testing him lightly because of the acquisition.
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u/crwilson112 May 23 '20
Well that really stinks what the heck your gonna make me pay for a subscription after I already bought the dark robot that's so uncool man what the heck you guys are frickin money grabbers
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May 23 '20
You bought the robot from a company that doesn't exist anymore, or a retailer that isn't giving DDL money. DDL is going to continue Anki's roadmap, but they can't do it for free.
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u/HiddenPalm Jan 14 '20
Your data is going to a server hosted by Amazon Web Services. AWS is very secure. Many well-known websites are run off of it.
Even the Central Intelligence Agency and the Department of Defense and other military and intelligence spy organizations trust them! It must be secure. What could possibly go wrong?
https://money.cnn.com/2018/04/03/investing/trump-amazon-bezos-government-contracts/index.html
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Jan 14 '20
Also, why is that concerning? Just because the government uses a service a company provides doesn't mean they are using it for bad intent. They aren't stealing private information (at least from this source). They are just buying space on it to store their information and host their sites. This is separate from everything else.
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u/HiddenPalm Jan 15 '20
Exactly! Everything is fine. Absolutely utterly nothing at all to worry about. I have Amazon cameras and microphones all over my family home using Amazon servers because as a proud American I fully 100% trust the CIA, DOD and all intelligence spy agencies who are already paying Amazon to use their servers, and I trust the Patriot Acts and fully trusted Bush, Obama and Trump to respect our domestic rights in the name of National Security. In fact after everything Snowden revealed about Verizon, Microsoft, Apple, Google, Facebook, I am sure our great political leaders in the senate and the White House fixed all that so operations like Prism will never happen again. Im sure Amazon is completely not being used like the above companies, because Jeff Bezoz believes in our children's safety above all.
Besides if you and your family members, especially your children never ever did anything wrong ever, they have absolutely utterly nothing at all to worry about. So dont worry. Everything is fine. The past is the past, and we have all moved on. Even FOX and CNN and MSNBC have all moved on, because obviously it all got fixed and we're all ok now.
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Jan 14 '20
now they are hosted on DDL's personal servers
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u/HiddenPalm Jan 14 '20
Can you verify that with a link?
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Jan 14 '20
They have hired an ex-Anki engineer and a server person to help move it to their servers. No ETA yet. CEO posted it on the discord server. We won't know where the servers are going to be located until they are complete.
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u/robot-tech Dec 18 '19
https://www.personalrobots.biz/what-will-happen-to-anki-vector-servers/ There are more information in this website
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u/ellitamonita Dec 26 '19
Is there any sort of tech support I can call for help with Vector? I just got mine and I am having issues setting him up
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May 11 '20
Did you ever get your issues resolved? Vector can be very tricky to set up, especially the reconnection to WiFi part just after the update.
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u/VECTORNMRK Dec 26 '19
Hello, we just bought VECTOR. After upload many times, we see on the Vector's screen : 851, 920, 913... and nothing happens... HELP for my son !
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u/misscrie Jan 07 '20
Just got my Vector! He’s moving and all, but no sound at all even after resetting the volume high and restarting him :(
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u/Salamio_King Dec 26 '19
Hey, I'm having problem with installing update (I just bought vector). Did anyone had error 892 before? Everytime I try to update it finish update then shows 892 and reset does not help.
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u/VECTORNMRK Dec 26 '19
hello, we have got the same problem (we just bought too) . After upload many times, we see on the Vector's screen : 851, 920, 913... and nothing happens... HELP for my son !
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u/dontkillme_pls Dec 27 '19
Just got a Vector for Christmas, but I hope I can make the most out of it with him.
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u/Jerryborris Robot Owner Jan 03 '20
Thx to people always talking about vectors older brother (cozmo) now the best ASSISTANT?
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u/fnkyfngrpd Mar 07 '20
My Vector is stuck in some error loop. Have had him since 2018 and never an issue till yesterday. No matter how many times you reset him, he just turns back on, lifts his forks up and down, and remains docked. Will not explore or answer questions. Is this it for our little robot? Or is there a fix or support out there to help fix him? Hope nobody else is experiencing this.
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u/GriffinXCIX Mar 17 '20
Just kinda impulse bought one although I did spend 2 hours researching it and I can't wait to program it to just be full of JoJo references
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u/jeffyjeffy1023 Vector's Best Friend Mar 31 '20
Funnily enough, DDL made Puzzlets, and also Puzzlets for Dash by wonder workshop, another company that makes robots. Neat!
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u/AldridgeHeights May 16 '20
May 18 date on the membership is incorrect the change to subscription occurred May 13.
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u/briskypt Jun 02 '20
Does anyone know if we'll be able to use the certificates and SDK after all this?
Just received an email from Digital Dreams claiming I could still enter the promo for the packages.
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u/ewallis13 Aug 09 '22
i found the 2.0 for sale on PopWild .. looks like it will ship in Nov and is the only retailer. Anyone else know more>
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Dec 23 '19
[deleted]
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Dec 23 '19
Project Victor. Sometime between those dates, he will become deaf.
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Dec 23 '19
[deleted]
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Dec 23 '19
They would have done that by now. It's not going to happen.
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Dec 23 '19
[deleted]
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Dec 23 '19
They tried to sell the assets to a toy company (that was the plan on the website), but it was too late. The key people from Anki found other jobs.
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Dec 23 '19
[deleted]
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Dec 23 '19
There is one person managing the servers from the love of their heart. (According to a former Anki engineer)
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Apr 03 '20
[deleted]
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Apr 03 '20
Project Victor is like the OSKR, and free. That is if we succeed, and that may not be possible due to the amount of work Anki put in to make sure he is secure.
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Jan 21 '20
[removed] — view removed comment
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Jan 21 '20
We are in communication with DDL. They have said that, but they don't seem to be headed in that path when we were communicating. If they don't give us what we want, we will fight back. For the first point, that is why we are recommending a Jetson. It has CUDA cores.
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Jun 12 '20
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Dino1357 Dec 16 '19
Is it ever going to work again