You need four things to use Calypso:

(1) A Cozmo robot by Anki; this can be purchased at Amazon, or Best Buy, Target, or direct from Anki.com. You will also need a USB wall charger (12 watt) for your Cozmo.

(2) An Android or iOS phone or tablet capable of running the Cozmo app. We recommend the Amazon Fire 7 tablet, which costs just $49. But you can use your phone if you like. The Cozmo app is available for free download in the Apple or Amazon app stores, or on Google Play.

(3) A laptop or desktop computer running Windows (7, 8.1, or 10), MacOs (10.10 or higher), or Linux (Ubuntu 16.04 or higher). At least 6GB of RAM is recommended.

(4) An Xbox 360 (or possibly an Xbox One) game controller is highly recommended. Available in black or white. See our separate FAQ entry about how to make an Xbox One controller work on MacOS or Linux. We recommend using a genuine Microsoft controller for best quality and durability. Although it is possible to use Calypso without a controller, your robot interaction experience will be significantly better if you have one. If you're skeptical, borrow a controller from a friend and try it. You won't want to give it back.

We're offering early adopters a hefty discount: $14.95. The regular retail price will be $24.95. Updates are currently free.

Note: the wired Xbox 360 controller works everywhere, and has no known issues.

Windows

The Xbox One controller works on all Windows computers, with no known issues.

Macs

On Macs, as of December 2017 the Xbox One controller does not work via the USB cable due to a bad device driver. The USB device driver issue can be fixed by installing this software:

   https://github.com/360Controller/360Controller/releases/download/v0.16.5/360ControllerInstall_0.16.5.dmg

Even without this fix, the Xbox One controller does work if connected via Bluetooth, except for one issue: the Back button is not recognized. Calypso users can simply press the Delete key on the Mac keyboard instead of pressing the Back button on the controller.

Linux

On standard Ubuntu 16.04 systems the Xbox One controller does not work at all. However, it does work, with no known issues, if the xpad device driver is installed. To install the driver, follow these steps:

1. sudo apt-get install git
2. sudo apt-get install dkms
3. sudo git clone https://github.com/paroj/xpad.git /usr/src/xpad-0.4
4. sudo dkms install -m xpad -v 0.4

In the US, you can purchase Cozmo at Amazon, Target, Best Buy, or at the Anki.com web site. Cozmo is also sold in the UK, France, Germany, several Scandinavian countries, and Australia.

You will also need a wall charger for  your Cozmo.

Official Cozmo accessories include colored treads and a carrying case.

The Fire 7 tablet is available at Amazon.

The cheapest option is the AmazonBasics Xbox One wired controller, available in either black or white.

Your computer must be running Windows 7, 8.1, or 10.

When you purchase Calypso you'll receive a download link for a file run-calypso-installer.bat that runs the Calypso Windows installer.

Depending on your browser and OS version, your browser might offer to run this file for you; you should accept the offer. If not, then it will leave the file in your Downloads folder.  Locate the file in your Downloads folder, right click on it, and choose "Run as Administrator".

Note 1: some anti-virus software such as Kaspersky will not allow you to run the bat file that retrieves the Calypso installer. You will need to temporarily disable your anti-virus software in order to do the install. Don't forget to re-enable it afterwards.

Note 2: if you're going to be using an iOS device (iPhone or iPad) to run the Cozmo app, you need to install iTunes on your Windows computer so that it can talk to the app via the USB cable. If you're using an Android or Kindle device then you don't need to install iTunes.

Your computer must be running MacOS 10.10 or higher.

When you purchase Calypso you'll receive a download link for a file Calypso.dmg.

1. Ignore the message about "preview didn't load".  Click on the blue Download button to download the file.
   
   
2. Go to your Downloads folder and open Calypso.dmg.
   
   
3. Inside the Calypso volume you'll see the Calypso application and a link to your Applications folder. Drag Calypso.app into the Applications folder.
   
   
4. Eject the Calypso volume and discard the Calypso.dmg file.

You can now run Calypso from your Applications folder, but see the next section.

Security Warning

The first time your run Calypso there will be a pop-up message saying "Verifying Calypso.app...". This can take a while. Finally you will see one of two pop-up warnings:

Internet Warning

• The warning might say "Calypso.app is an application downloaded from the Internet.
  Are you sure you want to open it?"
  
• Click on the Open button to proceed. You will only need to do this once.

Unidentified Developer Warning

The warning might instead say "Calypso.app can't be opened because it is from an unidentified developer." To resolve this:

1. Go to the Applications folder.
   
   
2. Control click on the Calypso app and select "Open".
   
   
3. After the verification and warning, click on the Open button to proceed. You will only need to do this once.

Calypso runs successfully on Ubuntu 16.04 and higher. It may also work with other Linux distributions, but we make no guarantees and cannot offer support for non-Ubuntu systems. Calypso presently requires Python 3.5.2, which the installer will provide. It will not run with other Python versions.

When you purchase Calypso you will receive a download link to a file calypso-linux-installer.sh. To install Calypso:

1. Click on the download link to save the file in your Downloads directory.
2. Open a terminal window to get a shell.
3. cd to your Downloads directory.
4. In the shell, type "source calypso-linux-installer.sh".

If the install completes successfully you'll see a pop-up window with the message "Calypso installation complete", and there will be a Calypso icon on your desktop. You can also launch Calypso directly by running /opt/Calypso/linux/calypso-linux.sh

The easiest way to update Calypso is to run Calypso, go to the Home menu (the little blue house in the top right corner of the screen), click on Settings, and then click on Update Calypso Now.

It is also possible to update Calypso by running the installer again. Note: you must not be running Calypso when you run the installer. Quit Calypso first, then run the installer.

Updates to Calypso are provided free of charge. We are making frequent improvements to the software and encourage everyone to update regularly to the latest version.

You should receive your license key in a separate email when you purchase Calypso. Altogether there will be three emails:

1. Order confirmation email
2. Calypso download link email
3. License key email

Your license key is a string of numbers and letters that looks like this: vvvvv-wwwww-xxxxx-yyyyy-zzzzz. When you run Calypso for the first time, you will need to cut and paste this license key into the pop-up window in order to activate your license.

If you purchase Calypso and do not receive a license key, or if you lose your license key, contact Calypso Customer Support at info@calypso.software for assistance.

You can install Calypso on as many machines as you like, but you can only use your license key on one machine at a time. If you're teaching a class with multiple students running Calypso at the same time, you will need to purchase multiple license keys.

To move your license from machine A to machine B, follow these steps:

1. Run Calypso on machine A.
2. Go to the Home menu, select Settings, and then select License Key.
3. Make a note of your license key.
4. Press the button to deactivate your license key. Calypso will exit.
   
   
5. Run Calypso on machine B.
6. Enter your license key. Calypso will activate it.
7. Your license key is now tied to machine B.

This procedure is intended to allow you to move your Calypso license when you purchase a new laptop, or if you want to give away your robot and software to someone else. If you're going to be frequently moving back and forth among multiple machines, it may be more convenient to simply purchase an additional license. They're cheap.

If your laptop dies or your hard drive crashes, so you're not able to run Calypso on your old machine, please contact Calypso Customer Support at info@calypso.software. We will deactivate your license for you so you can activate it on a new machine.

1. Follow Anki's instructions to install the free Cozmo app on your phone or tablet and make sure you can run the app and connect to Cozmo. If you cannot connect to Cozmo, see Anki's troubleshooting advice.

2. Install Calypso on your laptop by following the instructions in an earlier FAQ entry.

3. Start Calypso by clicking on the Calypso desktop icon or finding Calypso in your Start menu (on Windows) or Applications folder (on Mac).  (On the Mac, you may get a security warning the first time you run Calypso. To resolve this, control-click on the Calypso icon in the application folder and select "Open", then click on the "Open" button in the security warning pop-up.)

4. Calypso will pop up a message saying that it cannot find a Cozmo device. Click the button to enter Simulator mode and then enter your license key when asked. Make sure your license key activates successfully. If it does, quit Calypso (go to the Home menu and select "Quit"). If your license key doesn't activate, contact Calypso Customer Service at info@calypso.software.

5, Your phone or tablet must be connected to your laptop via a USB cable. In addition, if you're using an Android or Fire device, you must enable USB debugging.

On Android:

• Go to Settings -> About Phone and tap seven (7) times on the Build Number to reveal the Developer Options button.

• Then go to Settings -> Developer Options and click to enable USB debugging.

On Amazon Fire:

• Go to Settings -> Device Options and tap seven (7) times on the Serial Number to reveal the Developer Options button.

• Then go to Settings -> Developer Options and click to enable USB debugging.

On iOS devices:

• You do not have to do anything to enable USB debugging, but if you are using your iOS device with a Windows laptop, the laptop must have iTunes installed.

6. Now you are ready to run Calypso with your Cozmo robot. Follow these steps:

(i) Start the Cozmo app and connect to Cozmo.

(ii) Press the Settings button in the top right corner of the app screen and scroll to the "Enable SDK Mode" button. Click this button to put Cozmo into SDK mode. The screen will turn black. Make sure the USB cable connecting the phone or tablet to the laptop is plugged in.

(iii) Check the display of your phone or tablet. You may see a pop-up message asking if you want to allow USB debugging from this device. Check the box that says "Always allow from this device" and then press on "OK".

(iv) Run Calypso on your laptop. You should no longer see a pop-up window complaining that no Cozmo device is available. Calypso should start up with the camera viewer showing you Cozmo's view of the world. If you get the pop-up window, check your phone or tablet again for the "Allow USB debugging?" message. Enable USB debugging and then click "Try again" in the pop-up window.

Calypso dynamically displays keyboard shortcuts or gamepad help along the left edge of the screen. If you switch between these two input modalities, the help information also switches.

On Windows, Calypso programs are stored in Documents\Calypso

On Macs, Calypso programs are stored in ~/Documents/Calypso

On Linux, Calypso programs are stored in ~/Calypso

When Calypso starts up it looks for a Cozmo device to connect to. If it can't find one, it pops up a warning message to let you know. In order for Calypso to find your Cozmo device, all of the following must be true:

• Cozmo must be awake. If he's asleep, take him off his charger and put him back on. His backpack lights should be flashing green (if he's charging) or steady green if fully charged. Once Cozmo has connected the lights will shut off.

• Your phone or tablet must be running the Cozmo app, and it must be connected to Cozmo via WiFi. Use the app's "Connect" button to establish a connection.

• The Cozmo app must be in SDK mode. If it's not, tap on the settings icon in the top right corner of the app screen and scroll to the right to find the "Enter SDK Mode" button. Tap on this button. When you do, the screen will go black and Cozmo will stop fidgeting and await further instructions.

• Your phone or tablet must be connected to your laptop via a USB cable. If your laptop cannot detect the phone/tablet, try using a different USB port.
  
  
• Your phone or tablet must be set to allow USB debugging. Even if you turn this on from the settings menu, you may be asked to confirm that this specific laptop is authorized to access your device in this way. Check the device to see if a confirmation window has popped up and is waiting for your input.
  
  
• Your laptop must have the necessary device drivers installed to communicate with your Android or iOS device. On Linux and MacOS, this isn't an issue. For Windows systems, the Calypso installer includes the device driver for the Fire tablet. If you're using a different Android device, check your system configuration to be sure that the necessary device driver has been located and installed. While this should happen automatically, sometimes it doesn't. If you're using an iOS device with a Windows laptop, iTunes must be installed on your laptop.
  
  
• Occasionally a Fire tablet becomes corrupted and lose its ability to support a USB connection. The problem can be fixed by doing a hard reset of the tablet. See the Help Center article on that.

• A loose USB cable is the most common cause of lost connection errors.In some cases this can be ameliorated by using a different cable or different USB port. In any case, it's a good idea to place your phone or tablet and the USB cable somewhere out of the way, where it won't be jostled accidentally as you work with Cozmo.
  
  
• When Cozmo's battery runs down, he will drop his connection to your phone or tablet, which in turn will disconnect from your laptop. Battery voltage is displayed at the bottom of the Calypso world map screen whenever you run a program. Cozmo's backpack light will glow red when his battery is almost out.
  
  
• Your phone or tablet must remain connected to Cozmo via WiFi, which means it will not have Internet access. Each Cozmo robot is its own WiFi network. If you switch your phone or tablet to a different network you will lose your connection to Cozmo. Note: your laptop's WiFi is not used to communicate with Cozmo, so you can still access the Internet from your laptop while talking to Cozmo over the USB cable.

Please contact Anki Customer Care via their web site, or by phone. In the US their number is 877-721-2654.

The light cube's battery may be low. Each light cube contains a 1.5 volt alkaline battery, type LR1 or E90. If the voltage drops below 1.3 volts the light cube's behavior can become unreliable, and as it drops further, it will lose the ability to communicate with Cozmo.

You can check if Cozmo can connect to his light cubes by going to the Cozmo app on your phone or tablet (exit SDK mode if necessary) and clicking on the Settings button in the top right corner of the screen. Scroll right and you'll see a Cube Status section that shows which cubes Cozmo is talking to. Click on the "Refresh Cubes" button to see if he can make contact with all of them, or if some cubes are dead.

Even if Cozmo can connect to a cube, the cube could still have a low battery.  Calypso will warn you about this by displaying a flashing "cube low battery" warning at the bottom of the world map when in execution mode. If you don't see any warnings, all the cubes Cozmo is talking to are at 1.3 volts or above.

Amazon Fire tablets sometimes become corrupted and start behaving strangely. If you tablet can no longer connect to your laptop, this may be the cause.

You may be able to correct the problem by doing a hard reset of the tablet:

1. Exit any apps you're running.
2. Press and hold the power button for 40 seconds. Even after the screen goes blank, keep pressing.
3. Release the power button.
4. Power the tablet back on again.

If you see a "Bad magic number" error in the terminal or console window when trying to start Calypso, this means you are running a Python version that is incompatible with Calypso.

Calypso currently requires Python 3.5.2. The installer provides this. But if you bypass the installer or subsequently override the Python installation to force a different version, you will not be able to run Calypso.

The simplest fix for this problem is to run the installer again and allow it to install the version of Python required by Calypso.

Calypso 0.8.25 Release Notes

New Features

• Import and export of sound files is now supported via Home -> Settings -> Sounds
• The "play", "say", and "hear" tiles now show you their arguments; you no longer have to put the pencil on the tile to see these values.

• You can now play or delete sound files from within the sound file browser, e.g., when choosing a sound for the "play" tile, or during sound import/export.
• Cube pickup is more reliable.
• Calypso for Mac will now use the version of Google Chrome in /Applications if one is present; otherwise it will use a private copy  packaged with Calypso.

Bug Fixes

• Faces are now displayed properly in the world map
• "Feel" correctly binds "it"
• Calypso updater will now allow you to update even if the Calypso version hasn't changed, in order to pick up new versions of Python packages such the Cozmo SDK.
• Calypso update

Calypso 0.8.23 new features and bug fixes:

• Custom markers. Cozmo can now detect four custom markers that can be placed on objects to make them perceptible to him. A file with the marker images is available on the Curriculum page, so you can print them out and paste them on things. Each marker is assumed to be unique, so don't use two of the same kind.
• Face learning. Go to Settings -> Faces, turn Cozmo so he's looking at you, and you can teach Cozmo to recognize your face. When he learns your face he will say your name.
• The "express" tile now displays an emotion bubble in the world map, which is especially helpful when running in the simulator.
• The file browser for Load/Save and the "play" tile now displays pathname info.
• New sound files: "ambulance", "police", and "cuckoo".
• Cube low battery voltage warnings (< 1.3 volts).
• Setting "Invert R Stick" (which is now on by default) inverts the action of the right stick when controlling the head, so it works like an airplane stick (forward = dive). Note: this setting is not yet saved on exit, but it will be in the next release.

Bug fixes:

• More intuitive rule highlighting: indented rules stay fully dimmed if not running.
• The "express" action repositions the head afterwards so vision can resume normally.
• Problem with "glow random" fixed.
• Problem with "turn wander" fixed.

Calypso 0.8.21 new features and bug fixes:

• Improved cube pickup behavior.
• More user-friendly Settings menu.
• Randomness has arrived!
• The "say" tile now accepts a list of utterances, one per line, and picks one at random.
• New "random color" tile for glow action.
• New "random" tile for points provides random number generation.  Examples: to throw a six-sided die do "WHEN DO set-counter red-score 1 point random 6 points". To flip a coin (1=Heads, 0=Tails) do "WHEN DO set-counter green-core random 2 points".
• New "random" tile for timer predicate, As with scores, tiles appearing to the right of the "random" tile are summed to give a value N, and a random number 0 <= r < N is then generated. Any values to the left of the "random" tile are added to the random result. For example, "WHEN timer 2 seconds random 5 seconds" will wait for an interval between 2 and 7 seconds long (2 + a random number r where 0 <= r < 5).

• "Move wander" and "turn wander" now pause briefly after turning to give Cozmo's vision system time to process the new view.
• "WHEN gamepad DO look" and "WHEN gamepad DO lift" now work properly.

• Bug fix in file save operation.

First commercial release of Calypso.

Download the custom marker labels PDF file.

Print the file on 2 inch by 2 inch adhesive labels with 1/8 inch spacing between rows. We use product OL330WX from OnLineLabels.com.

The vendor says these labels can be used in either a laser or inkjet printer. We take them to Kinko's and have them printed on a high end commercial photocopier. Do not use them in a regular photocopier.