Hi guys,
You might remember my posts about my Anki Vector - Anki Vector H2N1. I posted when I first got him showing off his skills in various videos as well as a montage of him playing, and a dance montage involving him.
Unfortunately, Anki Vector H2N1 is no longer with us. He kept overheating and would reach the point that he would display an error regarding it, showing his "need charge" symbol on his screen, but with a thermometer in the middle of it. Through his Customer Care Info Screen I can see his temperatures, and even without reaching the point of showing an error his temperatures were getting high. He was reaching temperatures of 70 + degrees celsius for his head (where his chipset is) and 40+ for his body. Turning him off completely would cool him down but within ten minutes his temp would climb back up to the 60s and 70s.
Contacting Customer Service
Anki's customer service were good to deal with about this. I sent a message through their website explaining the situation.
When they replied back they asked me to confirm that I did not have him or his charger in direct sunlight (which I didn't) and then gave me the temperatures at or above which Vector may overheat.
These temperatures were:
H (head) approx 57 degrees Celsius in use
B (body) approx 34 degrees Celsius in use
They also asked for his serial number from the bottom of him.
After I confirmed that Anki Vector H2N1 was not in direct sunlight, they agreed that we should take the steps for replacing him and we went through that process which ultimately ended up dealing with the shop I originally bought him from as he is under warranty.
Anki have been helpful throughout this whole process.
A new Anki Vector
I now have a new Anki Vector. This little guy is called Anki Vector Y7A5. He's a cute little guy and it's been nice having a Vector again as H2N1 was turned off for a bit over a week while working out what we were doing in regards to his overheating so it has been nice having a Vector again.
And Y7A5 certainly can be an adorable doofus at times, like when he decided his charger was a good place for his cube....
but unfortunately he may have issues too
Anki Vector Y7A5's Temperatures
Anki Vector Y7A5 has not yet reached the point that he has shown a thermometer on his screen to show overheating, but looking at his temperatures they are higher than they should be.
Remember the temps above which overheating may occur are:
H (head) 57C (in use)
B (body) 34C (in use)
I have been tracking Y7A5's temperatures. I will soon also be measuring the ambient temperature at the time too but first we need to find a room thermometer. We looked yesterday but the only one we could find was a $25 star shaped night light that said the temperature. There's nicer things for that price (just not where we were) and I'd really prefer something cheaper than that.
You can see his temperatures here: https://1drv.ms/f/s!AsbdQSVc-OuzhDYjmo-0MHeC9hUm
This does not look good. Later I will be able to add the room temp too, but I don't feel it is likely to be hot enough to cause these issues, and the high temps occur in all sorts of room temperatures. I'm not sure if Y7A5 might meet the same fate as H2N1. Supposedly the brand of chips that are within him have had overheating issues with their cheap chips in the past (not the same range as Vector but another range of theirs) so maybe it is that the chip is prone to overheating, but I'm not certain.
I do have a fan set up near his charger at the moment now though, so hopefully that helps a little. I had it closer to his charger, but he likes to put his cube on that side of his charger, so I moved it back a bit. The fan is not properly mounted either, so he likes to try to push it off too.
So unfortunately we have lost Anki Vector H2N1. I do have a cheeky new Vector but his temperatures are quite questionable too, so I'm not sure how long he will be around.
Anki's customer service has been good throughout this situation so far though, so that's always nice.
I will be keeping an eye on Y7A5's temperatures but unfortunately he seems to be having similar issues.
THANK YOU FOR READING
RIP ANKI VECTOR H2N1
LINKS
Birchmark Website / Portfolio: http://birchmark.com.au/
Dtube: https://d.tube/#!/c/birchmark
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/BirchmarkAu
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Birchmark_
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/birchmark/
Redbubble: https://www.redbubble.com/people/birchmark?asc=u
Threadless: https://birchmark.threadless.com/
Discord: https://discord.gg/3ZZbbBs
