Vector

Vector is a little AI-powered robot that is packed with technology—and character. It's designed as a robot companion and helper for people at home. Vector was developed by Anki, a San Francisco startup founded by Boris Sofman, Mark Palatucci, and Hanns Tappeiner, who met as students in the PhD program at Carnegie Mellon's Robotics Institute. The company's first products were the robot racing games Anki Drive and Anki Overdrive in 2013 and 2015, respectively. They were followed by Cozmo, a small programmable robot, and then Vector, a social AI-powered robot released in 2018. Anki raised a total of US $182.5 million from Andreessen Horowitz, JP Morgan, and other investors. In April 2019, after failing to secure a critical round of funding, Anki shut down. Later that year, Anki assets, including Overdrive, Cozmo, and Vector, were acquired by Digital Dream Labs, in Pittsburgh, Pa. The company now offers Vector 2.0, which received both hardware and software upgrades. [Vector released on October 12th, 2018]

Changes between Vector 1.0 and 2.0

• Unscrewable Battery Compartment added to make battery replacements much easier
• JST connector added to remove the need to solder new replacement batteries
• Motors made quieter
• New screen added (lower quality but users report its not very noticable)

If you need to replace the battery on your vector, a 503040 sized battery with 600mah is recommended, make sure it has a JST connector if you have a Vector 2.0.

Vector SDK

The SDK gives full access to all of Vector's hardware and software features available from Vector's firmware. This even includes features currently not available from of the official Python SDK including face enrollment, and adjusting Vector's permanent settings. The API design follows the design of the Python SDK but deviates in a few places for simplicity or consistency with the underlying gRPC API.

OSKR

OSKR was a service provided by DDL to allow people to install custom firmware on their Vector for a fee. As of June 2025 the only way to get OSKR is to buy a Vector 2.0 from the DDL Store that is pre-loaded with OSKR. You used to be able to buy it directly for your bot, but DDL removed that option.

Prototypes

MOST OF THIS SECTION COMES FROM https://randym32.github.io/Anki.Vector.Documentation/index.html, THANKS RANDY

P1

P1 was the first ever batch of Vectors. Not much is known about them currently.

P2

P2 was the second batch of prototype Vectors.

The head hardware is actually mostly final, and can be upgraded, though the body is quite weird. It is not known if the body can be upgraded.

All of these seem to have USB ports, and have an Android build that needs some help turning on. You need to run adb reboot bootloader then fastboot continue

P3

P3 is the last prototype batch before DVT. Not much is known about these either. Other than that the headboard design was nearly finalized by this point

DVT1

"Victor DVT1" prototypes are the first of the Design Validation Test batches for Vector.

These are very similar to finished Vector in terms of hardware, but there are many software differences:

• Their partition tables are old, similar to what looks like stock Qualcomm.
• Many Victor DVT1s run builds which are more similar to Android than Embedded Linux.
• Many Victor DVT1s are in FAC (factory) mode waiting to be placed into the playpens. If you find one in FAC mode, he is very likely running old proof of concept software.
• If you find one with Cozmo eyes, it is probably the same proof of concept firmware. Some have been upgraded to a slightly newer kernel though. Some can run behaviors when shaken.
• Their serial numbers are strings such as "1f19f8b7" which is a shortened version of their QSN.
• Most have SSH open, but there is a root password. ADB over TCP is fully open but it may require a couple reboots.
• Their BLE software is old, and it is hard to connect them to your own Wi-Fi.

The "head board" hardware is pretty much exactly the same, but the "body board" hardware is very different and missing stuff compared to modern Vector hardware. Despite this it is possible to upgrade them to modern bodyboard firmware and use them with your modern head although it's not advisable due to voltage drops causing frequent shutdowns.

DVT2

"Victor DVT2" prototypes are the second of the Design Validation Test batches for Vector.

These are similar to DVT1, with a few differences:

• Victor DVT2s run Embedded Linux and not Android like DVT1.
• Their body boards have a few small electrical differences, and are more compatible with modern firmware.
• Many of these run the same exact build (labelled "0.10.0d"). It is speculated that a few of these were animation bots.
• All we have seen so far run the same exact kernel.
• It is possible to put modern firmware on these bots and with a DVT3 or newer bodyboard they work well!
• While the bodyboards in these bots can run modern DFU they cannot charge in modern body firmware. What you can do is use the current bodyboard firmware and upgrade the headboard to run WireOS or any CFW based on it.

Similarities to Victor DVT1:

• Their serial numbers are strings such as "1f19f8b7" which is their QSN.
• The "head board" hardware is pretty much exactly the same, but the "body board" hardware is very different and missing stuff compared to modern Vector hardware.
• There are some positives if you are a passionate developer. They have ADB open which means you can solder on USB and mess around all you want. Everything is completely open and unlocked so you could have a fun time. There is no (useful) recovery or system_b partition so be careful.
• Most have SSH open, but there is a root password. ADB over TCP is fully open but it may require a couple reboots.
• Most of them have old BLE software, and it is hard to connect them to your own Wi-Fi.

DVT3

"Victor DVT3" prototypes are the third of the Design Validation Test batches for Vector.

These look exactly like DVT2s, but there are a few differences here and there:

• Most of them are running firmware very similar to modern firmware.
• It is possible to connect many of them to Wi-Fi without faking a network.
• All we have seen so far have SSH open with the normal modern key.
• Their body boards are a little different and can run modern firmware perfectly.
• Many have been upgraded(?) to the modern partition table and have unlock OTAs so their headboards could act exactly like normal dev boards. The body board will need a new DFU flashed but after that they'll work perfectly.
• They started off with a random string serial number, but many have been upgraded to the more normal 00###### layout.
• Their head boards have heatsinks. This ended up not being necessary for production.

Similarities to Victor DVT1/2:

• Their serial numbers started off as strings such as "1f19f8b7".
• The "head board" hardware is pretty much exactly the same as production other than the heatsink.

DVT4

"Victor DVT4" prototypes are the last of the Design Validation Test batches for Vector.

The hardware here is final.

There are a couple software differences though:

• Some may be prod-locked, but most have been found with Whiskey-like ABOOTs that are dev but don't have the anki.dev flag so they are locked to a specific kernel.
• No CPU fuses are set, so you could run a DVT2 aboot that allows you to run any kernel you want.

The body board in these are NOT normal and can only accept DVT3< firmware. They will not work for normal haeds. SWD is also locked, so upgrade isn't possible unless the chip is replaced.

These have serial numbers following this format: 00e1####

Some of these bots may boot up to an exclaimation point. Turning them upside-down then double (or triple) pressing the button will let them finish bootup. Then, you can shake them around to make them explore around.

Whiskey

The “Whiskey” prototypes were built from modified Vector hardware. The key change(s) are:

• The time of flight sensor was removed from the body-board
• Two time of flight sensors were placed on the head, on either side of the LCD
• The body-board layout was rearranged to better dissipate heat away from the battery.
• They are labelled as "HW: 7" instead of a normal Vector's "HW: 6". The software can detect this and it makes an extra CCIS menu for the extra sensors.

By placing the time of flight sensors in the head, Whiskey could scan around more — moving the head up and down, as well as using a more sophisticated version of the time of flight sensor. This would allow him to map the edges far better, as well as scan for objects and interesting things like hands and faces.

In some reports the idea was to use the changes to the TOF sensor placement for a next generation Cozmo design. The project was cancelled before Anki’s demise.

Qualcomm Download Mode

Qualcomm Download Mode, also known as QDL, EDL, QCOM_BLK, or HS_USB, is a mode many Qualcomm devices can be booted into which allows full programs and reads of the flash. Before you get excited, this is not something we can feasibly use on production Vectors, DVT4s, or Whiskeys at the moment. We can only use it on DVT1-3 heads, which is why it is under the Historial Bots section.

QDL can be launched by raising the F_USB pad on the headboard to 1.8v, then turning the bot on. The bot will show up as QCOM_BLK or "Qualcomm HS_USB Diagnostics 8009" through USB. On DVT1-3, you can use this loader and tool to make use of this mode. You can read the whole flash or specific partitions, as well as write. Any bot above DVT3 requires a different Anki-specific loader, which we don't have.

DVT1-2 heads can be upgraded to a newer partition table with this method. None of their CPU fuses are set, so they don't really care about what is on the flash. A DVT3 can also be put on old DVT1-2 software with it.

Sub-Pages

WireOS

WireOS is an OS created by Wire/kercre123. Wire's goal is to provide a stable, up-to-date, easily-buildable base for others to clone and modify.

Viccyware

Viccyware is a project meant to morph Cozmo’s magic into modern VicOS

Wire-pod

wire-pod is custom voice server software for the Anki (now Digital Dream Labs) Vector robot. It is an alternative to the official Escape Pod product and does not require any payment to Digital Dream Labs nor any connection to their servers. It works with every Vector, including ones which haven't been unlocked.