Best Practices for Operating in Low Temperatures
When the robot detects that operating temperatures are low, the operator will receive a warning in the iPad app that will link to best practices. That guide is also linked below: Operating in Cold Weather.
FieldPrinter Connectivity & Upload Alerts
Users now receive warnings when layout data from the FieldPrinter hasn’t been uploaded to the Portal. Alerts escalate if data remains unsynced for more than 30 days, helping ensure the VDC team has the latest information and preventing billing delays.
Operators can see the current LTE connection status for the robot on the health bar.
Obstacle Detection Mode Advanced Setting
A new advanced setting lets operators switch between Standard (IR dot projection on) and Basic (IR dot projection off) modes. Basic mode is designed for printing in the rare case when there is low-light, the surface is reflective, and the robot detects false-positive stereo obstacles, which appear as multiple red patches without outlines on the iPad.
The obstacle detection mode resets to Standard on startup, cannot be changed if obstacle detection is disabled, and will auto-switch to Basic when the camera is too cold. While Basic mode reduces false detections, it may make walls harder to detect, and Operators will see a warning and a persistent notification when it is enabled.
Customers should call support to get assistance about how to access and use this feature.
Product Enhancements for Ease of Use
- More Efficient Robot Routing. The iPad now submits queued items to the robot in batches, allowing the robot to optimize print sequences and pathing with larger sets of data.
- Warning For Printing Thick Line Widths. Operators will now receive a warning when printing lines thicker than 1/4". Printing long lines with 1/2" or more thickness can cause ink cartridges to overheat and reduce overall print quality, so this alert helps prevent potential hardware issues.
- Layout Size Warning: Users will now see a warning when a layout exceeds 2 miles in width or length. Very large layouts can cause unexpected issues, and this alert helps the team quickly identify and debug potential problems related to oversized projects.
- Context Menu Simplification: Context menus can now be opened and closed while tools are active. For example, if the Move Text tool is in use, operators can still open a context menu and then close it simply by tapping anywhere on the canvas while keeping the Move Text tool active.
- Easier movement of text: Reduced the number of taps required when moving text. After selecting the Move Text tool, users can now press directly on a text string and drag it to a new location, without extra menu steps.
Bug Fixes
- UI consistency updates. The green arrow button on the canvas now says “Start” instead of “Print”. A button on the Task tab now says "Add to Task Queue” instead of “Add to Queue”.
- Smarter QR Code Printing. The robot now checks whether there’s enough space to print an entire QR code before beginning. Previously, it could start printing a QR code even if only part of it fit in the available space.
- Font rendering fix for numbers after emojis. Numbers that appeared distorted after emojis now always print using the Dusty Noto Font for consistent appearance.
- Fixed an issue where the orange highlight on a selected obstacle did not disappear after closing the obstacle menu. The highlight now correctly clears when the menu is closed.
- Zoom to Fit now adjusts correctly when the left panel is open. The entire layout is visible within the available canvas space without being covered by the left panel.
- The Laser Tracker health symbol in the lower-left corner has a new state. It now indicates when the robot is in shadow or when the laser fails to lock onto the robot for any reason.
- The Create Control Point dialog now opens with a translucent gray overlay behind it, instead of replacing the entire background with solid gray, improving visibility and focus.