Meeting Otto: A Complete First Lesson with the HP Otto Starter Kit

Meeting Otto: A Complete First Lesson with the HP Otto Starter Kit

At MORAVIA Education, we build coding robots for classrooms and the materials that make them teachable.

  1. Cubetto+ introduces sequencing and logic to students before they can read.
  2. Dash brings block-based coding and problem solving to elementary classrooms.
  3. HP Otto takes students into the hardware itself, from assembly to sensors to programming a robot they built.

Across the range, every robot comes with

  1. Lesson plans
  2. Teacher guides
  3. Slide decks
  4. Student worksheets
  5. and more

which means what arrives is a complete solution for kindergarten through grade 12 rather than a box of parts.

You do not need a robotics background to teach with Otto.

Every lesson in the Learning with Otto Starter Kit sequence comes with

  1. A teacher guide
  2. A slide deck
  3. Optional student worksheets.

To access the entire curriculum for free: 
STEP 1: create an account here

STEP 2: find the curriculum here.


The Robot

Otto is a modular robot built from snap-together parts and plug-and-play connectors.

The Starter Builder Kit contains: 

  1. Top
  2. Bottom
  3. Middle
  4. Face
  5. Bracket
  6. Caster
  7. Battery cover,
  8. Two wheels and two tires
  9. Two motors
  10. A circuit board
  11. A rechargeable battery
  12. An ultrasonic sensor
  13. Two line-following sensors
  14. A color light board
  15. Wiring
  16. A USB-C cable
  17. A screwdriver
  18. Spare cables and screws

Assembled, Otto

  1. Moves
  2. Follows a line
  3. Detects and avoids obstacles
  4. Measures distance
  5. Lights its eyes and top panel in color
  6. Plays sounds. 

The shell is 3D printable, so the robot can be extended rather than replaced.

Otto is operated through web and mobile applications. The web app includes a "Control" module which provides remote control functionality that drives the robot directly. The "Code" module, provides icon blocks, word blocks, and Python commands for programming Otto.

Both connect over Bluetooth.

What Lesson 02 covers

Students

  1. Meet Otto
  2. Identify its physical components and what each one does
  3. Watch it respond to direct commands
  4. Contribute to programming it to complete a route. 

Lesson 02 is a demonstration lesson. It uses one already-assembled robot at the front of the room, which means students see a working Otto before they take on construction in later lessons.

What you need

Assembly is the only preparation that takes real time, so build the robot before the day of the lesson. If you have not connected Otto to the remote control app before, take the time to do that as part of your preparation.

How the lesson runs

Introduce the robot. The second slide contains a video of Otto in action. After the video, demonstrate the assembled robot and point out its physical components and what each one does. Slides three and four support this with keywords and a full component diagram, so students can match what they see on screen to the robot you're demonstrating.

Show it responding. Connect Otto to the remote control app and operate it live. The app moves the robot, turns its lights on, plays sounds, and measures distance. This establishes that the robot responds to instructions before any code is introduced.

Program it together. Open the word blocks app, introduce block commands as instructions, and upload a short program of your choosing, such as lighting up or playing a sequence of sounds.

Then run the activity. Define a route in the room, on the floor or on a table, with clear start and end points. The route should require turns and obstacle avoidance rather than a straight line. Build the sequence of movement blocks with the class, asking students to suggest each next step. Run the completed code and let students watch Otto attempt the route.

Revising the sequence and running it again is part of the activity, not a sign that something went wrong. Testing different movements to improve the route is how students encounter trial and error as a working method, and it is the same process they will use throughout the rest of the sequence.

Checking student understanding

The teacher guide includes an evaluation checklist covering both observation and comprehension: whether students identified Otto's components and their functions, understood block commands as instructions, participated in defining the route, suggested steps that showed an understanding of sequencing, tested different movements to optimize the route, and can explain their own contribution to the finished program.

Optional worksheets

Two printable worksheets extend the lesson.

The first is a reflection: what are Otto's main features, how can you make Otto perform actions, and what new feature would you add. The last question invites a drawing, which gives students more than one way to answer.

The second is a design challenge. Students imagine Otto performing a rescue task in a collapsed building, identify which of its current capabilities would help, and design an attachment that would let it complete the job. They sketch or paste in their design.

Going further with SENSE

The design challenge asks students to name a capability Otto does not yet have. The SENSE expansion kit adds four of them.

SENSE includes

  1. a microphone, so the robot reacts to noises and claps
  2. A combined temperature and humidity sensor measures conditions in the environment.
  3. A light sensor detects and measures light levels from sunlight or a flashlight.
  4. A tilt sensor detects rotation and shaking.

The kit also includes a

  1. A universal top
  2. A dual universal top for mounting
  3. Three wire cables
  4. Three screws.

The Builder Kit version includes all the 3D printed plastic parts, so students assemble the modules rather than print them.

With SENSE, the attachment students designed on paper becomes something they build, code, and test. The sensors also support work outside robotics.

A class can send Otto around the room recording temperature, humidity, and light levels at different points and compare the readings, which puts the robot to use as a data collection tool in science lessons.

SENSE is designed to work with the Otto Starter Kit and does not include it. Start with the Starter Builder Kit, then add sensing when your students are ready for it.

SENSE Light sensor

Getting started

The Meeting Otto teacher guide, slide deck, and worksheets are part of the HP Otto EduZone that includes dozens of lessons and guides. Sign up to access these resources for free. They are yours to print and adapt. 

For a limited time get a free SENSE Expansion Builder Kit when you purchase an HP Otto Starter Builder Kit. Offer available from August 21- 27, 2026, exclusively on this online store to US customers.

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