Free Mobile & Desktop App — iOS · Chromebook · Android · Windows · macOS

ARC-Lite

Robot Education & Control for Every Learner

The free companion app to Synthiam ARC. Load guided lessons, write Blockly/JavaScript/Python programs, and control robots — all from your phone, tablet, or PC. No experience needed.

Learn Robotics. No Experience Required.

ARC-Lite ships with four pre-loaded partner robot projects — AdventureBot, JD, Roli, and Six — each packed with step-by-step activity lessons, Blockly programming, and a live remote control interface.

Four Robot Apps. Ready to Go.

These robot projects download automatically on first launch — no setup required.

We worked with our partners to include their most popular education-focused robots. Stay tuned as we add more — or contact us to partner with us and have your robot included as a default.

AdventureBot
AdventureBot

Beginner-friendly two-wheeled rover — easy to assemble and drive

JD Humanoid
JD

Bipedal humanoid with arms — capable of walking and gesturing

Roli Rover
Roli

Robust tracked rover suitable for terrain navigation

Six Hexapod
Six

Six-legged hexapod with a full range of leg motion

ARC Pro

Build Your Own ARC-Lite Apps

Every robot project in ARC-Lite — including the four pre-loaded robots — is created in Synthiam ARC Pro on the desktop. When a project is saved to the Synthiam Cloud and marked as public, it becomes available to load in ARC-Lite on any device. You can build and publish your own ARC-Lite–ready apps the same way: design your project in ARC Pro, publish it to the cloud, and anyone with ARC-Lite can load and run it.

Get ARC Pro
Design & publish ARC-Lite apps

Everything You Need in One App

ARC-Lite packages guided education, visual programming, and live robot control into a single free download — for every skill level and every platform.

🎓
Guided Activity Lessons

Structured lesson groups walk students through robot programming concepts step by step, complete with paginated hints and completion tracking. Gold stars mark finished lessons.

🧩
Blockly Visual Programming

Snap colorful drag-and-drop blocks together to build robot programs — no typing required. The generated JavaScript code is always visible alongside the blocks so learners can make the connection.

🕹️
Live Remote Control

Touch-driven joysticks, servo sliders, buttons, and camera feeds let you drive and interact with a physical robot in real time — no code required.

📷
Camera & Computer Vision

View a live MJPEG stream from the robot's onboard camera and activate color tracking, face tracking, or glyph tracking directly from Blockly blocks.

☁️
Synthiam Cloud Browser

Browse and download thousands of community robot projects directly inside the app. Filter by certified content or search by keyword — your downloads are saved locally for offline use.

👤
Multi-Profile & Guest Mode

Multiple students can share one device with separate profiles — each with their own saved programs and lesson progress. Guest mode needs zero sign-up for instant access.

Code Without Typing

Blockly turns programming concepts into tangible puzzle pieces. Students build real programs by snapping blocks together, and the live Code tab shows the equivalent JavaScript — bridging visual thinking and real code.

🔁

Logic, Loops & Functions

Full-featured toolbox covering conditionals, loops, variables, math, and reusable functions.

🔊

Audio & Speech

Play sounds, speak text-to-speech through the robot or device speaker — all from a single block.

🦾

Servos & Movement

Drive motors, position servos, and create custom poses with the visual Auto-Position editor.

Blockly Editor
Remote Control

Drive Your Robot. No Code Required.

Every robot project includes a pre-built mobile remote control interface. The layout scales automatically to any screen size and requests landscape orientation for the best experience.

🎮

Joystick & Servo Pad

Smooth proportional joystick for differential drive, plus a 2D servo pad for camera pan/tilt control.

📊

Live Sensor Readouts

Script Labels update in real time — show distance, battery voltage, or any custom variable on screen.

📡

WiFi Auto-Discovery

Auto scanning finds your robot automatically. Just connect to the robot's WiFi and tap Connect.

Who Is ARC-Lite For?

Audience How They Use ARC-Lite
🎒 Students (K–12 and beyond) Follow guided lessons, complete activities, earn stars, experiment freely in Playground mode
🏫 Educators & Classrooms Use structured activity groups with progressive lessons, step-by-step hints, and built-in completion tracking
🛠️ Hobbyists & Enthusiasts Use Playground mode to drive robots, write Blockly programs, and explore cloud projects
🌱 Beginners (no coding experience) Drag-and-drop Blockly blocks to create robot behaviors without writing any text code
💡 Intermediate Programmers View the JavaScript code generated by Blockly and explore the live Variables panel while programs run
👋 Guests & First-time Users Launch in Guest mode with zero sign-up for instant, frictionless access
Children programming a robot in a classroom with ARC-Lite

Structured Learning Built In

Every robot project can contain educational activity groups and lessons. Students progress through them at their own pace, with incremental hints and gold-star completion badges that make learning visible.

📖

Full Lesson Instructions

Rich HTML lesson content opens in a full-screen dialog — teaching goals, diagrams, and explanations all in one place.

💡

Incremental Hints

Hints reveal progressively — the first is a gentle nudge, later hints become specific. No penalty for viewing them.

📈

Progress Tracking Per Profile

Each profile tracks activity completion, last-worked dates, and saved programs independently — ideal for shared classroom devices.

For Every Age

Designed for Everyone — From Young Kids to Adults

Whether you're a curious 8-year-old dragging your first Blockly block, a teenager building a science fair project, or an adult exploring robotics for the first time — ARC-Lite meets you exactly where you are.

It's the easiest introduction to robot programming available. No installation headaches, no prior experience needed. Pick up any supported robot, open the app, and start making it move — in minutes, on any device.

Young children — guided lessons with friendly hints and picture-based activities
Teens & students — Blockly, JavaScript, and Python with real robot hardware
Adults & hobbyists — full Playground mode, cloud projects, and WiFi robot control on the go
Teenager programming a Roli robot with ARC-Lite
💛 Synthiam's Gift to Education

Free — Because Every Student Deserves Access to Robotics

ARC-Lite is Synthiam's commitment to education. We built it — and keep it completely free — because we believe hands-on robotics should be accessible to every classroom, every student, and every curious mind, regardless of budget or background.

We partner with leading robot manufacturers so their hardware ships with a full, guided software experience out of the box. ARC-Lite brings together Synthiam's platform and our partners' robots to give students a complete, ready-to-learn package at no cost.

🧠
Computational Thinking
Sequencing, logic, loops, and conditionals — the building blocks of all programming, learned by making a real robot move.
🔧
Real Engineering Skills
Hardware I/O, servo control, sensors, and computer vision — the same concepts used by professional robotics engineers.
💻
A Bridge to Real Code
Every Blockly program generates live JavaScript. Students naturally progress from visual blocks to reading and writing real code at their own pace.
🤝
Confidence & Problem Solving
Incremental hints and a no-penalty learning environment build resilience — students learn to debug, experiment, and think independently.
✈️
Works Fully Offline

After the four default robots are downloaded on first launch, the complete educational experience is available without any internet connection. Blockly programming, activity lessons, and robot control all work offline.

🔒
Zero Data Collection

ARC-Lite collects no telemetry, no analytics, and no usage data. All profiles, saved programs, and activity progress are stored locally on your device only and are never uploaded anywhere.

Get ARC-Lite — It's Free

Available on all major platforms. Download once, use everywhere.

Version 2026.00.00.00
iOS

iPhone & iPad
Requires iOS 14 or later

Coming Soon
Chromebook/Android

Phones & tablets
Requires Chromebook/Android 8.0+

Coming Soon
Windows

Windows 10 & 11
Direct download from Synthiam

Download for Windows
macOS

Mac desktops & laptops
Available on the Mac App Store

Coming Soon

Latest changes: Release notes

🚀

Ready to Go Further?

ARC-Lite is the perfect starting point. When you're ready for advanced AI, multi-robot projects, and a full desktop IDE, step up to Synthiam ARC — the complete robot programming platform trusted by millions.

Explore Synthiam ARC Getting Started Guide