ARC 2026.02.21.00 (Pro, Runtime & Free)
Change Release Notes
This update is all about making ARC feel tighter, smarter, and way more resilient when things go sideways. Under the hood, a ton of core systems got love, plus better ESP32Plus support.
Here’s what’s new and shiny:
Core System Upgrades
- Firmware Manager refreshed - faster, cleaner handling of firmware packages
- Hardware Board Manager updated - improved board discovery and mapping
- Capabilities Manager upgraded - more reliable feature detection across hardware
Auto Firmware Source Sync
*The Firmware source file contains definitions of capabilities of various firmwares so ARC knows how to use the firmware
- ARC now checks the server for updated firmware source files on startup
- If a newer version exists, ARC will automatically download it
- Default behavior: no source file is present until one is available
- Requires an internet connection (obviously )
Better Logging & Startup Diagnostics
- Logging Manager now initializes earlier during startup (before the GUI loads)
- Startup splash messages are now written to the log file
- This makes diagnosing startup failures way easier when ARC can’t even show a UI
Improved Error Handling (aka Fewer Mystery Crashes)
New generic unhandled exception popup
- Displays a clear summary of the error
- High-contrast red-on-black screen so you can’t miss it
If the Add robot skill window fails to render, ARC now shows a more helpful error popup
ARC won’t continue setting parameters if a robot skill is disposed while being added
ESP32Plus Support
- Official support added for ESP32Plus firmware
- Plug it in, flash it, and ARC knows what to do
Stability, Cleanup & Memory Fixes
Fixed a potential dispose crash when closing ARC with an HTTP custom robot skill
Fixed several small memory leaks in:
- Cheat Sheet
- JavaScript Editor
- Python Editor
Removed unused resources from the project file for a leaner build
Why This Update Matters
This release hardens ARC’s startup process, improves diagnostics when things break, and smooths out several subtle stability issues that can cause weird behavior over long sessions. Plus, ESP32Plus users get first-class support-no duct tape required.
As always, feedback welcome - break it so we can fix it better.
ARC Downloads
ARC
FREE- 1 third-party plugin skill per project
- Trial cloud services
- Personal, DIY & education use
- Updated every 6–12 months
Download
ARC
PRO- Use on 2+ PCs simultaneously
- Unlimited robot skills
- Cloud backup & revision history
- Weekly features & bug fixes
- Business use permitted
ARC
RUNTIME- Load & run any ARC project
- Read-only mode
- Unlimited robot skills
- Includes early access fixes & features
- Minimum requirements: Windows 10 or higher, 2 GB RAM, 500 MB free disk space.
- Recommended: Windows 10 or higher, 8 GB RAM, 1 GB free disk space.
- Prices are in USD.
- More about each edition: Download & install guide.
- Latest changes: Release notes.
Compare Editions
| Feature |
ARC
FREE
|
ARC
PRO
|
|---|---|---|
| Get ARC Free | View Plans | |
| Usage | Personal · DIY · Education | Personal · DIY · Education · Business |
| Early access to new features & fixes | — | ✓ |
| Simultaneous microcontroller connections * | 1 | 255 |
| Robot skills * | 20 | Unlimited |
| Skill Store plugins * | 1 | Unlimited |
| Cognitive services usage ** | 10 / day | 6,000 / day |
| Auto-positions gait actions * | 40 | Unlimited |
| Speech recognition phrases * | 10 | Unlimited |
| Camera devices * | 1 | Unlimited |
| Vision resolution | max 320×240 | Unlimited |
| Interface builder * | 2 | Unlimited |
| Cloud project size | — | 128 MB |
| Cloud project revision history | — | ✓ |
| Create Exosphere requests | — | 50 / month |
| Exosphere API access | — | Contact Us |
| Volume license discounts | — | Contact Us |
| Get ARC Free | View Plans |
* Per robot project
** 1,000 per cognitive type: vision recognition, speech recognition, face detection, sentiment, text recognition, emotion detection, azure text to speech
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