Connect Robot Hardware, Skills and Scripts
ARC connects supported robot hardware to Robot Skills for computer vision, voice control and navigation. Configure each skill for your project and combine its commands with scripts.
Download Synthiam ARC
ARC
FREE- 1 third-party plugin skill per project
- Trial cloud services
- Personal, DIY & education use
- Updated every 6–12 months
Download
ARC
PRO- Includes ARCx for Windows, Linux & Pi — built for enterprise & industry
- 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.
About Synthiam ARC
Synthiam ARC (Autonomous Robot Control) is Windows software for building robot programs. Start with ready-made Robot Skills, connect your controller and configure the features your robot needs. Use visual programming or scripts to coordinate sensors, movement, speech and AI in personal projects, classrooms and prototypes.
DIY, hobby & education
Makers, hobbyists, students, teachers, clubs and university labs. ARC's Windows desktop, visual programming, RoboScratch and the full Robot Skill Store make it the easiest way to learn robotics and bring a personal robot project to life.
Choose ARCx for enterprise
Robot builders, product companies and industrial teams use ARCx. It runs headless on the robot's own Windows, Linux or Raspberry Pi computer, starts unattended, isolates every skill, talks to industrial PLCs and is reachable securely from anywhere.
ARCx for enterprise & industryExtensive Robot Skill Library
ARC provides access to an extensive library of pre-built robot skills through its Skill Store. Effortlessly integrate capabilities like vision recognition, speech recognition, and artificial intelligence into your robotic projects.
Multi-Language Support
ARC supports a variety of programming languages, including JavaScript, Python, C#, C++, Blockly visual coding, and RoboScratch, giving developers the flexibility to use their preferred tools and languages.
Hardware Compatibility
ARC is hardware-agnostic, working seamlessly with a wide range of robot controllers, microcontrollers, and platforms, so you can reuse existing hardware or mix different systems in a single project.
Artificial Intelligence Integration
With built-in AI functionalities, ARC enables robots to execute complex tasks such as object recognition, natural language processing, and autonomous navigation, greatly enhancing robot capabilities and interactivity.
Synthiam ARC is designed with an intuitive, user-friendly interface, making powerful robotics technology accessible to everyone.
Why robot builders choose us
Since 2010, we have worked side by side with robot builders around the world. More than 4 million robot connections have shown us what works, what breaks and what builders actually need, and every lesson has gone back into the software. Through the Robot Skill Store, we connect 600+ partners directly with those builders, so every new sensor, service and AI integration one partner adds is ready for everyone.
The secret is simple: the more our software is used, the better it gets.
ARC: proven by the community
The Windows platform for hobbyists, makers, students and teachers, with the full Robot Skill Store, Blockly, JavaScript and Python, and ARC Pro for advanced projects and courses.
ARCx: everything we learned, rewritten
Our next-generation platform, rewritten from the ground up with modern technology. It runs on the robot itself on Windows, Linux or Raspberry Pi, talks to industrial PLCs, and is programmed from a browser on your network or from anywhere.
ARC-Lite: built for learners
Our free robotics education app for Android, Chromebook and Windows. Guided lessons and Blockly activities teach robot programming step by step, then grow into JavaScript and Python. No robotics background required.
ARC vs. ARCx: Which Should You Get?
Both are Synthiam robot programming platforms built around Robot Skills. ARC is made for DIY builders, hobbyists and education. ARCx is made for robot builders, product companies, enterprise and industrial automation, and runs on the robot itself.
Choose ARC if…
- You're a maker, hobbyist, student, teacher or club building and learning with robots.
- You program your robot from a Windows 10 or 11 PC and connect to it over USB or WiFi.
- You want the full Robot Skill Store, with hundreds of skills for vision, speech, navigation and AI.
- You want to program in C# or C++ as well as Blockly, RoboScratch, JavaScript and Python.
- You already have ARC projects, or you're following ARC tutorials, courses or classroom material.
- You want a mature platform with Free, Pro and Runtime editions.
Choose ARCx if…
- You're building a robot product, deploying robots for a business, or automating industrial equipment.
- Your robot has its own computer, such as a Raspberry Pi or a Linux or Windows single board computer.
- You need to talk to industrial PLCs, bridge to ROS 2, or reach deployed robots securely from anywhere.
- The robot runs headless, with no monitor, keyboard or remote desktop.
- You want to program from a browser on a laptop, tablet or phone, with several people connected at once.
- You want to add and remove Robot Skills without restarting.
- You want Athena, the AI assistant that can read your project and make changes after you approve them.
| ARC | ARCx | |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | DIY builders, hobbyists, makers, classrooms and STEM education | Robot builders, product companies, enterprise and industrial automation |
| Where it runs | On your Windows PC, which connects to the robot's controller | On the robot's own computer |
| Operating systems | Windows 10, Windows 11 | Windows 64-bit, Linux 64-bit, Linux ARM64 (Raspberry Pi) |
| Interface | Windows desktop application | Web browser on any device on the network, several at the same time |
| Screen required | Yes, a Windows desktop | No, runs headless |
| Programming | Blockly, RoboScratch, JavaScript, Python, C#, C++ | Blockly, JavaScript, Python |
| Robot Skills | Full Robot Skill Store with hundreds of skills | Load and unload without restarting; each skill lists the platforms it supports |
| AI assistance | AI Script Assistant and AI Chat Assistant | Athena, with access to your project and changes you approve first |
| MCP server for AI agents | Yes. Claude, Cursor or any MCP client can create projects, add and configure skills, write scripts, send control commands and operate ARC's interface | Yes. The same, plus camera images, movement, speech and servo tools, resources, and Robot Skills that publish their own MCP tools |
| Industrial PLCs | — | Yes, with the Industrial PLC Controller: Modbus, OPC UA, EtherNet/IP and Siemens S7 |
| Unattended operation | A desktop application with its window open on a Windows PC | Starts with a project and startup script, isolates each skill, and keeps running with no browser connected |
| Status | Mature platform with Free, Pro and Runtime editions | Stable; Windows 64-bit, Linux 64-bit and Raspberry Pi downloads available now |
Not sure? Start with ARC for DIY projects, hobby robots and classrooms programmed from a Windows PC. Choose ARCx for robot products, commercial and enterprise deployments, industrial automation, or whenever the software needs to run on a Raspberry Pi or another computer built into the robot.
Build Robot Behaviors with Robot Skills
Powering Over 4 Million Robots
Explore real robots programmed with ARC across 100+ countries — from DIY builds and hobby robots to classroom and university education robots.
Use The Latest Technologies
Use Robot Skills to connect sensors and cloud services, process camera images, recognize speech and add AI to your project.
Newest ARC Robot Skills
Recently published skills from Synthiam partners for ARC on the Windows desktop.
Compare ARC 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
Make Robots Smarter
Use AI technologies such as large language models, computer vision, and decision-making with your robot.
Speech Recognition
Use speech to command robot products. Add custom phrases and actions to create a unique personality.
Computer Vision
Experience the latest in machine vision. Such as object, color, emotion, and more!
Hundreds more...
The robot skill store has hundreds of available Robot Skills to help learn how to make a robot smarter.
Rapid Robot Development
Use easy and powerful robot programming languages, such as JavaScript, Python, C# .Net, C++, Blockly visual coding, and RoboScratch.
Hardware Agnostic
Extend the power of existing robot products or build your own.
Artificial Intelligence
Use AI technologies such as large language models, computer vision, and decision-making with your robot.
Sensors
Combine smart avoidance controls to give robots autonomous compatibilities.
Compatible Robot Hardware
- ⚡ What is an EZB?
-
An EZB Controller is any robot, computer, or microcontroller that connects to Synthiam ARC for servo control, sensors, movement, and robot automation. Below is a list of EZB compatible products. Each supported hardware has a manual to help you learn how to make a robot with it. Additionally, the support section has a fantastic tutorial to get started.
Robot Building Tutorial
Adafruit
Arduino
BBC
DF Robot
DJI
Espressif
EZ-Robot
EZ-Robot & Gael Langevin
iRobot
Ohmnilabs
Open Robotics
Parrot
Pi Foundation
Radxa
Robotis
Sain
Sphero
Team IoT
Up
Viam
Didn't find the robot hardware you're looking for? Let us know
Learn How To Make a Robot
ARC provides makers, hobbyists, students and educators with a toolbox of reusable technologies for prototyping and programming robots quickly. Robot Skills are created by industry experts and published in Synthiam’s Skill Store for DIY builders, classrooms and university labs. From a first hobby robot to a full classroom curriculum, ARC’s getting started guide will have you programming in minutes. Taking a robot to market or onto the factory floor? ARCx is built for robot builders, enterprise and industry.
Visit the Getting Started Guide