Since 2016, Otto DIY has come a long way—from a simple open-source robot to a global movement in education and creativity. With the recent launch of the HP Otto, we’ve received many questions about what’s changed. This post is here to clarify those changes and share the behind-the-scenes story of how Otto evolved over the past 8 years.

If you're new to Otto DIY, check out this post about how it all started to get the full backstory.

🌱 The Birth of Otto DIY

Back in 2016, Otto DIY sparked a wave of excitement in the maker world. The idea was simple but powerful: Anyone, anywhere could build a fun robot by downloading 3D-printable files and sourcing standard electronic parts locally. It was truly open source, accessible, and community-driven.

This approach was revolutionary at the time—and it worked. The response was overwhelmingly positive, and Otto quickly gained traction.

💥 The Kickstarter That Went Wrong

Unfortunately, not all collaborations went as planned. A company called Acrobotic (now out of business) launched a Kickstarter campaign using Otto’s design. They promised to share 15% of the profits with us—but never did. They ghosted us, failed to deliver properly to backers, and damaged trust in the project. (Ironically they went out of business)

That experience was a wake-up call. While others were profiting from Otto, I wasn’t even covering material costs. So I pivoted: To sustain the projecet Otto DIY became an e-commerce business, selling kits while staying true to the open-source spirit.

🧠 Community Creativity vs. Copycats

The Otto community exploded with creativity. People remixed designs, added features, and shared their builds. It was beautiful.

But with popularity came problems. Low-quality copycats began flooding the market—cheap kits with missing parts and poor documentation. These knockoffs hurt Otto’s reputation, even though they weren’t official products.

Let’s be clear: Open source does not mean open brand. You can remix the design, but using the Otto name and logo without permission is not okay.

🤔 Misunderstanding Open Source

One of the biggest misconceptions we’ve faced is this:

That’s not how it works. Open source means sharing knowledge and designs—not giving away your identity or offering free support for unauthorized products.

2017 was the peak of Otto’s community energy—imaginative, helpful, and inspiring. As a designer without coding or electronics experience at the time, I learned so much from you all. Otto DIY wouldn’t be what it is today without your support.

⚠️ Open Source: The Double-Edged Sword

Open source was the rocket fuel that launched Otto DIY into the world. It allowed us to grow organically, without a massive marketing budget. But over time, it also became our biggest vulnerability, when people started to abuse.

The Good:

• 🌍 Otto spread globally thanks to open sharing.
• 💡 Community remixes brought fresh ideas, some contributions and innovation.
• 🧠 It became a learning platform for thousands of educators, students, and makers.

The Ugly:

• ❌ Poorly documented 3rd party remixes led to confusion and frustration.
• 🏴‍☠️ Copycats sold low-quality versions using our name and logo—without permission.
• 🫵 People blamed Otto DIY for problems with unofficial kits.
• 🧯 Support requests landed on us, even when we had nothing to do with the product.

I gave up control in good faith, but that trust was often exploited. The brand suffered. The contribution loop broke. And the worst part? Many developers, schools, and businesses used Otto without ever giving back—not even a mention.

🧱 Building a Startup on Shaky Ground

In 2019, I took the leap: I left my stable job and went all-in on Otto DIY. We started a company in the center of Europe, just before the pandemic hit. With help from an EU grant, we hired our first employee and covered legal and operational costs.

But the challenges were relentless:

• 🚚 Drop-shipping delays and customs issues.
• 🔋 Battery limitations that made DIY kits hard to scale.
• 🔧 Hardware inconsistencies, especially motors.
• 📟 Chip shortage crisis
• 🧾 Endless documentation, edits and support for others’ remixes.

We tried everything: Otto Academy as an LMS, Otto Clubs and ambassadors program, Tournaments, Remix Challenges, Otto Scratch AI, our own graphical programming software and online coding games. Some ideas were beautiful in theory—but none brought sustainable income.

🧨 The Harsh Reality of Open Hardware

We learned the hard way that open source hardware is not a fair game:

• 🏷️ Most EdTech companies protect everything—while pretending to be open.
• 🧊 Many “maker shops” in wealthy countries sold knockoffs without credit or collaboration.
• 🧾 Distributors ignored our certified open hardware and bought fakes instead.
• 💸 Cash flow with big resellers that only pay after they sold all their stock.
• 💰 We were asked for huge discounts with no margin left for us.

It was heartbreaking to see others making money with Otto while we struggled to survive. Especially when those same people came asking for files the moment a new robot dropped. While I was trying to make it globally accessible and cheap, I fall into race to the bottom price mistake competing with yourself and scummy companies, It really hurt the product experience and worst of all the brand. There's nothing more expensive than cheap things. People often dont see that when you buy a knock off, time and having to exchange parts it willl cost you in the longer run.

We developed our own open source graphical programming software Otto Blockly with zero experience, it was time-consuming to just do a proper documentation, still many "experts" criticized the project and we really did not know what we did wrong, most of the time we feel attacked by some random folks telling us that we did not provide something that fits their specific picky needs, like for example porting it on a very specific type of Linux, when they could have help us to improve even with just creating an issue in github of the bugs which they had the knowledge for. Sorry but we did what we could, a limit was reached, that is the reason why many people is afraid to share their creations as open source on the internet, they are afraid to be judged, for me was always a learning experience, in the fields of robotics is very hard to be able to solve all issues in mechanics, electronics, code, firmware, libraries and software all together without a team. I tried to the maximum extent and thanks to all contributors that helped to take us up to this point. Those were times when I was happy to be in the open source community, but we still have to do a lot on our own without expertise or help.

For a long time there was a big limitation in the project by using only "out off shelves" common components. Soon, we reached the boundaries of what was possible in terms of design and product at that size, regrettably we were stubborn because we wanted to keep the community “happy” and like this technology development for the robot got stuck for many years.

The "Batteries included" dilemma

The power source was and is! the main component for a robot, that show me the reality of open source hardware, no matter how much you optimize the design in order to have a portable consumer product that anyone from everywhere can replicate, you will always be restricted by battery power with big tradeoffs, sometimes to the point of making the product barely functional. I fall into that hole, as a DIY weekend project is ok but not as a Product that someone is paying money for, nevertheless we developed 2 different power sources, fully rechargeable, that we started to include in our kits and none else did; if you buy a fake Otto it never comes with battery, hence is the main issue when people come to the community because they don't buy the original kit.

🧡 What Kept Us Going

Despite everything, we kept going. Why? Because of the few who truly cared:

• Teachers who gave feedback and shared photos from classrooms in underserved areas.
• Collaborators like Diego (Bitfab), Sebas, Eduardo (Tokylabs), and our app dev Chico.
• Community leaders like Ivan, Oscar, Jason, Hanka, Bill, and Piers who gave their time and energy.
• Wikifactory with all documentation Read more here: How to properly document your open source project?
• When we saw someone sharing photos saying thanks, specially in places that never had the chance to build a robot, low income families. That was our payment as a social enterprise.

They reminded us that Otto DIY was more than a product—it was a mission.

Open Source for hardware many times is an utopian philosophy; it becomes disappointing in practice as it meets the reality in this world.

🛠️ Moravia Consulting Comes to the Rescue

By 2022, Otto DIY as a company had reached a critical point. The passion was still there, but the resources were running thin. That’s when a new opportunity emerged: a merger with Moravia Consulting /Education, a company that shares our mission of making STEAM education accessible and affordable.

This partnership changed everything.

🚀 A New Chapter Begins

With Moravia’s support, we gained access to:

• 📦 Established logistics and distribution networks
• 🤝 Strong relationships with global companies like HP
• 👩‍💻 A growing team of experts and freelancers
• 🧪 The resources to focus 100% on R&D
• 👨‍🌾 Our own 3D farm in the Czech republic with materials made in Europe.

We finally had the breathing room to fix everything that had been frustrating educators and makers for years—especially in the classroom, where every minute counts and troubleshooting can derail an entire lesson.

🔧 From DIY to Purpose-Built for Education

To meet the needs of teachers, we had to go beyond off-the-shelf components. That meant:

• Designing custom PCBs (yes, I had to learn that from scratch 😅)
• Ensuring a stable supply chain for consistent quality
• Creating a plug-and-play experience that just works

DIY makers might enjoy the challenge of debugging, but in a classroom, reliability is everything. That’s why we prioritized the learning experience over the debugging while still tinkering.

🎉 Launching at BETT UK

Fast forward to 2024, and we proudly launched our first flagship product at BETT: HP Robot Otto – Starter in Creator, and Builder Kits.

This isn’t a replacement for Otto DIY—it’s an evolution. A new branch of the Otto family, tailored for education and built to scale.

🔓 Is It Still Open Source?

Great question. The term “open source” is often misunderstood, especially in hardware. We’ve always been as open as possible—sometimes too open. But here’s where we stand:

• ✅ STL files for 3D printing? Still free.
• ✅ Code? Still free.
• ✅ Software? Free without any subscriptions.
• ✅ Starter lessons and coding platforms? Free and accessible.
• 👑 Premium content? Reserved for loyal supporters and partners.
• 👨‍🔧 Electronics? Open where feasible, but not always replicable without engineering expertise.

We’re committed to openness, but we also have to protect the integrity of the product and the brand—especially after years of damage from counterfeits.

I share many thoughts that Josef Prusa described here in his blog post.

Open Source had worked for Arduino (even with their rather dark past) but at least their community has been loyal and they had plenty of orders to sustain a company. Again the same formula as Prusa, a big community supporting them.

“I think the open-source thing is over-rated.. Ultimately you want a good experience for the user. open or closed source” by CrabRC (community member)

🧩 Project vs. Product: Know the Difference

Let’s clarify the distinction:

Otto DIY (Project) "Do It Yourself"

• ottodiy.com
• Hobbyist-focused
• Community-driven
• Hack tinkering

HP Robots Otto (Product)

• hprobots.com
• Classroom and Home-ready
• Professionally supported
• Structured tinkering learning kits

If you're a teacher or a parent looking for a smooth, reliable learning experience, head to hprobots.com. If you're a maker who loves to tinker and troubleshoot, join the communities!

🧭 What’s Next?

We’re still here. Still fighting. Still building. The HP Robots world is a new chapter—one that brings quality, support, and sustainability back to the heart of the project.

But we need your help. If you believe in open source, support the original creators. Share responsibly. Give credit. And if you’re building on Otto, let’s collaborate—not compete.

And now, with HP on board, we’re just getting started.

💬 Final Thoughts

This journey has been anything but easy. But with Moravia and HP, we finally have the support to build something lasting. We’re still open. Still creative. Still community-first. But now, we can be sustainable, We are investing to make robotics more accessible to everyone and we still need your support to growth as community.

Thanks to everyone who’s been part of this ride. Let’s keep building—together.

I hope this makes things clear and we can keep DIY as a project alive while supplying HP product solutions to schools and home's in need for STEAM education. For more details head over to HP Robots FAQs page.

If any comment let me know below, see you in the community!

Camilo