Build a DIY Xiaozhi AI Otto Robot Personal Assistant (Part 3)

Posted: April 20, 2026
Last Updated: April 6, 2026

Learn how to operate your Xiaozhi AI Otto Robot through this detailed tutorial.

Otto Robot Basic Operation

The Wake Word

After turning on the Xiaozhi AI Otto Robot, wait for it to finish booting, as you’ll hear a “ding” sound. After this, you can use the wake word “Sophia” to activate the voice assistant. Once activated, you can ask her anything.

Xiaozhi AI Otto Robot Movement Commands

According to the DeepWiki of one of the creators of the Xiaozhi Otto Robot, there are about 28 enumerations for the Xiaozhi Otto Robot movements. You should be able to activate these commands by voice. Get familiarized with these commands as you can use them later.

Action Type	Enum Value	Parameters	Description
ACTION_WALK	1	steps, speed, direction, arm_swing	Walk forward/backward
ACTION_TURN	2	steps, speed, direction, arm_swing	Turn left/right
ACTION_JUMP	3	steps, speed	Jump in place
ACTION_SWING	4	steps, speed, amount	Left-right swing
ACTION_MOONWALK	5	steps, speed, direction, amount	Moonwalk motion
ACTION_BEND	6	steps, speed, direction	Bend left/right
ACTION_SHAKE_LEG	7	steps, speed, direction	Shake leg
ACTION_UPDOWN	8	steps, speed, amount	Up-down motion
ACTION_TIPTOE_SWING	9	steps, speed, amount	Tiptoe swing
ACTION_JITTER	10	steps, speed, amount	Jittering motion
ACTION_ASCENDING_TURN	11	steps, speed, amount	Ascending turn
ACTION_CRUSAITO	12	steps, speed, amount, direction	Crusaito dance
ACTION_FLAPPING	13	steps, speed, amount, direction	Flapping motion
ACTION_HANDS_UP	14	speed, direction	Raise hand(s)
ACTION_HANDS_DOWN	15	speed, direction	Lower hand(s)
ACTION_HAND_WAVE	16	direction	Wave hand
ACTION_HOME	17	-	Reset to home position
ACTION_SERVO_SEQUENCE	18	servo_sequence_json	Custom sequence
ACTION_WHIRLWIND_LEG	19	steps, speed, amount	Whirlwind leg kick
ACTION_WINDMILL	20	steps, speed, amount	Windmill arm motion
ACTION_TAKEOFF	21	steps, speed, amount	Takeoff motion
ACTION_FITNESS	22	steps, speed, amount	Fitness exercise
ACTION_GREETING	23	direction, steps	Greeting gesture
ACTION_SHY	24	direction, steps	Shy gesture
ACTION_SIT	25	-	Sit down
ACTION_RADIO_CALISTHENICS	26	-	Radio calisthenics
ACTION_MAGIC_CIRCLE	27	-	Magic circle dance
ACTION_SHOWCASE	28	-	Showcase sequence

Example Movements

Here are some of the demos of the basic movements:

Walking

MOonwalk

Showcase

Future Advancements

Expect additional features to be to Xiaozhi AI as it evolves. Particularly, features that utilize the universal AI communication protocol layer called MCP (Model Context Protocol). This framework is designed to make AI integration seamless, scalable, and secure.