Litter-Robot 3: Cat sensor troubleshooting. The Litter-Robot 3 is equipped with a cat sensor that detects when a cat enters and exits the globe. When a cat enters the globe, the cat sensor is activated; the blue light turns off and the red light turns on. Once the cat exits the globe, the countdown to a Clean cycle begins.If you've just installed and/or replaced the Connect Upgrade Kit, the Drawer Full Indicator, motor, control panel, or any other components within the motor cavity in your unit, and now you're getting three flashing lights, it is most likely due to the position sensor being out of place. Look at the top of the base, and locate the control panel ...Visit our Firmware update instructions to learn how to update your Litter-Robot's firmware. This may take up to 30 minutes to complete. You will see a single white light blinking on your unit's control panel while your robot's firmware is updating. Once the update is complete, your Litter-Robot should be ready for use.Add Litter 1 3 2 4 If possible, place the Litter-Robot in the same location as the old litter box (at least during transition). Make sure the unit is indoors on a firm, level surface and in a cool, dry location. Must not be touching any walls. Place litter mats or rugs in front of the unit. The Litter-Robot will now perform an initial clean ...Dec 28, 2023 · Here’s a guide to understanding the different Litter Robot light meanings: Power Light: Green: The Litter Robot is powered on and functioning normally. Red: The Litter Robot is not receiving power. Check the power cord and outlet. Cycle Light: Solid Green: The Litter Robot is currently running a cleaning cycle.I have a litter robot 3 bought last year. It is now getting stuck in a cycle and is unusable. Symptoms are: A rotation cycle starts and dumps waste Then just before reversing direction the robot stops, the yellow light starts flashing and the globe moves a small amount further in the orginal rotation direction and stops A power off and restart can get the globe to rotate further (doing a full ...Litter-Robot by using some catnip or a favourite treat. 2. Add a scoop of litter from the old litter box to provide a familiar scent for your cat. 3. Place treats on the step or handle around the Litter-Robot so your cat associates rewards with the unit. 4. Once you notice that your cats have used the Litter-Robot, power the unit on to cycle ...The Litter-Robot is equipped with anti-pinch sensors on both sides of the waste drawer chute to ensure your cat's safety while using the Litter-Robot. These sensors monitor for potential pinch conditions at all times. While cycling, if a potential pinch condition is detected, the globe will stop and retract for 5 seconds.Unpacking and Setting Up Your Litter-Robot. Your Litter-Robot comes completely assembled and ready to use. Make sure box is right side up. Find and set aside the power supply found in the pocket of the top cardboard insert. Remove and set aside the top cardboard insert. Remove and set aside the cardboard corner braces.Litter-Robot 3 Connect. Hi there, I have been recently having issues with my LR3 getting stuck mid cycle, reseating the bonnet normally fixes it but this time I had to unplug the unit to reset it as I could not get it back to its ready state. When plugging it back in, the cycle light blinks yellow 2x and then the unit seems to power off.If the light bar on your Litter-Robot 4 has a single yellow light that moves with the rotation of the globe, this means your unit is performing a cleaning cycle or an empty cycle. No action is needed. This is a normal light bar status. Please allow the unit to continue the cycle. If you need to pause the cycle, press the Cycle button.1.4 Importance Of Troubleshooting The Blinking Blue Light. 2 Step 1: Checking The Connection. 3 Step 2: Examining The Waste Drawer. 3.1 Clearing Any Obstructions: 3.2 Checking The Carbon Filter: 3.3 Cleaning The Waste Drawer: 4 Step 3: Reviewing The Sensor. 5 Step 4: Evaluating The Globe.Your Litter-Robot 4 ships fully assembled. Follow these steps to get started. ... Your Litter-Robot comes fully assembled and ready to use. Get started by following the steps below. ... Robot cycling. *Yellow light moving with the rotation of the globe. Solid red. Cat detected and cycle delay countdown initiated.Use needle-nose pliers to lift the bezel out of place. Separate the bezel from the control panel by pushing the buttons through and lifting up. Set the bezel and screws aside. Turn the keypad/circuit board over and unplug the 4-pin connector (that holds the red, yellow, black, and blue DFI wires).The blue light may flash if the sensors are not clean. Litter Clumps Stuck in Gears: Sometimes, clumps of litter can get stuck in the gears of the Litter Robot, causing it to malfunction and display a blue light. Power Supply Issues: A fluctuating power supply or inadequate power can also lead to the blue light flashing.Preparation. Litter-Robot 4 continuously monitors the motor current to ensure the globe is rotating smoothly and is not obstructed. If your unit has a red light bar with partial yellow flashing, this indicates that the globe is most likely jammed or overloaded. The unit will retract and try to continue cycling.Preparation. If Litter-Robot 4 has a blue light bar with a yellow blinking light adjacent to the Connect button, this indicates that the unit is in Onboarding mode and waiting to be connected to the app.. You can now proceed with the onboarding process within the Whisker App to finalize connection.. When your Litter-Robot 4 has successfully completed onboarding, the blinking yellow light will ...If the light bar on your Litter-Robot 4 has a single yellow light that moves with the rotation of the globe, this means your unit is performing a cleaning cycle or an empty cycle. No action is needed. This is a normal light bar status. Please allow the unit to continue the cycle. If you need to pause the cycle, press the Cycle button.When powered on, it will perform the clean cycle per normal but I have already noticed plastic rubbing I'm assuming between the globe and bonnet. The big issue is that the LR4 will not actually work beyond that initial cleaning cycle. The light bar just perpetually flashes between green and red and I don't even see anything on their support ...Locate and press the Power button. Litter-Robot will perform an initial clean cycle that will last about 2 ½ minutes. Litter-Robot 3 Connect: Download the Whisker App. Download the Whisker app and follow the onboarding instructions. Introducing your cat to Litter-Robot. Most likely, your cat will quickly adapt to Litter-Robot.Litter-Robot by using some catnip or a favourite treat. 2. Add a scoop of litter from the old litter box to provide a familiar scent for your cat. 3. Place treats on the step or handle around the Litter-Robot so your cat associates rewards with the unit. 4. Once you notice that your cats have used the Litter-Robot, power the unit on to cycle ...Ready & Cycle light both on . User Experiences I hope this hasn't been asked 1000 times but recently both the blue/yellow light have been on all the time except when it is cycling. It's not so much impacting the function (yet) but it is somewhat concerning. ... After posts saying the Litter Robot 4 wasn't safe, with the pinch detectors ...If your Litter-Robot 3 is displaying a yellow light flashing slowly, this indicates a cycle has been interrupted either by the cat sensor or bonnet removal. Press the Reset button to resume the cycle. If your unit returned home and displays a solid blue light, you've been successful. If your unit is not displaying a solid blue light after ...Emptying the Liter-Robot. Press the Empty buton to cycle the Globe clockwise, which will allow the liter to fall through the Waste Port and into the Waste Drawer for easy disposal. If liter remains in the Globe, sweep the granules toward the Waste Port. Press any buton to return the Globe to the Home position.For more info, reference our Litter-Robot 4: Yellow light bar flashing (Bonnet removed) support article. Anti-pinch safety feature. The Litter-Robot is equipped with anti-pinch sensors on both sides of the waste drawer chute to ensure your cat's safety while using the Litter-Robot. These sensors monitor for potential pinch conditions at all ...Your Litter-Robot comes fully assembled and ready to use. Get started by following the steps below. If possible, place Litter-Robot in the same location as the old litter box (at least during transition). Make sure the unit is on a firm, level surface in a cool, dry location. Locate the unit near a power outlet.Hi , I have bought my litter robot 5 months ago . Yesterday it started to blink the blue light but the drawer was completely empty so I pressed reset and it was ok . Today same thing happened but when i presed the reset buton ,the cycling indicator started to rapidly blink. I checked on your forum for help and did a full sensor clean up I tried to reset but couldn't. Please I need help !Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Litter-Robot 3 Connect & Ramp by Whisker, Beige - Automatic, Self-Cleaning Cat Litter Box, App Controlled, Helps Reduce Litter Box Odors, Works with Any Clumping Litter, WhiskerCare 1-Year Warranty at Amazon.com. Read honest and unbiased product reviews from our users.Your Litter-Robot comes fully assembled and ready to use. Get started by following the steps below. If possible, place Litter-Robot in the same location as the old litter box (at least during transition). Make sure the unit is on a firm, level surface in a cool, dry location. Locate the unit near a power outlet.1. When your cat exits Litter-Robot, a timer counts down, allowing the litter to clump before a clean cycle begins. 2. During the clean cycle, the globe slowly rotates. The patented sifting process separates the clumps from the clean litter. 3. The clumps are deposited into a sealed waste drawer below. 4.The globe begins rotating counterclockwise with the solid yellow light on. After several seconds, press the ‘Reset’ button to pause the cycle. [/font] [font=system-ui, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Segoe UI, Roboto, Oxygen-Sans, Ubuntu, Cantarell, Helvetica Neue, Arial, sans-serif] 7. While the cycle is paused, press ‘Reset’ again ...The globe begins rotating counterclockwise with the solid yellow light on. After several seconds, press the ‘Reset’ button to pause the cycle. [/font] [font=system-ui, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Segoe UI, Roboto, Oxygen-Sans, Ubuntu, Cantarell, Helvetica Neue, Arial, sans-serif] 7. While the cycle is paused, press ‘Reset’ again ...Garbage products. I would suggest if you are considering purchasing a Litter-Robot that you do not buy one. They are too expensive to not work as often as it does not work. Our cat doesn't even fit in the damn thing. So woke up this morning with litter robot 4 offline. The big light is solid blue with the little light flashing blue.The Litter Robot is a popular automatic litter box that is designed to simplify the process of cleaning cat litter. The device is easy to use and is equipped with a variety of features that help to make the litter box maintenance process easier and more convenient. One of the features that can be found on the Litter Robot is the cycling light.Easy fix on how to get rid of that annoying flashing yellow light on your Litter Robot 3. ... Easy fix on how to get rid of that annoying flashing yellow light on your Litter Robot 3. Litter can ...Aside from the main power light, there are three lights on the Litter Robot 3 control panel, which are blue (ready button), yellow (cycling button) and red (timing button). There are also four buttons which are "power", "cycle", "empty" and "reset".Your Litter-Robot comes fully assembled and ready to use. Get started by following the steps below. If possible, place Litter-Robot in the same location as the old litter box (at least during transition). Make sure the unit is on a firm, level surface in a cool, dry location. Locate the unit near a power outlet.Guardforce AI (GFAI) stock is rocketing higher on Friday following news of a $10 million deal to acquire two robotics companies. GFAI is up on acquisition news Guardforce AI (NASDA...The tray's empty and the light still blinks with or without a bag. None of the buttons work and there's no start up cycle when I switch it on and off. The lights flash sequentially when it boots up, but it always settles on a blinking blue light. I can still switch the Litter Robot on and off via the app but I can't do anything else.I downloaded the app, and it said to press cycle and empty buttons in the same time and wait until the power button turns from white to blue. Tbh it doesn't even have a white light like It's supposed to have. I pressed the buttons for a long time and nothing happened, I plugged it out for 5 minutes and tried again but still nothing.Discover how to troubleshoot issues related to the bonnet removal on your Litter-Robot 3. Learn about yellow flashing lights, the wire harness, the night light, and more. ... The Litter-Robot should return home displaying a blue 'ready light' status. Unsuccessful: If your unit is not displaying a solid blue light after returning to home ...Cycling issues after cleaning - LR4 Litter-Robot 4 Whenever I clean my Litter-Robot-4 I have immediate issues with it cycling correctly. It will flash yellow until the red and white lights come on. I have done the hard reset by unplugging it and pressing the reset and connect buttons. ... [USA] Clueless red light runner collides with pickup ...If your unit displays a yellow light bar, this indicates that the unit has been "paused". Pressing the Cycle or Reset button should get it to resume cycling. If it does not, please power the unit off and back on using the Power button. If your unit displays a blue light bar, you've been successful. If your unit is still displaying a yellow ...Power. Press and release the Power button to turn the robot ON of OFF. The robot will begin a clean cycle when power is turned on. Press and hold, while at the home position, to enter night light setting mode. Cycle. Press and release the Cycle button to start a clean cycle. If already cycling, press Cycle to pause; press again to resume a cycle.Reply. Share. litterrobot. • 3 mo. ago. If you've got 3 solid blue lights, and 2 flashing yellow, make sure your LR4 is on level ground (not on carpet, a litter mat, a power cord, or leaning against a wall). That light pattern lets you know the Robot or its scale feet are unbalanced. 1.The blue light may flash if the sensors are not clean. Litter Clumps Stuck in Gears: Sometimes, clumps of litter can get stuck in the gears of the Litter Robot, causing it to malfunction and display a blue light. Power Supply Issues: A fluctuating power supply or inadequate power can also lead to the blue light flashing.Now, let's run a test cycle. Short press the Reset button, then short press the Cycle button to run a clean cycle. Successful: After your Litter-Robot cycles, it should return to the Home position, displaying a solid blue light. If your waste drawer gauge is accurate (within 5%), you've been successful. Unsuccessful: If your waste drawer gauge ...BEFORE DOING THIS BYPASS HACK:Be sure to do the usual fixes first.. Clean plastic pinch detector part that flexes first (the cracks), then clean both sides o...If the Litter-Robot seems to turn on and off rapidly, the problem is caused by the power supply, which cannot give enough current and turns on and off rapidly. We suggest you to replace your power supply. The power supply was verified by a voltmeter to be giving out 15v consistently as I mentioned before.Locate and press the Power button. Litter-Robot will perform an initial clean cycle that will last about 2 ½ minutes. Litter-Robot 3 Connect: Download the Whisker App. Download the Whisker app and follow the onboarding instructions. Introducing your cat to Litter-Robot. Most likely, your cat will quickly adapt to Litter-Robot.The shield is a possible cause for the three lights flashing fault. We strongly recommend removing the internal shield. If your Litter-Robot was built before February of 2018, you may have an internal shield. The internal shield is not necessary for the unit to function and was removed from the design in March 2018.Litter-Robot takes the yucky task of scooping off your hands. Neutralize litter box odors, and give kitty a clean bed of litter every time with Litter-Robot 4. ... and receive customized alerts to find out when cycling occurs, the drawer is full, or the unit is paused. ... lock out the control panel, activate the night light, or even schedule ...The automatic night light, located in the upper bonnet, is there to help guide your cat to the litter box. A light sensor located above the Cycle button detects ambient light and turns the night light on and off automatically. Turn the night light function on and off by pressing and holding the Power button.The unit will cycle again 15 seconds after your cat has left the globe or 5 seconds after the bonnet is replaced. If your Litter-Robot is not detecting your cat or not cycling, complete the troubleshooting steps in our Litter-Robot 3: Cat not detected guide. If your Litter-Robot is slowly flashing yellow or stuck upside down due to the cat ...Jul 22, 2020 · A solid yellow light on your Litter-Robot 3 control panel indicates that the unit is cycling or paused, and requires no action from you. However, a Litter-Robot flashing yellow light could mean one of two things. Flashing yellow slowly. Flashing slowly (about once per second) means the Litter-Robot clean cycle was interrupted.Use needle-nose pliers to lift the bezel out of place. Separate the bezel from the control panel by pushing the buttons through and lifting up. Set the bezel and screws aside. Turn the keypad/circuit board over and unplug the 4-pin connector (that holds the red, yellow, black, and blue DFI wires).Now, let's run a test cycle. Short press the Reset button, then short press the Cycle button to run a clean cycle. Successful: After your Litter-Robot cycles, it should return to the Home position, displaying a solid blue light. If your waste drawer gauge is accurate (within 5%), you've been successful. Unsuccessful: If your waste drawer gauge ...When I turn on the Litter Robot 3 (non-connect), blue light is flashing, then I press Reset and fast yellow light is flashing. When I press Reset again, blue light is flashing and so on.. What I checked so far: - Anti Pinch Pins looks good and are touching each other. - DFI is clean and 4 IR LEDs are blinking once a second.Garbage products. I would suggest if you are considering purchasing a Litter-Robot that you do not buy one. They are too expensive to not work as often as it does not work. Our cat doesn't even fit in the damn thing. So woke up this morning with litter robot 4 offline. The big light is solid blue with the little light flashing blue.Learn how to troubleshoot and fix the cat sensor fault on your Litter-Robot 3. Follow step-by-step instructions to address red light flashing issues and ensure the proper functioning of the cat sensor. ... the unit should continue cycling after a brief pause. If the cat does not exit the robot, or if the cat sensor continues to detect weight ...If your unit has a blue light bar with partial yellow flashing or the unit will not cycle, this indicates that the scale has been triggered for more than 30 minutes. You will also receive a notification on your phone if you use the Whisker App. Place the unit on a firm, level surface. Avoid soft, uneven, or unstable flooring for accurate weight ...Litter-Robot will perform an initial Clean cycle, and the cat sensor will take a new measurement of the unit's weight. Success: The Litter-Robot should return home displaying a blue 'ready light' status. Unsuccessful: If your unit is not displaying a solid blue light after returning to home position, or cannot complete the cycle, please ...Add Litter 1 3 2 4 If possible, place the Litter-Robot in the same location as the old litter box (at least during transition). Make sure the unit is indoors on a firm, level surface and in a cool, dry location. Must not be touching any walls. Place litter mats or rugs in front of the unit. The Litter-Robot will now perform an initial clean ...Litter-Robot 4. $699. Buy From Litter-Robot. Footprint: 22 x 27 x 29.5 inches | Weight: 24 pounds | Minimum cat weight: 3 pounds | Available colors: Black or white, with eight bezel color options ...The Litter Robot Open Air III is the latest edition of the Litter Robot, a rotating automatic litter box. It automatically detects the presence of a cat inside of the globe and then starts a cleaning cycle, allowing you to forget about cleaning the litter box yourself. Its innovative gravity-driven sifting mechanism avoids some of the pitfalls ...Litter-Robot 3: Cycle delay setting. The cycle delay is the elapsed time starting from when your cat exits the globe until the unit starts a clean cycle. It can be set for 3, 7, or 15 minutes. The default cycle delay is 7 minutes. Reduce the cycle delay if it is important to minimize odor and/or the time that waste is accessible to other pets ...The Litter Robot 3 control panel provides the main user input /(buttons) and output (LEDs) for the robot. Aside from the main power light, there are three lights on the Litter Robot 3 control panel, which are blue (ready button), yellow (cycling button) and red (timing button). There are also four buttons which are "power", "cycle", "empty" and ...When I turn on the Litter Robot 3 (non-connect), blue light is flashing, then I press Reset and fast yellow light is flashing. When I press Reset again, blue light is flashing and so on.. What I checked so far: - Anti Pinch Pins looks good and are touching each other. - DFI is clean and 4 IR LEDs are blinking once a second.Shop ECOVACS Robotics DEEBOT T20 OMNI Wi-Fi Connected Robot Vacuum & Mop with Self Washing Auto Empty Station WHITE at Best Buy. Find low everyday prices and …Got a brand new LR4 today, set it up as directed. Litter slightly under fill line, sitting away from walls on a flat hardwood floor surface. Any time my cats go inside and exit, the lights stay red until I turn it off or manually reset it. I’ve tried changing litter levels, power cycling and cleaning the sensors with a Q tip.This video shows you how to get the 3 lights on the Litter-Robot 3 to stop blinking. Litter-Robot 3 Buying Options: 💵 Worried about your cats using it? Wan...Open the Whisker app. Select your Litter-Robot 4. Select the Settings gear in the top right corner. Select Update Network. Follow the steps listed within the app. Once the update is complete, your Litter-Robot should be ready for use. If your unit displays a solid blue light bar, you've been successful. If your unit is not displaying a solid ...Press and hold the Reset button for about 5 seconds to enter or exit Control Panel Lockout. The blue light will blink to confirm status. The Litter-Robot functions normally in Automatic Mode during Control Panel Lockout. During Control Panel Lockout, you can still turn the unit off by pressing and holding the Power button for 3 seconds. Find ...For those who have been enjoying the Litter-Robot automatic self cleaning litter box for a few months or a few years, you know that this is a great product that has very few issues. But, it is a robot with sensors etc. that can fail with usage. We do have tricks and things to verify for basic issues This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://community.robotshop.com ...Title says it all. Got a brand new litter robot 4 this Saturday. The thing keeps cycling every 10-15 minutes. The light turns & stays blue (all clear) for ~15 mins after a cycle completes, before the litter robot "detects" a cat again and the light goes red. I've tried cleaning the IR sensors up front, but that didn't help.Settings. A 3-second long press of the Empty button enters or exits cycle delay setting mode. The light bar will indicate the current cycle delay setting. Subsequent short presses of the Empty button will toggle through the available settings. 1 green light equals 3 minutes. 2 green lights equals 7 minutes. 3 green lights equals 15 minutes.BLUE LIGHT. When you see the blue light flashing on the Litter Robot 4, it signals a full waste drawer. Additionally, paired flashing with yellow WiFi indicates onboarding mode, and with blue WiFi shows app connection issues. for more details, you can read this How To Fix Litter Robot Blue Light Blinking. - Flashing: The waste drawer is full.So, this is going to sound like a cop out (because, honestly, it kind of is), but the through line for the past week’s robotics investments is variety. That is to say that this wee...The Litter-Robot is equipped with an Anti-Pinch safety feature to make the Litter-Robot extra safe for your cat. While cycling, if a potential pinch condition is detected, the globe will stop and reverse direction for 2 seconds. The yellow light will begin flashing quickly, about four times per second. You will also receive a notification on ...It's yellow. It's not the cycle button but the cycling light that stays lit. Like when it's normally rotating. Oh no, I'm sorry to hear about this! I suggest getting in contact with our support team. They would be more than happy to resolve this for you. Please contact 877-250-7729 or [email protected] .If your unit displays a yellow light bar, this indicates that the unit has been "paused". Pressing the Cycle or Reset button should get it to resume cycling. If it does not, please power the unit off and back on using the Power button. If your unit displays a blue light bar, you've been successful. If your unit is still displaying a yellow ...Advanced button functions. Long press Power + Cycle buttons. Send power to Aux1 (light bar is alternating purple and blue). Long press Cycle + Reset buttons. Enable or disable control panel lockout to prevent unwanted changes, while allowing unit to function normally. Long press Cycle + Empty buttons.The Litter-Robot is equipped with an Anti-Pinch safety feature to make the Litter-Robot extra safe for your cat. While cycling, if a potential pinch condition is detected, the globe will stop and reverse direction for 2 seconds. The yellow light will begin flashing quickly, about four times per second. You will also receive a notification on ...litter robot ready and cycling light on OFF-57% Shipping free. litter robot ready and cycling light on OFF-57% Shipping free. 4.7 (146) · USD 16.64 · In stock. Description. The Alt Shield is one solid piece that has a lip on the back that snaps onto the rim of the LR3 so when the globe turns upside down during the.Hello, I have the litter robot 3, I've had it since maybe September and haven't had many issues with it (other than it getting stuck mid cycle Sometimes but it fixes itself once I hit reset). Two days ago I got the flashing lights of death; the anti pinch sensor. I finally took it apart today, took the base apart andcleaned the pinch metal ...Customize alerts to find out when cycling occurs, the drawer is full, or the unit is paused. Manage your settings. Adjust the Litter-Robot cycle delay, lock out the control panel, activate the night light, or schedule sleep mode. Connect multiple robots. Onboard one or more Litter-Robots or Feeder-Robots to the Whisker app.Litter-Robot 4: Connect light status (WiFi) · Blue: WiFi is connected, and the unit is ready for the next use. · White: WiFi is turned off. · Blinking Blue: Wi...Came home to my Litter-Robot in the upside down position and the yellow flashing (2 flashes per second) and I can, As long as your Litter-Robot 4 is connected to your home WiFi, you should be able to complete this firmware , Remove the internal shield. Press the Power button to turn the unit off and unplug the unit from the wall. Pr, Power. Press and release the Power button to turn the robot ON of OFF. The , I cannot onboard my Litter-Robot 3 to the Whisker app. First, download or update to the latest version , Title says it all. Got a brand new litter robot 4 this Saturday. The , Litter robot 4 stuck at all red lights. Litter-Robot 4 ... It's been a , I have litter robot 3, open air. When the lights in my hou, Customize alerts to find out when cycling occurs, the drawer is ful, These sensors detect when a cat has entered or exited the un, If your unit has a blue light bar with partial yellow flash, Litter-Robot 3: Yellow and Blue Light (8-Hour Sleep Mode) This mo, Litter-Robot 4: Blue light bar with yellow blinking WiFi (Onboa, The unit will cycle again 15 seconds after your cat has left the g, Maybe ur motor got disconnected from power. It sits in a h, Press the Cycle button to resume the cycle. Press the Re, Litter-Robot will then perform a Clean cycle and retu, The Litter Robot 3 control panel provides the main user input .