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Sphero's new company wants to bring intelligent robots into your home
Sphero is mainly known for its connected toys, and, of course, Star Wars' BB-8 Droid (which it also turned into a very popular gadget). But the company has also been working on grander plans all the while. Today, Sphero announced that it's spinning off its advanced robotics division into a new company, Misty Robotics, which will be focused on bringing intelligent personal robots into homes and offices. Surprisingly, the company plans to release its first product next year, TechCrunch reports.
Sphero ditches the robots for a storytelling Spider-Man toy
Sphero is moving beyond cute, connected rolling balls fast. Less than a month after introducing a tie-in for the animated movie franchise Cars, the company's now taking the wraps off of its first non-robotic product. And it's another toy built in partnership with Disney. Meet Sphero's Spider-Man, a replica of the beloved Marvel superhero than listens and responds to your voice commands. Unlike with its versions of BB-8 and Ultimate Lightning McQueen though, this Spider-Man doesn't depend on an app to be fully functional.
Sphero's latest app-controlled toy is a 'Cars 3' tie-in
Sphero's made a name for itself with connected, rolling toys like the Ollie, SPRK and, perhaps most famously, the Star Wars-inspired BB-8. Of course, the company couldn't have brought its replica of the Force Awakens character to market without Disney's approval, and the two seem to be keen on working together. Today, Sphero introduced its first app-controlled car, based on the "Ultimate Lighting McQueen" personality from Pixar's Cars franchise. Sphero says the new toy is its most animatronic device yet, featuring six motors for steering, drifting, lifting and moving up and down, as well as animated eyes and a mouth that make it feel more realistic.
Learning and STEM toys we love
By Courtney Schley This post was done in partnership with The Wirecutter, a buyer's guide to the best technology. When readers choose to buy The Wirecutter's independently chosen editorial picks, it may earn affiliate commissions that supports its work. Read the full article here. We don't think there's a right or wrong way for kids to play. For this kid-oriented gift guide, we focused on open-ended games, kits, toys, and crafts that promote lifelong skills like critical thinking, problem solving, logic, and even coding. To choose from the hundreds of toys available, we spent more than 30 hours trying 35 recommendations from experts, educators, and parents, including a reporting trip to the Katherine Delmar Burke School's tinkering and technology lab in San Francisco. And, of course, we spent some time playing with our picks at home with our own kids.
Sphero's Force Band can now control your home over IFTTT
Sphero's motion-tracking Force Band can now control more than a tiny (and utterly adorable) BB-8 droid. The company has teamed up with If This Then That (IFTT) to integrate the "force" with countless apps and smart home devices. IFTTT, if you need a reminder, is a service that lets you automate pretty much anything with "triggers" and "actions." You can use it to turn on your Hue lights as soon as you walk through the front door, or tweet your Instagrams as native photos on Twitter. With the Force Band, you can now activate these same actions with a force push, pull or stop.
IFA 2016 day one: Battle-worn BB-8 and Acer's new Chromebook
Even though we've been in Berlin for a few days, Friday was actually the first official day of IFA 2016. And, as expected, there's a lot to see on the show floor. Yesterday, we checked out Sphero's "Battle-worn" BB-8 and its companion Force Band, a wearable that lets you control the droid with hand gestures. We also took a look at Acer's new Chromebook R13, a sleek $400 laptop, as well as Withings' first smartwatch with a heart rate monitor. Much more to come from the event, but for now enjoy our recap of day one. We're live all week from Berlin, Germany, for IFA 2016. Click here to catch up on all the news from the show.
The best 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens' toy gets even better
Sphero's BB-8 quickly became the most sought-after Star Wars toy when it was revealed last year. Now, the company is introducing a "Battle-worn" edition of the droid at IFA 2016, featuring a murky appearance that makes it further resemble the character from Star Wars: The Force Awakens. But that's not it. Along with this new rolling ball, Sphero introduced the final version of its Force Band, which lets you control BB-8 by simply waving your hand. The wearable device is also compatible with two other members of Sphero's robot family, the SPRK+ and Ollie.
Sphero's Force Band, battle-worn BB-8 arrive on September 30th
Sphero is ready to start selling Force Bands -- wristwatch-like devices that will give you a way to control its BB-8 droids with a wave of the hand -- and they sure look much better than the toy-like demo unit we tested at CES. Besides being able to control the BB-8 and Sphero's other Bluetooth robots with hand gestures, the device also issues voice prompts letting you know if there are Holocrons (images of Star Wars characters) in the environment that you can collect à la Pokémon Go. They can make light saber sounds, as well, if want to reenact Rey's and Kylo Ren's duel in your living room.
Sphero's SPRK robot for kids can now withstand more abuse
Nearly two years ago, Sphero decided to turn its robot ball into more than a toy. The company launched SPRK, an educational program for kids to build up their coding skills, as a complement to its charming connected device. Then, in 2015, it followed that up with the Sphero SPRK Edition, a redesigned version with a clear shell and a companion app that let users set up commands for the robot to follow. Now Sphero is introducing the second generation of its education-focused ball, dubbed SPRK+. It's a minor but still noteworthy upgrade compared to the original version.
You can watch 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens' with BB-8
If you enjoyed Star Wars: The Force Awakens, April will likely bring more joy in the form of Blu-ray and streaming availability. Chances are that you'll sit down with friends and family to watch Finn and Rey on your own big screen, but if you find yourself alone, you could also enjoy the action with one of the film's stars. Thanks to a new app update from Sphero, the little BB-8 bot that first went on sale back in September will now watch and react to what's happening on screen with sounds and movement.
LG's cute Rolling Bot takes a casual stroll at MWC
LG has a new friend for its G5 flagship smartphone. LG named it Rolling Bot. Rolling Bot is cute, though right now it doesn't do very much. You can control it with a G5, but it moves very slow -- so slow. There's a laser in it, so your cat will probably love it.
Sphero's Force Band will let you control BB-8 with gestures
Sphero's smartphone-controlled BB-8 droid (from the new Star Wars film, of course) is one of the cooler toys we've seen. The company's looking to add an extra level of interactivity to the droid by means of a wristband that'll let you roll it around with gestures. The so-called Force Band will be sold separately so that existing BB-8 owners can add gesture controls to their droid when it comes out in the fall of this year.
Engadget UK giveaway: win an Ollie bot and spine ramp courtesy of Sphero
The leftovers have been eaten and the games put away, but don't let your festive spirit dwindle just yet. We know all too well what Christmas can be like for big kids. Sure, everyone likes a nice scarf and fresh underwear to see in the new year, but functional presents just aren't the same as fun ones. Well, lucky for you, our friends at Sphero have supplied us with four of their smartphone-controlled bots to send out as belated Christmas gifts. We've got two of the white Ollie bots and two Darkside models up for grabs, with each winner also receiving an Ollie Spine Ramp for getting their trick on. As per usual, you can enter the competition up to three times via the Rafflecopter widget below, but don't forget to give the rules a quick scan first.
ICYMI: Self-healing plastic, Star Wars gear and more
#fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-241742{display:none;} .cke_show_borders #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-241742, #postcontentcontainer #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-241742{width:570px;display:block;} try{document.getElementById("fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-241742").style.display="none";}catch(e){}Today on In Case You Missed It: We are seriously in awe of the scientific discovery that came from studying squid. Researchers developed a plastic that can reform, no weaker, after getting cut in half-- just so long as water is applied to it. And if you have a couple hundred dollars to blow, you can use it to buy an alarm clock that syncs with Spotify to gently ease you in and out of sleep with a matching glowing light. Also check out the new smart stethoscope product for medical professionals, allowing them to record the heartbeats they hear, then analyze the sounds in an app.
Where to buy Sphero's BB-8 'Star Wars' toy in the UK
The Force Awakens is still a few months away, but already Star Wars fans have fallen in love with one of the film's supporting characters: BB-8. The rolling droid is a spiritual successor to R2-D2 and now, thanks to Sphero, you can buy your own miniaturised version. It connects to iOS and Android devices and, using the companion app, you can switch it between three different behavioural modes: Driving, Holographic Messaging and Patrol. But where can you buy this little curiosity on "Force Friday?" We've got you covered.
Sphero's BB-8 is the 'Star Wars' toy everyone will want
Back when Disney released the first trailer to Star Wars: The Force Awakens, one of the characters that caught most people's eye was BB-8. And for good reason: it's an adorable rolling droid. Now, Disney is bringing it to everyone through Sphero, the company known for its connected robotic toys. Meet BB-8 by Sphero, a toy version of the ball-shaped personality you'll see in the next Star Wars episode, which opens in theaters December 18th. Although this droid comes on a smaller scale than the prop introduced at the Star Wars Celebration a few months ago, it is as close to the real thing as you're going to get. Best of all, it is arguably one of the best (and cutest) Star Wars toys to date -- and that's saying a lot.
Sphero targets the education market with a redesigned robot
Sphero's road to becoming more than a toy began last year with SPRK, an educational program that let kids build up their coding skills. Fast forward to today and the company, formerly known as Orbotix, is introducing a new edition of its robot to keep growing that initiative. This model offers basically the same features as Sphero 2.0, including Bluetooth and up to 4.5mph speeds, but the freshly minted clear shell gives it an updated look and allows us to see its glowing innards. What's more, Sphero has released a companion SPRK app on iOS and Android that makes it easy for students, parents and teachers to set up commands for the robot to follow. This process is simplified by OVAL, Sphero's own low-level coding language, which uses simple visual blocks to represent different elements of the robot -- such as color, speed and spin. The Sphero SPRK Edition is available now in the US for $130, and the firm says its charming device will launch across more countries "soon."
Vortex lets kids program their own robot buddy
Sphero, the ball-shaped robot, inspired a new generation of toys that aren't only fun, but can also be used as educational tools for kids. Vortex, pictured above, is one of these. Created by DFRobot, a company that's been selling open-source hardware since 2008, Vortex is being revealed today via Kickstarter, with the goal being to raise $50,000 through crowdfunding. Vortex, which is small enough to fit on the palm of your hand, is described as a smart and responsive device that's meant to inspire incredible fun and creativity -- and that it does. It's not nearly as fast as the Sphero 2.0 or Ollie, but Vortex wants to shine in other specific areas, namely its multiplayer and Arduino features.
Sphero is turning the 'Star Wars' rolling droid into a real toy
BB-8, the new adorable droid from Star Wars: The Force Awakens, has taken the world by storm over the past few days. In particular, people were mostly surprised by the fact that the character was not computer-generated imagery -- this thing is, indeed, real. Now, following earlier reports, Sphero, a company that makes robotic toys for entertainment and educational purposes, is confirming that its technology is behind Disney's now-famed BB-8 droid ball. And be ready, because there's a consumer version in the works. Sphero says it is teaming up with Disney to "deliver an incredible and authentic BB-8 experience." Further details (like pricing or availability) are slim at the moment, but Sphero did set up a landing page for people who want to stay updated on the project.
It took two days before someone built their own BB-8 ball droid
The first proper trailer may have stolen the show at Star Wars Celebration, but the revelation that spherical droid BB-8 was a physical prop came a very close second. Like a lot of people, when industrial designer Christian Poulsen saw the adorable sentient ball roll onto stage, he decided he had to build one of his own. Unlike plenty of others, however, the BYU student was able to design and build a working copy the following day. Turns out that you can too, as long as you've got a Sphero and a CNC machine lying around the place.