Sphero, Inc. (formerly Orbotix) is an American consumer

robotics Robotics is an interdisciplinary branch of computer science and engineering. Robotics involves design, construction, operation, and use of robots. The goal of robotics is to design machines that can help and assist humans. Robotics integrat ...

and toy company based in

Boulder, Colorado Boulder is a home rule city that is the county seat and most populous municipality of Boulder County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 108,250 at the 2020 United States census, making it the 12th most populous city in Color ...

. Their first product, the Sphero, is a white spherical robot launched in December 2011 capable of rolling around under the control of a smartphone or tablet. A remastered version, the Sphero 2.0, was launched in August 2013. Both products are now discontinued. In 2015, Sphero struck a licensing deal with

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

to create a

BB-8 BB-8 (or Beebee-Ate) is a droid character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise. He appeared in the three films of the sequel trilogy, '' Star Wars: The Force Awakens'' (2015), '' Star Wars: The Last Jedi'' (2017), and '' Star Wars: The Rise of Skywa ...

robot based on the '' Star Wars: The Force Awakens'' film. Following the success of that robot, Sphero also created a model of

R2-D2 R2-D2 () or Artoo-Detoo is a fictional robot character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise created by George Lucas. He has appeared in ten of the eleven theatrical ''Star Wars'' films to date. At various points throughout the course of the films, R2, ...

and

Lightning McQueen Montgomery "Lightning" McQueen is a fictional anthropomorphic stock car who is the protagonist of the animated Pixar franchise '' Cars'', primarily voiced by actor Owen Wilson. His appearances include the feature films '' Cars'', ''Cars 2'', and ...

. The Disney products were discontinued in 2018 after their partnership ended. Sphero's current product lineup includes several spherical robots like the original Sphero: the Sphero Mini, BOLT, and SPRK+. On February 19, 2019, Sphero announced a programmable tank-tracked kit called the Sphero RVR (pronounced "rover") on

Kickstarter Kickstarter is an American public benefit corporation based in Brooklyn, New York, that maintains a global crowdfunding platform focused on creativity. The company's stated mission is to "help bring creative projects to life". As of July 2021, ...

. It is advertised as a "go anywhere, do anything programmable robot" with modular parts and all-terrain capability. It has an increased focus on education, and has been released in October 2019 at $249. In August 2019, Sphero acquired New York City-based startup,

littleBits littleBits is a New York City-based startup that makes an open source library of modular electronics ( open-source electronics), which snap together with small magnets for prototyping and learning. The company's goal is to democratize hardware t ...

Products

Sphero 1.0 and 2.0

The original Sphero was initially prototyped by its inventors, Ian Bernstein and Adam Wilson, with a 3D-printed shell and electronics taken from a

smartphone A smartphone is a portable computer device that combines mobile telephone and computing functions into one unit. They are distinguished from feature phones by their stronger hardware capabilities and extensive mobile operating systems, whic ...

. It was then demonstrated at CES in 2011. It was released in 2011 and is a white orb that has a diameter of and weighs . The processor on board is a 75 MHz

ARM Cortex This is a list of central processing units based on the ARM family of instruction sets designed by ARM Ltd. and third parties, sorted by version of the ARM instruction set, release and name. In 2005, ARM provided a summary of the numerous vendo ...

M4. It has two 350 mAh

LiPo A lithium polymer battery, or more correctly lithium-ion polymer battery (abbreviated as LiPo, LIP, Li-poly, lithium-poly and others), is a rechargeable battery of lithium-ion technology using a polymer electrolyte instead of a liquid electrolyt ...

batteries, two color LEDs, an

accelerometer An accelerometer is a tool that measures proper acceleration. Proper acceleration is the acceleration (the rate of change of velocity) of a body in its own instantaneous rest frame; this is different from coordinate acceleration, which is accele ...

, and a

gyroscope A gyroscope (from Ancient Greek γῦρος ''gŷros'', "round" and σκοπέω ''skopéō'', "to look") is a device used for measuring or maintaining orientation and angular velocity. It is a spinning wheel or disc in which the axis of rota ...

Bluetooth Bluetooth is a short-range wireless technology standard that is used for exchanging data between fixed and mobile devices over short distances and building personal area networks (PANs). In the most widely used mode, transmission power is limi ...

is used for communication and inductive charging for power. A refreshed version, Sphero 2.0, was released in 2013, featuring a twice-as-fast speed and increased LED brightness. The toys are controlled with a

or tablet running

iOS iOS (formerly iPhone OS) is a mobile operating system created and developed by Apple Inc. exclusively for its hardware. It is the operating system that powers many of the company's mobile devices, including the iPhone; the term also include ...

, Android or

Windows Phone Windows Phone (WP) is a discontinued family of mobile operating systems developed by Microsoft for smartphones as the replacement successor to Windows Mobile and Zune. Windows Phone featured a new user interface derived from the Metro design la ...

via

. Since they have an

and a

, it can also be used as a

controller Controller may refer to: Occupations * Controller or financial controller, or in government accounting comptroller, a senior accounting position * Controller, someone who performs agent handling in espionage * Air traffic controller, a person ...

for games on iOS and Android platforms. As it includes an SDK, several apps and

games A game is a structured form of play, usually undertaken for entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an educational tool. Many games are also considered to be work (such as professional players of spectator sports or games) or art (such ...

have been developed for the platform. Users can program the toys with an app called Sphero Macrolab which includes a set of predefined macros, and orbBasic which uses a

BASIC BASIC (Beginners' All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code) is a family of general-purpose, high-level programming languages designed for ease of use. The original version was created by John G. Kemeny and Thomas E. Kurtz at Dartmouth College ...

-based

language Language is a structured system of communication. The structure of a language is its grammar and the free components are its vocabulary. Languages are the primary means by which humans communicate, and may be conveyed through a variety of met ...

. Both Sphero 1.0 and 2.0 have been discontinued. Sphero 1.0 is not compatible with either Sphero Play or Sphero EDU apps .

Ollie

The Sphero Ollie, released in 2014, uses tires instead of being a rolling ball. With its ability to spin, it is more intended for doing tricks. Instead of using inductive charging, the Ollie uses a

micro-USB The initial versions of the USB standard specified connectors that were easy to use and that would have acceptable life spans; revisions of the standard added smaller connectors useful for compact portable devices. Higher-speed development of ...

port for charging. It goes at speeds up to .

BB-8

In July 2014, while participating in

's technology accelerator program for startups, Sphero's staff were invited into a private meeting with Disney CEO

Bob Iger Robert Allen Iger (; born February 10, 1951) is an American businessman who is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of The Walt Disney Company. He previously served as the President of ABC Television between 1994 and 1995 and the President and Ch ...

, who showed them then-unseen photos from the production of the 2015 film '' Star Wars: The Force Awakens'' and images of

—a spherical droid character introduced in the film, and were offered a licensing deal to produce an official BB-8 toy based on Sphero's technology. Disney also made a minority investment in Sphero. The BB-8 toy was released on September 4, 2015; it is accompanied by a special ''Star Wars''-themed control app, which also features

augmented reality Augmented reality (AR) is an interactive experience that combines the real world and computer-generated content. The content can span multiple sensory modalities, including visual, auditory, haptic, somatosensory and olfactory. AR can be de ...

"holographic" messages. It has been discontinued after the Disney-Sphero partnership ended.

R2-D2

Following on from the success of the BB-8 robot, Sphero has released a

robot that is powered by Sphero technology. This is accompanied by an app which is available for

and

Android (operating system) Android is a mobile operating system based on a modified version of the Linux kernel and other open-source software, designed primarily for touchscreen mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets. Android is developed by a consortium of de ...

powered devices. The R2-D2 droid, unlike the BB-8 and Sphero droids is not inductively charged, instead, a micro-USB connection is used. It has been discontinued after the Disney-Sphero partnership ended.

Ultimate Lightning McQueen

In 2017, Sphero released a robotic car modeled after

as part of their partnership with Disney. It has been discontinued after the Disney-Sphero partnership ended.

Sphero Bolt

Sphero Bolt is a transparent version of the Sphero robot, with a diameter of and weighs . It is sealed and has an inductive charger. This model has the most sensors of the various Sphero robots, including motor encoders, gyroscope, accelerometer, 8x8 LED matrix display, compass, infrared, and light sensors.

Sphero SPRK+

Sphero SPRK+ is also a transparent version of the Sphero robot, with a diameter of and weighs . It is sealed and has an inductive charger. This model is intended for educational use.

Sphero Mini

Sphero Mini is a smaller version of the Sphero robot, with a diameter of and weighs . It is the first Sphero robot to have interchangeable shells. These shells are very colorful, and come in white, blue, pink, green, and orange. The Mini is the cheapest robot made by Sphero at $49. The Mini has a new feature called Face Drive which lets the user drive the robot through the app with different head movements. The Mini is charged with a

micro USB The initial versions of the USB standard specified connectors that were easy to use and that would have acceptable life spans; revisions of the standard added smaller connectors useful for compact portable devices. Higher-speed development of t ...

port, which means that unlike the Sphero 2.0, it is not waterproof. You can create your own games in the Sphero Edu app with Sphero Mini.

Sphero RVR

Sphero RVR (pronounced "rover") is a programmable robot kit introduced by Sphero on

on February 19, 2019. It is advertised as a "go anywhere, do anything programmable robot." It can be programmed using the app, either visually or via text

JavaScript JavaScript (), often abbreviated as JS, is a programming language that is one of the core technologies of the World Wide Web, alongside HTML and CSS. As of 2022, 98% of Website, websites use JavaScript on the Client (computing), client side ...

. The robot is modular, with various sensors and boards able to be attached, including

Arduino Arduino () is an open-source hardware and software company, project, and user community that designs and manufactures single-board microcontrollers and microcontroller kits for building digital devices. Its hardware products are licensed unde ...

and

Raspberry Pi Raspberry Pi () is a series of small single-board computers (SBCs) developed in the United Kingdom by the Raspberry Pi Foundation in association with Broadcom. The Raspberry Pi project originally leaned towards the promotion of teaching basic ...

. It has a swappable battery charged via a

USB-C USB-C (properly known as USB Type-C) is a 24-pin USB connector system with a rotationally symmetrical connector. The designation C refers only to the connector's physical configuration or form factor and should not be confused with the conne ...

port. It has an increased focus on education. It has been released in October 2019 at $249.

Sphero indi

Sphero indi is a programmable robot designed for younger learners. The primary function of the robot is its inclusion of an

image sensor An image sensor or imager is a sensor that detects and conveys information used to make an image. It does so by converting the variable attenuation of light waves (as they pass through or reflect off objects) into signals, small bursts of c ...

to detect different colored cards that it can drive over. It can be used with the Sphero Edu Jr. app or with no smart device at all.

References

{{reflist Spherical orb robots Robot kits Educational toys Toy companies of the United States Robotics companies of the United States