sPhero mINI roboT

£54.99

I wonder if the design brief for this said something like “BB8 from Star wars - in miniature!”? It’s the first thing that sprang to my mind, I must admit, although we’re probably quite a ways off from getting that head to stay in place… Of course, this is ignoring the golf-ball aesthetic but hey, my mind goes off on tangents too easily, what am I to do? Focus on the tech, that’s what! The Sphero Mini Robot Ball has a gyroscope and accelerometer built in as well as LED lights and is controlled via the Sphero Play app. The app allows you to control the ball in several different ways. You can tilt your mobile device to direct it, use a joystick button on your touchscreen or use slingshot (what you do when playing Angry Birds) to propel the ball where you want it to go. As fun as all the above is, this just seems on the surface to be a fun kid’s toy but it’s real worth comes in to play when you download the Sphero Edu app. This contains more then 100 computer science lessons, activities and programs to help educate your child, all aimed at sparking their curiosity and creativity. The games themselves then lead on to learning the basics of coding and suddenly this ‘toy’ becomes an educational tool. As well as that, the app has a community that shares their games and activities that they have created via submission to the app so you have plenty to choose from and to stoke further ideas of their own. Another nice touch is the ability to change the shell of the ball for various colours, further endearing this to the young ones in your life. An enjoyable toy or an educational tool, this is a really great, affordable gadget.

Pros fuN Programmable eDuCaTIoNal DIffereNT ColoureD shells CoNs If you have CaTs, be PrePareD To have your eNDeavours saboTageD!