Sphero Keeps A Running Total Of How Far Its Balls Roll
Orbotix has announced Sphero 2.0, the second generation of the robotic ball that you control with a smartphone.
They stopped by the office to let us have a test drive, and the improvement over the original is awesome (though we were already way on board). It has new guts and software that make it a snap to steer it around quickly and accurately.
The new model will also operate on an RPG-like system, letting you earn points to "level up" as you accomplish tasks like rolling a certain distance or jumping really far. Higher levels unlock faster speeds, and the team even alluded to special weekends where points are doubled.
We'll have more on Sphero 2.0 in an upcoming review.
The company sent us this picture of the "leaderboard" they keep in the office that shows the total distance covered by all those rolling balls. It's currently showing that Spheros around the world have covered nearly 42,000 miles.
Not bad for a little plastic ball with a brain! If you want one of your own, the Sphero 2.0 is available for pre-sale for $129.99.