Is there a more prolific and quintessential toy than the ball? Used in all manner of games and sports (for both kids and adults), the versatile sphere is synonymous with fun the world over. Well, the deceptively simple ball may be going high tech. At the 2011 CES, Orbotix unveiled Sphero, a ball that can be remotely controlled via Bluetooth from a “driving” app on your iOS or Android mobile phone. Dig on this YouTube video for more. 74mm in diameter, it includes an internal color-changing RGB LED light and an inductive charging cradle system. Slated to be available “late 2011″, you can currently sign up to reserve your Sphero. Estimated retail price is $100. Got the balls for this?
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{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
That’s neat. Now put a camera in it so I can drive and watch, then I’ll really get one.
i can’t imagine why i need this strange stuff…
@Brad – Yep, I had a similar thought. I was picturing the military using something like this as a steerable “smart bomb/spy eye” for room CQB room clearing.
@Dimitriy – The answer is…because it’s cool.
@Brad, @Dimitriy @Andy Jacobs : you could put one of these around the sphero, and have tactic games with lasers, cameras, other sensors. Control whole army’s and have yours stats saved on the leaderboard.
-Adam
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