Robotic ball a hit at electronics show (w/ Video)

January 9, 2011

Robotic ball a hit at electronics show

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The Sphero. Credit: Orbotix

A glowing robotic ball that is controlled by a smartphone has won fans and the interest of game developers at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES).

Sphero, as the ball is called, rolls around the floor on command, its movements controlled by an Apple or an Android device.

A light glows inside the ball as it moves about, stopping, starting and navigating around objects.

"The gaming options are endless," said Jim Booth, vice president of business development for Orbotix, the Boulder, Colorado-based company behind Sphero, a finalist for a "Best of CES" award.

This video is not supported by your browser at this time.

"You can get simple driving apps to more complex multi-player games," Booth said. "Office golf -- we've had hundreds of ideas."

"We'll develop games for it and we're going to open up the platform to other developers to develop what they like," he said.

Booth said Sphero will go on sale in the United States in late 2011 and will cost under 100 dollars -- not included.

He said the ball is controlled from a smartphone by Bluetooth technology and has a gyro and an inside.

(c) 2011 AFP

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Bob_Kob
Jan 09, 2011

Rank: 5 / 5 (4)
A remote control ball. Its so damn simple in concept, why didn't I think of that!
gvgoebel
Jan 09, 2011

Rank: 5 / 5 (5)
Just think of the fun you could have with your cat.
MorituriMax
Jan 09, 2011

Rank: 1 / 5 (1)
Amen to that gvgoebel, I have 10 cats altogether and I can hardly wait to get this.
Kedas
Jan 09, 2011

Rank: not rated yet
I already have such a ball but it is preprogrammed to cover the whole floor (cleaning)

Football!! (with remote balls puching an other ball) must be fun. expensive though.
apex01
Jan 09, 2011

Rank: not rated yet
Looks really slow thou.
Pratyeka
Jan 09, 2011

Rank: 5 / 5 (4)
Is that the best they can come up with all that technology? $100 to get a ball rolling on the floor!
matt_broderick
Jan 09, 2011

Rank: 5 / 5 (5)
We'll see where this goes after they get the ball rolling.
krundoloss
Jan 09, 2011

Rank: not rated yet
Its seems neat, the only problem with a ball like that is its limited torque capability (limited by the weight it uses to counteract internal motor). Im sure some rich people will want one of these. Bluetooth is very limited in range, by design of course. I think this wont go far. Now if they can integrate a camera . .
droid001
Jan 09, 2011

Rank: 5 / 5 (1)
I just mist where the fun is? 100 bucks for slow rolling ball ?(smartphone not included)
thewhitebear
Jan 09, 2011

Rank: not rated yet
really? best of CES is a little rolling ball? go culture!
Code_Warrior
Jan 09, 2011

Rank: 5 / 5 (3)
Lets take something simple, like rolling and kicking a ball with your hands and feet, and improve it with thousands of lines of code, wireless signalling, accelerometers, batteries, and a mechanical drive system that also requires batteries so that we can roll the ball using our hands and follow it closely using our feet.

Yeah, that is soooooo much more fun than just rolling or kicking it yourself. Thanks for the new invention Rube Goldberg.
MorituriMax
Jan 09, 2011

Rank: 3 / 5 (2)
I already have such a ball but it is preprogrammed to cover the whole floor (cleaning)

Football!! (with remote balls puching an other ball) must be fun. expensive though.


Oh my God, can you say... Swifferball? You'll never go back to your mop again.
Coldstatic
Jan 09, 2011

Rank: not rated yet
i see this more as a concept than anything. Now if you were controlling a little robot with laser tag type guns, and it was a multiplayer map... that would be cool
shagrabanda
Jan 09, 2011

Rank: 5 / 5 (1)
I want a clear one with a toy hamster inside
jjoensuu
Jan 09, 2011

Rank: not rated yet
would be a lot more fun if it was possible to get the ball to also bounce (although probably the mechanism inside would also not be able to handle the impacts)
plasticpower
Jan 10, 2011

Rank: 1 / 5 (1)
I think it's a cool concept, a ball isn't a "vehicle" that can be operated with conventional remote controls, so this can take some skill and practice and it seems to be pretty fun. I can think of a few drinking games to see who can roll the ball into a certain spot faster.
CreepyD
Jan 10, 2011

Rank: not rated yet
I'd like to know how forward to you keeps in sync with forward to the ball.
Skeptic_Heretic
Jan 10, 2011

Rank: 1 / 5 (1)
Amen to that gvgoebel, I have 10 cats altogether and I can hardly wait to get this.

Are you one of those crazy cat people?
Hakaha_Kakala
Jan 10, 2011

Rank: not rated yet
The smartest in the video is definitely the phone!

Why should any one play with this. I believe little children doesn't need a smart-phone to play with a ball and older children like the big baby one in the video - maybe should consider other interests in life if ha/she don't want to be very lonely person.

This was absolutely the lamest idea in a very long time. A hipster idea without any doubt. The paper poster by the wall tells me there might be a very little boy in a grown mans body!
AlexT
Jan 13, 2011

Rank: not rated yet
It feels like someone is trying to turn me into a house pet ... Who's a good boy? Yes, you're a good boy. Go get the ball! Bring me $100 while you at it! Good boy! ... Woof, woof.
Walter_Mrak
Jan 14, 2011

Rank: not rated yet
When will we cease calling remotely controlled items robotic and start calling them by their real identifying characeristics? Among a robot's main qualities & features are its ability to perceive, assimilate information, and by using its own intelligence independantly, decide on its own unique course of action. We don't call a garage door robotic because we press the remote control in our car.
Rank 3.2 /5 (11 votes)
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