Sphero iPhone, iPad controlled robot - TiPb at CES 2011

By Rene Ritchie
last updated

Sphero by Orbotix is a robotic ball you can control with your iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad. You can swipe, you can use the gyro and accelerometer, and since they've opened up the API developers can create pretty much any games they can think of.

Availability is later this year. Fun factor is high. We just hope they don't become self-aware too quickly...

[Orbotix]

Rene Ritchie
Rene Ritchie
Contributor

Rene Ritchie is one of the most respected Apple analysts in the business, reaching a combined audience of over 40 million readers a month. His YouTube channel, Vector, has over 90 thousand subscribers and 14 million views and his podcasts, including Debug, have been downloaded over 20 million times. He also regularly co-hosts MacBreak Weekly for the TWiT network and co-hosted CES Live! and Talk Mobile. Based in Montreal, Rene is a former director of product marketing, web developer, and graphic designer. He's authored several books and appeared on numerous television and radio segments to discuss Apple and the technology industry. When not working, he likes to cook, grapple, and spend time with his friends and family.

7 Comments
  • Super cool, def keeping on eye on this plz keep me updated
  • Wow. Would be cool if it could also control the height and direction of a bouncing ball...
  • I hope these come to the Uk, if they do will definately pick one up!
  • Just a little more detail work and Sphero could be an awesome way for baseball pitchers to cheat. The ball could start out as a high "home run" fastball down the middle, then reverse its its spin to drop down to low and inside. Or start out as a knuckleball and end up as a slider. Whiff.
  • Or, you could install a scaled-up Sphero in a bowling ball, then put it in the rack at your local bowling alley. Or two bowling balls. You and a friend could see who causes their hapless bowlers to get the lowest score.
  • When does the Ben Wa version come out?
  • can you uae an ipod touch 1 genration with the sphero