Games By Russell Holly Sep. 4, 2014 8:30 am
Smartphone controlled robot toys, whether they fly in the air or roam around on the ground, are always a ton of fun to mess around with. The folks at Sphero have been at this particular game for longer than most, and the newest member of their family takes the original orb design and stretches it out a little in order to pull off some fun new tricks. Meet Ollie, the two wheeled pill shaped robot from Sphero.
What made the original Sphero robot so cool was the ability to drive it just about anywhere. When coupled with Sphero’s software, the round design gave the user a lot of freedom to roam around and have some fun. Unfortunately, even with their grippy Nubby cover, Sphero had some issues on rugged terrain or highly polished surfaces. If you did manage to get Sphere to roam around in those environments, it usually was either slow going or filled with problems.
Ollie has been designed to excel in these environments, with a pair of treads designed like the Nubby casing for Sphero and the option to remove those treads in order to have some fun on polished or slick floors.
Like Sphero, Ollie has software for iOS and Android that will auto-update the firmware as you play it. With Sphero, this meant the little robot actually grew more powerful and agile over time, as the developers figured out new ways to optimize the motors in the casing. As long as you are within Bluetooth range, you can drive Ollie around at roughly 14mph.
The Sphero team plans to have multiple Nubby color options available at launch, as well as interchangeable parts that will be available in multiple colors. Ollie will also have a series of internal LEDs just like Sphero, which can be customized to your preference.
For $100, Ollie looks like an impressive new robot from the Sphero team. The new design directly addresses those who would try and use Sphero to do crazy tricks, and it opens the doors to a ton of new venues where you can drive around and have fun in.
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What made the original Sphero robot so cool was the ability to drive it just about anywhere. When coupled with Sphero’s software, the round design gave the user a lot of freedom to roam around and have some fun. Unfortunately, even with their grippy Nubby cover, Sphero had some issues on rugged terrain or highly polished surfaces. If you did manage to get Sphere to roam around in those environments, it usually was either slow going or filled with problems.
Ollie has been designed to excel in these environments, with a pair of treads designed like the Nubby casing for Sphero and the option to remove those treads in order to have some fun on polished or slick floors.
Like Sphero, Ollie has software for iOS and Android that will auto-update the firmware as you play it. With Sphero, this meant the little robot actually grew more powerful and agile over time, as the developers figured out new ways to optimize the motors in the casing. As long as you are within Bluetooth range, you can drive Ollie around at roughly 14mph.
The Sphero team plans to have multiple Nubby color options available at launch, as well as interchangeable parts that will be available in multiple colors. Ollie will also have a series of internal LEDs just like Sphero, which can be customized to your preference.
For $100, Ollie looks like an impressive new robot from the Sphero team. The new design directly addresses those who would try and use Sphero to do crazy tricks, and it opens the doors to a ton of new venues where you can drive around and have fun in.
More...
