The Sphero Bolt is beautifully engineered, very clever and tons of fun, and it’s clearly going to be a very valuable tool in an educational environment. However, if you’re considering it for your home it does seem like an awful lot of money for something that’s likely to display rude words as it careers into your ankles.

INSPIRE CREATIVITY AND DISCOVER POSSIBILITIES: With Sphero BOLT's advanced programmable sensors and 8x8 LED matrix, your students can explore the world of coding and robotics with hands-on, creative play, while discovering endless possibilities. HANDS-ON STEAM: Engage your students in hands-on play and STEAM activities while teaching them how to code with Sphero BOLT.Get ready to add some excitement to your classroom with Sphero BOLT – the ultimate coding robotic ball! Designed for educators who want to inspire their students' curiosity in STEM, Sphero BOLT is a game-changing tool that empowers students to explore their creativity, coding skills, and inventiveness. With its advanced sensors, programmable LED matrix, and innovative technology, Sphero BOLT is the perfect way to integrate some fun into learning and make your classroom a place where students can't wait to explore!

Condensation (water droplets) inside Sphero BOLT may occasionally form - this is normal, and you do not need to worry. This sometimes happens during the second half of the charging cycle or during heavy use when the robot can heat up. The condensatio Prolonging BOLT Battery Life (Deep Sleep) Sphero BOLT connects to your phone, tablet, or computer via Bluetooth (BLE) connection. The robot is compatible with 3 different apps: Sphero Edu, Sphero Play, and Apple's Swift Playgrounds. Before connecting, ensure BOLT is partially charged, or cha BOLT ModesThat’s the biggest plus for the Bolt over the SPRK+, but you shouldn’t underestimate the new sensors. For instance, you can use the light sensor to have the SPRK+ react to different ambient light levels, or to respond when you shine a torch on it. You can, if more navigationally minded, use the new compass to take exact directions and help the Bolt find its way from one point in the room to another, even around obstacles or through a maze. The downside is that a bigger battery needs longer to charge, so while playtime is twice that of previous Spheros so is the charge time. Expect around six hours to fully charge from a flat battery. Features If there’s one ever so minor disappointment, it’s that there’s no onboard sound. While you can code in sound effects and even tunes, these play through your tablet or smartphone speaker, rather than through the Bolt. If no one answers the door when our courier attempts delivery they'll leave a card letting you know they've been and which of the following actions they've taken

There was a lot you could do – and a lot you could teach – with the older SPRK+, but the Bolt opens up a range of new opportunities. The Bolt’s high-speed zooming around the floor is entertaining enough, the new graphics, animations and text messages make the results of all that coding even more immediate and visual. Sphero makes remarkably cool, programmable robots and STEAM-based educational tools that transform the way kids learn, create and invent through coding, science, music, and the arts.CROSS-CURRICULAR LEARNING: Sphero BOLT is perfect for cross-curricular learning, combining STEM and the arts to encourage creativity and innovation in your classroom. With access to an extensive library of educational games and activities found in the free Sphero Edu App (compatible with iOS, Android, and Chrome), your students can learn how to code in an engaging and interactive way. A second app, Sphero Play, is also available in the various app stores for touch-based navigation and general messing around. Parents beware: there’s a Scream Drive setting in that one that makes the Bolt move faster the louder your child screams or shouts at it. You can also use Swift Playgrounds, which offers two Sphero playgrounds: Sphero Arcade and Sphero Template. The more you learn about the Bolt, and the more you think about what you’ve learnt, the more new projects open up. The built-in projects and tutorials do a fine job of developing your skills and getting you used to the new capabilities, although you really need a separate PC or tablet to work with so that you can have the projects and sample code visible on another screen while you’re working in the app.

Loops, conditionals and variables work in much the same way. Both my daughter and I found Sphero Edu easy to work with – although it’s arguably easier to get a grounding in Scratch then transfer the skills over, than to start working with Sphero Edu from day one. While the Bolt can be driven around with a touchscreen controller in the Sphero Edu app, it’s really designed to be programmed, responding to commands that tell it where to move at what speed and in which direction, how to rotate and when and how to flash its built-in LED lights. Get a few Bolts together and you can create some pretty cool multi-robot spectaculars, although with just the one Bolt we haven’t had much of a chance to try this out. Try this activity in the Sphero Edu app to get started: Beyond the Square Programming BOLT’s Lights and SoundsBUILT FOR THE CLASSROOM: With its durable and waterproof design, Sphero BOLT can withstand even the most imaginative, out-of-the-box ideas that your students can dream up, and can take on any adventure your learners can imagine with its all-day battery life. If you aren’t familiar with Scratch, it’s very similar in concept to IFTTT (If This Then That): you set out your criteria – the 'this' – and then specify what should happen – the 'that'. For example, you might create a set of instructions that asks if it’s dark and lights up the screen if the answer is yes. MIT has a complete guide and examples. The mode has some nice mod-cons, such as auto-formatting and error-reporting, while you can view the incoming sensor data both during and after running a program. This helps when you’re trying to adjust speeds and timings or debug.