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Sphero: The Robotic Ball Controlled By an iPhone

Thursday September 15, 2011 12:23 PM PDT by Jordan Golson

In the same "fun, but impractical" vein as the AR.Drone quadricopter, the Sphero is a robotic ball remotely controlled by an app on the iPhone.

Approximately the size of a baseball, the Sphero connects to the iPhone via Bluetooth and recharges via an induction-charging stand. Orbotix, the company behind Sphero, has written a number of iPhone apps and games to use with the ball, including Sphero golf and a KittyCam app that let's users share the Sphero experience with their feline friends -- and capture the whole thing with the iPhone's video camera:

The Sphero will be available later this year for $129.99. It's currently available for pre-order from GoSphero.com.

Hat tip to Business Insider.

Top Rated Comments

Hastings101

168 months ago

I'm going to have to buy a cat just so I can try that..

Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)

boshii

168 months ago

Pretty cool until the novelty wears off and you're left asking yourself "I paid $130 for this?"

Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Cougarcat

168 months ago

My cat would love this.

Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Shrink

168 months ago

Cool. Kinda pricey. Under $60 maybe but $130 wow. My dog would go nuts chasing this around.

And if your dog is any bigger than a chihuahua, he/she will probably chew the s*** out of it,leaving $130 worth of detritus. :p ;) :D

BTW: $130 to roll a ball around the room?? Oh, yeah, I forgot, we get to use our iPhone to control it. Definitely an exciting prospect. :rolleyes:

Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)

JS3

168 months ago

Cool. Kinda pricey. Under $60 maybe but $130 wow. My dog would go nuts chasing this around.

Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)

iphonesarecool

168 months ago

Wow, that's cool. I'm loving all these remotely controlled iDevice products coming out.

Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)

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