The manufacturer of “smart” toys, Sphero, was remembered, first of all, for its BB-8 rotating robot - however, recently its products have become increasingly oriented towards future programmers and craftsmen. The latest development of Sphero is an Rvr robot, designed for hackers of all ages, which is not only possible but even necessary to try to hack. The Rvr mobile platform was created taking into account the numerous wishes of customers received by Sphero in recent years. In particular, they asked for Rvr to move across different types of surfaces, respond to voice commands, ensure the safety of their owner’s home — and even perform combat functions if necessary. The developers acted very cleverly: they did not provide the robot with all the requested functions but gave the users themselves the opportunity to make exactly the changes they needed in its software.

Rvr works with the Sphero Edu application, which makes it easy to control the robot with a joystick. After the first test drive, you can proceed to transcode the robot “for yourself” using the same application - it is based on the visual programming language Scratch. 

For a start, beginners can learn the Draw and Drive function, then move on to more serious block programming tasks, and after that - to JavaScript coding. If you need help, additional information or the ability to chat with other hackers, the application provides this opportunity within the online community. Sphero Rvr robot is ready to work right out of the box. It looks like a toy with a remote control has four wheels and 20 mm ground clearance, which gives him the opportunity to confidently move in off-road conditions.

The robot is equipped with a set of sensors for light detection, color recognition and infrared radiation, as well as a magnetometer, accelerometer and gyroscope. All this is complemented by a variety of LEDs that can be programmed to your liking. Rvr works from a removable battery with a two-hour charge.

The Sphero Rvr project has been hosted on Kickstarter, where in more than a month has already passed the "frontier" of $ 150,000. The robot can be ordered for 199 dollars. If the campaign succeeds, sales will start in October.

techcult.ru