Sphero is one of the easiest ways to learn the basics of block programming. The popularity of the little robotic ball grows with each passing year. The newest addition (at least as of 2018) to the family of toy robots is the Sphero Bolt, which adds new capabilities to identify other robots around, visualize various animations on an 8×8 LED matrix, as well as new speeds, capabilities and programming options.

The new Sphero has twice the battery of its predecessors, with the same charging time. Charging is via a wireless docking station. The new Sphero Bolt robot brings some serious pros, such as water resistance and resistance to dust and dirt, because of its capsulated inner parts.

It’s cool that Bolt is transparent, for many reasons. The company does not hide the elements or the ways of connecting the robot, which makes it ideal for educational purposes. Kids can see exactly what’s inside and exactly how these electronic elements work together. This transparency also allows the use of the installed innovation – an 8×8 LED matrix (64 pixels), which provides visualization of various letters, symbols and animations. It can show a flash while charging, different bright colors, a sun or a smiley when the program completes, the numbers of a standard dice, messages and any other such custom animations that we can write as code.

Bolt also has broadcasting skills that allow him to communicate and react to other robots around him. Those robots must also be Bolts for the interaction to be possible. I came up with an interesting broadcasting project idea – two Bolt robots chase each other, acting like a cat and mouse. One robot will be the mouse that runs and uses infrared waves to emit on a certain channel (broadcast), and the other robot will be the cat that is looking for and following this channel by detecting the infrared waves. The program turned out so fun, my students even made custom animations for the cat and the mouse. If you like this idea and want to do the project with your students without having to write it all down and waste your time, you can get my version of the project. It includes a student worksheet with explanations for the students on how to build two programs step-by-step, using the broadcasting function of the Sphero Bolt, detailed teacher notes and answer key – the whole code, then you can click here and preview or purchase it (Sphero Bolt® robot coding broadcasting activity Cat and Mouse project).

Also, the Sphero Bolt robot has a gyroscope, accelerometer, magnetic compass, infrared (broadcasting), over 2 hours of battery life, and an 8×8 LED matrix.

Sphero Bolt costs USD 180 (in January 2023 at least).

Sphero is not just a toy that we can drive back and forth with the “Sphero Play” app option. The robot is also an interactive, interesting and easy way to put the foundations of programming in your head, with all of its important and universal concepts.

I always have a lot of fun with Sphero, whether I’m writing code in the block code editor, putting together fun and interesting games, or just walking it around the classroom while changing its matrix animations, it’s a wonderful robot to have and use.