Imagine a giant, black, extremely durable Sphero robot that can be used for things you can’t even imagine right now, like chasing cars, people, lions. Maybe this robot could be equipped with weapons or cameras, used in the real world, not only at schools where we teach coding. At the end of the article there’s a cool idea for Technology and Robotics teachers, so keep reading ☀️!

“Sphero – Peacekeeper Edition is a super-sized version of Sphero that you control from your smartphone or tablet. Measuring in at a whopping 3 feet (91 cm) in diameter, weighing over 150 pounds (68 kg), and reaching speeds still unknown, Peacekeeper ain’t your average robotic ball.

Sphero – Peacekeeper Edition has all of the same features we know and love from the original Sphero, except they’re bigger. And we all know bigger is better. This limited edition robot is encased in a custom painted, high-impact polycarbonate shell for ultimate durability. You can drive the ball, play multiplayer games, entertain your pets, and more.”

These words, and the whole documentation of the Peacekeeper project you can read here: Indiegogo – Sphero Peacekeeper It’s extremely entertaining, so don’t skip it. This is the official page where Orbotix were raising money to build this huge Sphero robot for commercial uses.

There’s an entertaining video where the huge Sphero Peacekeeper ball robot is used to knock people down when you don’t like them, or for lions to play with at the zoo. The video looks like your average crazy start-up commercial of a new project people are raising money for, kinda like an Elon Musk incredibly impossible project. You can watch the fun video here: Youtube The video is not officially listed, so even if you look for it in the search bar of YouTube, you won’t be able to find it. Use the link I just provided.

Now, the sad news is – the Sphero Peacekeeper Edition was an April Fools’ Day prank introduced by Sphero in 2013. It humorously advertised a gigantic version of the Sphero robot. This product was never intended to be real, it was created purely for entertainment and to engage the community with a playful joke. When you visit the website for fund raising (Indiegogo), it says the project for the Sphero Peacekeeper raised a little over 10 000 dollars, which is a lot for a prank! I hope they used that money for good, ha-ha.

I found that joke so fun and cool. The Sphero team really put a lot of work into the prank, with the life-size real Sphero Peacekeeper prototype robot (that also actually works!), the video commercial they made, the whole documentation, the website, the fund raising page. Wow! You don’t see a good and well done April Fool’s joke too often.

I wasn’t a fan of Sphero back in 2013. Actually, I started my teaching career 5 years after that, in 2018. That’s when I learned about Sphero and that’s when I started using it with my students at my Robotics club and at home like a hobby. I wish I knew about Sphero back in 2013, I would’ve surely fallen for the joke, fully believing it, ha-ha. Nice one, Orbotix! (they are no longer called Orbotix, the company is just Sphero now, but who cares?)

Cool and fun idea for Technology and Robotics teachers

We now know this is a prank, but our students don’t! Aaaaaand this is the perfect opportunity for a little joke. Tell the students you have a surprise for them 😂 Tell them the school has decided to buy one Sphero Peacekeeper and show them the ad (the link to the YouTube video commercial is in the text above). See their reactions 😂 They are probably priceless! You could also ask them for ideas of what to do with the robot once it arrives to the school next month 😂

I had so much fun researching the topic and writing this article! I hope you have fun too!

Happy teaching!

Grace