There are three program types - Draw (you draw a shape for the ball to follow), Blocks (you use visual blocks to construct your program) and Text (use the C-based language). Programs is where - unsurprisingly - you can program SPRK+ and access past creations. It’s the menu strip at the bottom that’s of most interest though.
Settings is home to lots of useful information, and you can force a firmware update and enable interface sounds in the programming canvases from here too. Profile is where you sign up for a Sphero Edu Account so you can share programs and track activity. The app offers four options along the top - Feed, 3D Models, Profile, and Settings - and another four along the bottom - Home, Programs, Activities, and Drive.įeed contains a stream of new and recently posted programs, while 3D Models lets you explore inside Sphero and Ollie (the company’s other robot form). It employs Bluetooth for the connection, and has around a 30m range. Once it’s connected, the robot will light up and be ready to use.
Available for iOS and Android, this is packed full of options, and connecting it to the SPRK+ is just a matter of selecting that particular robot from the list of options (which also includes Sphero 2.0, Sphero Mini, and BB-8) and tapping your phone against the ball.
A full charge will give you around 60 minutes of play time.Īs well as SPRK+ itself and the charging base and USB cable, the box comes with some Maze Tape that you can put on the floor for the robot to follow, a cardboard protractor, and a selection of stickers.Įverything is controlled using the free Sphero Edu app. SPRK+ will light up and change color, and then the base will flash to show it’s charging. It includes a gyroscope, accelerometer, and programmable LED lights, with built-in freefall and collision detection, and all packaged inside a scratch resistant, waterproof shell.Ĭharging the SPRK+ is just a matter of connecting the base to a USB port and then dropping the ball on top of it. Like many Sphero products, the SPRK+ is a weighted ball with a motor inside that rolls in whatever direction you want it to.