1/8/2024 0 Comments Sphero edu firmware updateMaybe Sphero's finally starting to see the light, though a link to the Edu app was recently added in the Droids app. This section of the R2-D2 page on promotes the Droids app,īut makes no mention of Sphero Edu or Swift Playgrounds. It's quite the willful exclusion, and rather inexplicable. The marketing of their Star Wars line - including the packaging - focuses on the play aspects and the fun of the Star Wars environment, including the theme music, but it steers clear of the powerful educational prospects through the droids' programmability. Seems to me Sphero's biggest challenge is to get the general public to understand there's more to their balls and droids than making them beep and roam around on a floor. Particularly while using Swift, R2 smoothly transitions from STEM to full-on STEAM (throw Arts into the mix) by blending coding with storytelling as a result, it effectively captures the essence of droid life in that galaxy far, far away. It's not only more fun, it's also a leap ahead in terms of educational value. Now programmable with Apple's Swift Playgrounds (exclusively on iPad) as well as Sphero's Edu app, R2 offers a lot more dynamic programming and interaction options. For example, at launch, R2 wasn't yet compatible with Sphero's Edu app or Force Band, but it is now. This ability to learn new - free - skills can potentially go on for years after the initial hardware purchase. They evolve and gain new skills, just like Amazon's Alexa and Echo devices, via app updates and firmware updates downloaded from a galaxy far, far away - or wherever the server's located, most likely not that far away. Perhaps most importantly, these are "smart" toys. More about that later.Īnd, specifically with the R2 units, the beeps and whirls come directly from the droid's body, not the app, which was a leading complaint upon BB-8's release. This latter component apparently replaces holographic messaging, a concept that was cool, but needed more work. There's also the Force Band and a new Droid Trainer charging dock that facilitates the hologram mode for BB-8 and BB-9E. For this, there's Sphero's Edu app, which allows for custom coding of the droids' activities in a graphically-friendly format, without the need to actually know a coding language. But actual coding and programming is done outside the Sphero Droids app. This app facilitates the play value of the droids, supporting things such as real-time motion control pre-programmed movements and sounds movie watch parties and patrol functions. A lot has changed since Sphero's BB-8 first rolled out (pun intended) in 2015.įirst of all, there's a new app for the growing line of droids (currently there are four, including R2-Q5, a Best Buy-exclusive Imperial black derivative of the R2-D2 form factor).
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