Sphero

Sphero, Inc. (formerly Orbotix) is an American consumer robotics and toy company based in Boulder, Colorado. Their first product, the Sphero, is a white spherical robot launched in December 2011 capable of rolling around under the control of a smartphone or tablet. A remastered version, the Sphero 2.0, was launched in August 2013. Both products are now discontinued. In 2015, Sphero struck a licensing deal with Disney to create a BB-8 robot based on the Star Wars: The Force Awakens film. Following the success of that robot, Sphero also created a model of R2-D2 and Lightning McQueen. The Disney products were discontinued in 2018 after their partnership ended. Sphero's current product lineup includes several spherical robots like the original Sphero: the Sphero Mini, BOLT, and SPRK+. On February 19, 2019, Sphero announced a programmable tank-tracked kit called the Sphero RVR (pronounced "rover") on Kickstarter. It is advertised as a "go anywhere, do anything programmable robot" with modular parts and all-terrain capability. It has an increased focus on education, and has been released in October 2019 at $249. In August 2019, Sphero acquired New York City-based startup, littleBits.