Sphero's new robot has a programmable LED display and infrared sensors

Sphero has announced another ball robot called Sphero Bolt. The Sphero Bolt follows the spirit of the company to have a commitment to products based on education, but it includes upgrades that give it more capabilities than the original Sphero and Sphero Spark +.

The most important and most noticeable difference with the Sphero Bolt is that it is equipped with an animated and programmable LED screen of 8 x 8 pixels, which allows to see a smiling face when a task is completed or an arrow indicating the direction in which he moves.

Image: Sphero

The Bolt also has four infrared sensors, which means that these little robots have the ability to communicate with each other. This is the first time that Sphero has allowed several robots to interact, and the company says that up to five bolts can talk to each other in a radius of about five meters.

Another novelty of the Sphero Bolt: a built-in compass that gives it a better lens, an ambient light sensor and a better battery for a play time of up to two hours (perhaps longer if you perform simpler movements) before have to be recharged.

Sphero's ball robots can be controlled through the company's mobile application and are intended to teach children about robotics and computer programming. There are actually two applications: the Sphero Play app to interact with your device's touch screen and the Sphero Edu app that allows users to stack blocks of code to program the behavior of the robot via its gyroscope, accelerometer, magnetic compass, light sensor, and more.

The Sphero Bolt is now available for $ 149.99 through the company's website, and it will be at select retailers later this month.