Sphero's garnered a good deal of attention as of late thanks to its role in developing the new BB-8 Droid for Star Wars: The Force Awakens (and its eventual toy), but movies aren't the only area the company has expanded into recently. Last year, it launched its SPRK education initiative, intended to help teach programming to kids, and it's now announced its first product aimed specifically at students.
Dubbed the Sphero SPRK Edition, the new device itself is largely identical to the current Sphero model, with the notable exception of a clear shell that lets you see the robot's circuitry and LEDs. It also comes with what the company describes as an "all new app experience," which lets students design and execute programs using simple visual blocks that represent Sphero's own OVAL programming language.
That comes at the same cost as the regular Sphero 2.0, $130, while the new app available as a free download for both Android and iOS devices. And, while the SPRK Edition may be aimed at students and teachers, it isn't available exclusively to them -- anyone can order the new model directly from Sphero's website.
[via Engadget]