The adorable Sphero indi is a car-like bot that’ll teach kids critical programming skills

Sphero knows robots get a bad rep. Too often are our programmable pals joked about as overlords in the making. Chip-based turncoats simply waiting for the perfect time to unleash their inner Terminator and wipe out humanity. Even if that Hollywood prophecy does come to pass, at least Sphero’s latest creation, an cutesy robot designed for early learners, will look damn adorable while it purges all carbon-based life from Planet Earth. The car-like robot helper, dubbed the Sphero indi, has been created to teach little tykes about programming without the use of an app or screen. The indi utilises colour card programming in combination with an onboard colour sensor to navigate custom mazes and solve puzzles created using a selection of vibrant rainbow tiles. It’s an interactive form of edu-play that Sphero believes will help kids understand pattern recognition, cause and effect, problem solving, and computational thinking. Although it’s pitched as a screen-free learning experience, the indi can also be used in tandem with the free Sphero Edu Jr app to bring older sprogs into the fold with more complex tasks and tools. The Indi Student Kit and Indi Class Pack are available to pre-order now and will both ship in September.