Sphero’s new RVR robot can pack a Raspberry Pi punch

With its little rubber wheels and lights on the front that look like eyes, at first glance it would be easy to dismiss Sphero’s new RVR as just a toy. After all, this is the company that created the remote-control BB-8 and Lightning McQueen. But that would be to do the RVR a massive disservice. Sure, you can scoot around on the all-terrain treads straight out of the box, but it really comes alive when you start tinkering. There are loads of sensors onboard, including colour, light, IR, a magnetometer, accelerometer and gyroscope, plus the 4600mAh battery and expansion port mean it can also accommodate third-party computers such as the Raspberry Pi and the BBC’s Micro:bit. RVR can talk to other Sphero robots too. All of which opens up a whole world of extra functionality for anyone with Sphero’s Edu app and the necessary coding chops, and makes the RVR a neat little platform to develop them on. It’s being primarily targeted at schools, but you can buy your own right now on Sphero’s online store or Amazon.