Vortex is the modern-day reinvention of the traditional robotic toy. Vortex is a small robotic toy that has been built by a company called DFRobot and is being funded on kickstarter.
The idea behind the toy is to teach children about robotics whilst also providing some light entertainment. Whist the toy has been designed primarily for kids it is great fun for all ages and the possibilities for future expansion are endless. Vortex has been build using open source software, which means that anyone can add to the project, expand the current capabilities of Vortex and even create new additional hardware components.
Vortex is compatible with Arduino and also Scratch – both of which can be used to develop new additions to the toy. Development is also possible for children thanks to the build in programmable interface. The interface can be accessed using an ipad or other smart device and allows children to create new applications for Vortex using an intuitive interface.
Vortex comes pre-build with several fun applications including a multi-player “bump and fight” game and also a racing game. The device can be controlled from iphone and android smartphone devices using an app. It also has the ability to avoid objects, detect lines and report back to the user.
The team behind DFRobot have fully developed Vortex and have been seeking funding from Kickstarter users. They have already reached their target and the funding stage still has almost a month before completion. Vortex is due for public release in August 2015.
There is a bright future for this product as it centres on a very exciting niche – robotics has really become popular over the last couple of years with tech giants such as Google showing a keen interest and with new ideas being developed all the time. The really ethos behind Vortex is to put this relatively new technology in the hands of our next generation of children, this will provide them with the skills and insight needed to take robotics forward to the next level.
This really is a cool gadget and we are happy to see, that it’s already fully funded on Kickstarter. We will review it as soon as we have the chance, so make sure to come back and check it out.
Already available is this video:
What are your thoughts about robots for our kids? We are in the middle of an awesome change and would love to hear your thoughts; so please leave a comment.
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