原創譯文 | Sphero釋出Spark Bolt，AI機器人進攻教育領域
自Sphero宣佈Sprk+已經過去大約兩年了，Sprk+是一款塑料材質，可程式設計的，應用程式啟用的機器人球，用於程式設計教育。過去的幾個月，該公司與迪士尼合作推出了Ultimate Lightning McQueen，R2D2，BB-9E和Spider-Man等產品，並推出了更便宜，體積更小的Sprk+伴侶 - Sphero Mini，這款伴侶產品更少關注教育，更多關注遊戲和活動。
9月10日，這家總部位於科羅拉多州丹佛市的創業公司Sphero從其Skunkworks實驗室推出了 Spark Bolt，這是一款經過升級的Sprk +，帶有一些新的鈴聲和口哨聲。
根據聯合創始人兼首席架構師亞當威爾遜的說法，該產品表現了Sphero對教育領域的重視。他說，已有超過20,000所學校將公司的產品納入其課程。
“在過去的兩年裡，我們學會了如何打造一個新特色，”威爾遜在電話採訪中告訴記者，“ 我們的產品一直都提供可程式設計功能 。當然如果你不想對其程式設計，你可以選擇不程式設計。我們鼓勵你玩這些功能，因為 Bolt有更深入的程式設計元件 。“
Bolt擁有防紫外線透明塑料外殼，具有防水和“高度耐用”的特點，可點選感測器包括磁力計，加速度計，環境光感測器，電機編碼器和陀螺儀，可點選感測器來跟蹤其速度，加速度和方向。藍芽智慧晶片將其與100英尺以外的智慧手機和平板電腦配對，於是 使用者可以通過智慧手機及平板電腦控制Bolt。
“我們從教育工作者那裡得到了很多反饋，”威爾遜說。 “我們將這些反饋和我們認為最酷的事情結合在一起設計Bolt。”
一直以來的難點是電池壽命 ，老師想要一個可以持續一整天的機器人，而不僅僅是兩三節課的長度。因此，Sphero的工程師用一個電池充電Bolt，充電一次可以續航超過兩個小時，大約是Sprk +電池續航時間的兩倍。
此外，Bolt的亮點可能在於它的顯示效果：一個8 x 8多色LED螢幕，可以實時動畫。它可以程式設計顯示幾乎任何東西，從遊戲到酷炫的設計，Bolt感測器獲得資料，程式設計顯示在螢幕上。Bolt有一個一個預裝的遊戲演示：《蛇》，使用者通過在一個軸線上傾斜Bolt來操縱一條螢幕上的線。
“ 它幾乎就像一個全輸出顯示器 ，”威爾遜說。“它能夠顯示你設計的各種內容，包括顏色和形狀以及其他不同的顯示專案。”
另一個值得注意的改進是新的紅外感測器，它允許多個Bolt相互通訊 。威爾遜表示，它與LED螢幕配合使用時特別方便 ， 例如，Sphero團隊使用它來編寫一個現實生活中的吃豆人遊戲，其中一個Bolt充當玩家角色，另外四個作為幽靈代表。
其他硬體增加包括用於讀取房間亮度的光感測器和充當指南針的磁力計。
“這些感測器讓你可以建立一個真實的輸入和輸出程式......這是一個更深入的學習體驗，”威爾遜說。
Sphero的教育應用程式 - Sphero Edu - 也已升級。 在具有大型顯示器的平板電腦，Mac，Chromebook和Windows機器上，切換按鈕允許使用者將程式設計介面分成兩部分，一部分包含Scratch視覺化程式語言，另一部分包含Java語言。
“以前，你必須在經常對語言切換”威爾遜說，現在他們提供了按鈕。
Sphero Bolt售價149美元（比Sprk +多20美元）並配有感應式充電座，貼紙和帶有標記基本方向的量角器。 它還提供15個便攜包，適用於教育工作者，起價為1,950美元。 在配件方面，有一個新的符合航空公司標準的Power Pack便攜包，最多可存放15個單元，並裝有迷宮膠帶和其他外圍裝置。
至於Sphero接下來會發布什麼，威爾遜拒絕透露，但表示新的品牌玩具並不會立即釋出。
“我們很可能不會將來做特許產品，”威爾遜說，“除非有計劃變動的事情出現。”
原文
Sphero launches Sphero Bolt
a light-up robot ball for education
It's been roughly two years since Sphero — the folks behind 2016's adorable BB-8 robot — announced Sprk+, a plastic, programmable, app-enabled robot ball that teaches coding. In the intervening months, the company collaborated with Disney on licensed products like Ultimate Lightning McQueen, R2D2, BB-9E, and Spider-Man, and debuted a cheaper, smaller Sprk+ companion — Sphero Mini— focused less on education and more on games and activities.
Today the Denver, Colorado-based startup reemerged from its Skunkworks labs with Spark Bolt, an upgraded Sprk+ with a few new bells and whistles.
According to Adam Wilson, cofounder and chief architect, it's something of a recommitment to education for Sphero. More than 20,000 schools have already incorporated the company's products into their curriculums, he said.
"Over the past two years, we learned how to build a character,"Wilson told VentureBeat in a phone interview, "[and] there's always been a programming aspect to our products. You don't have to program if you don't want to — we encourage you to play with the products — but there's a deeper programming [component] to Bolt.”
Bolt boasts a UV-coated clear plastic shell that's waterproof and "highly durable"and taps sensors — including a magnetometer, accelerometer, ambient light sensors, motor encoders, and gyroscope — to keep track of its speed, acceleration, and direction. A Bluetooth Smart chip pairs it to smartphones and tablets up to 100 feet away, allowing them to act as its controllers.
“We got a lot of feedback from educators,”Wilson said. “We put all of it together, along with what we thought would be the coolest thing to do.”
One recurring theme was battery life — teachers wanted a robot that would last all day, not just the length of two or three classes. So Sphero’s engineers stuffed Bolt with a power pack that lasts more than two hours on a charge, about double the battery life of Sprk+.
But Bolt's highlight might be its display: an 8 x 8 multicolor LED matrix that animates in real time. It can be programmed to show pretty much anything, from games to cool designs that react to data from Bolt’s sensors. One preloaded demo — Snake — has users maneuver a line by tilting the Bolt in on its axes.
“It's almost like a full-output display,” Wilson said. “It expands the amount of content you can make for Bolt … [like] colors and shapes and different display items.”
Another noteworthy improvement is a new infrared sensor that allows multiple Bolts to communicate with each other. It's especially handy when used in tandem with the LED matrix, Wilson said — the Sphero team used it to program a real-life game of Pac-Man, for example, where one Bolt acts as a player character and four others stand in as ghosts.
Other hardware additions include an ambient light sensor that can read the brightness of a room and a magnetometer, which acts as a compass.
“[These sensors] let you build a real program with inputs and outputs … It's a much deeper learning experience,” Wilson said.
Sphero's app for education — Sphero Edu — has also been upgraded. On tablets, Macs, Chromebooks, and Windows machines with large displays, a toggle button lets users split the programming interface in two, with one side containing the Scratch visual programming language and the other its Java equivalent.
“Previously, you had to switch [between them] a lot,” Wilson said.
The Sphero Bolt costs $149 ($20 more than Sprk+) and comes with an inductive charging cradle, stickers, and a protractor with labeled cardinal directions. It's also available in a 15-pack for educators that starts at $1,950. On the accessories front, there's a new airline-compliant Power Pack carrying case that stores up to 15 units and comes loaded with maze tape and other peripherals.
As for what comes next for Sphero, Wilson declined to spill the beans but said that new branded toys aren't in the immediate pipeline.
“We most likely won't be doing [licensed] products [in the near future],” Wilson said, “[unless] the right thing comes around.”
原文釋出時間為：2018-09-11