Prepare to add another explorer to the history books. With fans like you at the controls, Sphero has officially rolled around the entire circumference of the Earth! Since day one, we’ve been tracking his movements on Spheroverse and keeping an eye on your stats (like collisions and color changes). For a robot that fits in the palm of your hand, we think rolling the Earth’s 24,901 mile circumference is a milestone worth celebrating.
Circumnavigating the globe isn’t the first momentous achievement we’ve marked down in the Orbotix history books. Since his release in December 2011, Sphero has memorably rolled in a straight line, launched the first augmented reality app of its kind, and grown into a 150lb behemoth that played with a pride of lions. We are extremely proud parents, but we couldn’t have done it without all of you. Get the stats below on your combined Sphero accomplishments to date.
Worldwide Sphero Statistics to Date
Rolled the length of 950 marathons or 12.45 Oregon Trails
Summited Mt. Everest 4527 times
Swam to the deepest part of the ocean 3557 times
Fallen from the stratosphere 1037 times
Swam the length of 25% of all swimming pools in the USA
Circumnavigated the moon 4 times
Swam the length of the Nile over 6 times
Gone over Niagara Falls 825,000 times
Fallen from the tallest building in the world over 50,000 times
Sphero has gone great distances on Earth, but he’s not done yet. With only 213,954 more miles to cover, Sphero’s just getting warmed up for a journey to the moon. Drivers, take your mark. Get set – GO!
Each year at the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Sphero and the Orbotix team go bigger (and rounder). The first time we made an appearance in 2010, Sphero was an early prototype held together with rubber bands. The next time, we had a larger than life Sphero replica floating in the sky in the South Hall. And this year? We went all in with augmented reality zombies, beach balls, and cupcakes a-blazin’.
Attendees stopped by our booth to meet the team, play new augmented reality apps like The Rolling Dead and Sharky the Beaver, and take Sphero for a race around the track. They also had the opportunity to demo upcoming multiplayer and arcade-style apps like Pass the Sphero, Blot, and Zombie Rollers. The creator of Nyan Cat hung out at the Sphero booth to sign autographs and meet fans, and our co-founder even hacked a blender with a circuit board from a Sphero to be controlled by a smartphone. SpheroMan strolled the halls, and our team rolled around the convention chatting with fans and press like TechCrunch (see the video here).
Thanks to everyone who stopped by to meet Sphero, play the latest and greatest games, and take a photo with Sharky. If you missed out be sure to catch the hits at Inc.com and Mashable, and check out the numbers round up below.
CES 2013 by the Numbers
4 : Days at CES 150,000 : CES attendees 600 : Square feet in our booth 36 : Beach balls blown up under the racetrack 31 : Orbotix team members who attended 128 : Balls in the armory 39 : Devices 2,091,000 : Feet rolled by Sphero 150,000 : Color changes 3,300 : Recharge cycles during the week 875 : App installs on the mobile devices 50 : Burritos consumed 244 : Photos taken with Sharky 1 : Blender hacked with a Sphero 12 : Packets of gum chewed 9 : Sick Orbotix employees post-CES
The biggest event of the year is back, and so is Sphero. The 2013 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) hits Las Vegas, Nevada this week at the Las Vegas Convention Center, and Sphero is keeping the good times rolling with augmented reality zombies and more.
Beginning Tuesday, January 8th, the coolest companies from around the world will showcase their latest innovations at the annual four-day technology trade show. Under the big blue banner in the South Hall at booth number 25705, you’ll find Sphero rolling around a state of the art racetrack and demoing 20+ driving, multiplayer, tabletop, and controller apps. Gamers can race around the track, compete with other attendees, and even experience augmented reality demos every hour on the hour.
Along with flinging cupcakes in the first augmented reality app for Sphero, Sharky the Beaver, techies will be able to prepare for the zombiepocalypse at the Sphero booth. In our newest AR app for Sphero, The Rolling Dead, attendees can enter the dark side and shoot fireballs at virtual zombies. We will also be demoing several new controller games for Sphero, including Pass the Sphero, Blot, and Zombie Rollers. Game on!
Thought you’d never have the chance to get an autograph from the creator of one of the most famous Internet memes of all time? Think again. Chris Torres of Nyan Cat will be hanging out at our booth every day at 1:00 PM to shows off Sphero Nyan Cat SpaceParty and demo an augmented reality Sphero and Nyan Cat app planned for release in 2013. And in case zombies aren’t your thing, come take a seat on a giant cupcake to have your picture taken with Sharky. Follow Sharky the Beaver on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to see what he’s up to at CES.
We will be showcasing Sphero’s 20+ apps and augmented reality games tonight at Pepcom’s Digital Experience, and if you won’t be stopping by the South Hall, keep an eye out for SpheroMan. He’ll be driving balls and giving out high-fives around the convention center all week long, so say “Hi” and get your picture taken with the roundest mascot around.
For fans who can’t make it to this year’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, stay posted on Facebook and Twitter for all things Sphero at CES 2013. For those of you coming, we can’t wait to see you there!
2012 was an incredible year for Sphero. He meet all his goals, traveled the world, made 57,000 new friends, and discovered a newfound love of bacon. Below is our list of the Top 10 Sphero Moments of 2012, carefully hand-picked from an incredible number of amazing events from the last twelve months. Enjoy!
1. Obama driving Sphero.
President Obama visited Boulder in April, and thanks to two ambitious Orbotix team members, took Sphero for a spin. We weren’t sure who was more excited – but amidst the chaos we were able to capture the moment on video to re-live well into next year.
2. Augmented Reality for Sphero.
Our most anticipated app launch of 2012 was easily Sharky the Beaver, the first augmented reality app for Sphero. If you haven’t checked out the awesome tech behind the app or met Sharky yourself, get over to the post.
3. Partnering with Nyan Cat.
The Show Us Your Balls video contest promo definitely captured the attention of Nyan Cat’s creator when we initially launched the contest with a “secret” app including this famous meme. We’ve come a long way since then and have partnered with Nyan Cat to release the official app, Sphero Nyan Cat SpaceParty.
4. Going into over 3,000 retail locations around the world.
2012 will forever be the year Sphero launched successfully into retail locations nationwide. Sphero rolled into Apple, Brookstone, Target, Barnes & Noble, and other retailers around the U.S. , Europe, South Africa, Australia, and The Middle East. We look forward to continuing to expand even farther around the globe next year.
5. When NPH tweeted and crashed our site.
Neil Patrick Harris, the star of the TV series How I Met Your Mother and the original Doogie Howser M.D., tweeted about Sphero in February. His mention promptly crashed our website.
6. SpheroMan & Sphero Party at Google I/O.
Sphero threw a party with his alter ego SpheroMan at Google I/O in June this past summer. Held in downtown San Francisco in sponsorship with HTC, DJ Sphero was the life of the party. Devs and techies danced the night away and won some awesome prizes. Our favorite part? The tag line – Party Your Balls Off. Relive the fun here.
7. Getting on the Big Bang Theory.
This summer, Sphero made an appearance on Sheldon’s table in The Big Bang Theory. Our team gathered around the office wearing onesies (ok, only a few of us) and ate pizza to celebrate. Bazinga!
8. Show Us Your Balls video contest.
If nothing else, the Show Us Your Balls video contest was meant to grab your attention. This fall, over 25 fans submitted videos in four categories for the chance to win some serious Sphero Swag. The winners blew us away with their creativity –you can check them out here.
9. Our marketing manager eating a snake’s head.
Sometimes, you’ve got to liven up a workday with a little snake liquor. In an attempt to make a random viral video and win a bet with our CEO, our marketing manager devoured the head of a dead snake on video. Yes, seriously. Since 2013 is the Year of the Snake, you can kick it off with the grossness here.
10. Our Co-Founder, Adam, dropping an iPad at LeWeb.
As we continued to roll around the globe, a few of our team members attended LeWeb conference in France this past month. While giving a presentation on stage, our co-founder Adam dropped an iPad smack on its face. Great recovery, Adam!
Thank you to all the Sphero fans who made 2012 an overwhelming success for Sphero. It’s been a real pleasure having you along for the rollercoaster ride. Happy New Year from the Orbotix team and Sphero, and we’ll see you in 2013!
Holiday traditions come in many shapes and sizes, including round. This Christmas, we wanted to put a new spin on our favorite holiday traditions from years past using new technology. To do so, we choreographed 28 Spheros to the classic sounds of Trans-Siberian Orchestra. For the past few weekends Sphero has been rolling around the biggest cities in the nation showing off his slick dance moves and spreading the holiday cheer.
How did we do it? Because Sphero is a programmable robot, we used Sphero’s SDK to sync multiple balls to perform specific macros (such as spinning around and changing colors). This formed the ultimate dance routine, and as you can see in the video, it’s quite the crowd-pleaser.
Celebrate Christmas like its 2012 with the coolest stocking stuffer around. To find out when Sphero will roll through a city near you, follow us on Facebook and Twitter @GoSphero. You can learn more about the MacroLab app for both iOS and Android here.
Winner Winner Chicken Dinner
You remember the Konami code? We remember the Konami code too! To celebrate our shared heritage, we'd like to offer you $30 OFF the purchase of a Sphero
To claim your $30 discount, use the coupon code SPHERONAMI at checkout in our online store.
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