Sony's STEM-focused coding toy is ready for classrooms


The first product from Sony's Global Education division, a candy-colored robot-building toy called Koov, is now ready for all of us to order. The toy, which is Sony's attempt to topple Lego Mindstorms' dominance in the STEM toy market, comprises of blocks that you can put together with motors and sensors. Once you've constructed something, you can then head over to the iOS, Windows or OS X app to program its behavior.

Koov had something of a tortured journey to store shelves, and last summer Sony turned to Indiegogo to test demand for the kits. Unfortunately, the project missed its crowdfunding goal by $1,656, forcing the company to think about how it was going to bring the gear to the US. Half a year later, and the company will now sell direct to consumers via its website, with the first kits being aimed at schools.

The Educator Kit will set you back $519.99 and comes with more than 300 blocks, two DC motors, an accelerometer, light sensor and a pair of photo reflectors. You'll also get all the necessary gears, servos, switches, gears and cables necessary for your rugrat (ages eight or older) to go toe-to-toe to Boston Dynamics. Pre-order today and you can expect the first sets to arrive at your door at the end of March,

Source: Sony

via Engadget RSS Feed "http://ift.tt/2BZqpJW"

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Evernote cuts staff as user growth stalls

Image
Note-taking app Evernote has fallen on hard times of late, culminating in its latest spate of job cuts impacting 15 percent of its workforce (54 employees). CEO Chris O' Neil -- an ex-Googler who took the reins in 2015 -- announced the firings at an all-hands meeting earlier today, reports TechCrunch . In a message on the Evernote blog , O' Neill admitted he'd set "incredibly aggressive goals" for the company in 2018. He continued: "Going forward, we are streamlining certain functions, like sales, so we can continue to speed up and scale others, like product development and engineering." The layoffs follow an exec exodus just weeks ago and the company's recent brand refresh (complete with a refined logo and wordmark). But critics are more concerned about its product, especially the free tier, which they claim lacks the perks to
Read more

The best air conditioner

Image
By Liam McCabe This post was done in partnership with Wirecutter . When readers choose to buy Wirecutter's independently chosen editorial picks, it may earn affiliate commissions that support its work. Read the full article here . After six summers of researching, testing, and recommending window air conditioners, we've learned that quiet and affordable ACs make most people the happiest—and we think the LG LW8016ER will fit the bill in most rooms. This 8,000 Btu unit cools as efficiently and effectively as any model with an equal Btu rating, and runs at a lower volume and deeper pitch than others at this price. Little extra features like a fresh-air vent, two-axis fan blades, and a removable drain plug help set it apart, too. The LG LW8016ER is a top choice for an office or den, and some people will find it quiet enough for a bedroom, too. If our main pic
Read more

We won't see a 'universal' vape oil cartridge anytime soon

Image
Pre-loaded cartridges of cannabis concentrate are currently among the most popular means of consumption, and for good reason. They're discreet to use and easy to handle, a far cry from the dark days of 2016 when we had to dribble hash oil or load wax into narrow-mouthed vape pens by hand. But, frustratingly, an ever increasing number of oil cartridge manufacturers employ one-off design standards so that their products won't work with those of their competitors, thereby locking customers into proprietary ecosystems. We've already seen this with nicotine vaporizers -- which has a seen a massive rise in "pod systems" in the last few years, each outfitted with a unique canister and battery built to be incompatible with those of their competition. Is it too late for the burgeoning cannabis industry to set a universal standard for their product designs?
Read more