Sphero launches BOLT+ coding robot powered by Nordic Semiconductor
Designed by Freepik
Educational technology company Sphero has launched ‘Bolt+’, an updated version of its ‘Bolt’ smart robot, designed to help students learn how to code. Aimed at grades three to ten, BOLT+ can be programmed via an app to perform a variety of tasks, such as following a path, changing the colours of its lights, or updating its display, all using Nordic Semiconductor Bluetooth LE wireless connectivity.
Extended battery with nPM1100 PMIC
Powered by Nordic’s nRF5340 SoC and using the nMP1100 PMIC for power management, the BOLT+ can be programmed in one of three ways, depending on the user’s coding experience. In ‘Draw Canvas’ mode, students can simply sketch the path they would like the device to follow, while ‘Block Coding’ mode allows users to drag and drop modular commands to create programs visually. Finally, in ‘Text Programming’ mode, more advanced coders can write their programs in JavaScript or Python.
“Sphero BOLT+ is a round programmable robot that delivers best-in-class, hands-on classroom learning experiences and supports beginner to advanced coders – featuring a suite of programmable sensors and motors, a vivid LCD screen, and endless hands-on learning opportunities,” says Jeff Wiencrot, the senior director of firmware and hardware at Sphero. “One BOLT+ supports up to two learners and promotes pair programming and collaborative learning.”
The BOLT+ links with the user’s smartphone via the nRF5340 SoC’s 2.4 GHz multiprotocol radio. Once connected, students can use the ‘Sphero Edu’ app to program the device to move, change the colour of its lights, trigger light displays or matrix animations, illuminate the display, emit sounds, or combine multiple actions using if/then statements. It also includes a convenient ‘shake to wake’ function for quickly powering the device back on after periods of inactivity.
This device employs Nordic’s nPM1100 dedicated PMIC, which delivers up to 92% power conversion efficiency. The PMIC includes a highly efficient dual-mode configurable buck regulator and integrated battery charger to help prolong battery life.
“We love the nPM1100,” continues Wiencrot. “It consolidates multiple power management functions into a single IC, and it’s super small, so it saves valuable board space. We also found it to be extremely power efficient.”
The nPM1100 is designed to complement Nordic’s nRF52 and nRF53 Series SoCs, providing efficient, low-power operation and reliable power delivery. With its compact form factor, it is also well suited to space-constrained applications such as this.
High performance application processor
The nRF5340 SoC features dual Arm Cortex-M33 processors to provide ample computational overhead for the robot. The high-performance application processor capable of DSP and Floating Point (FP), offers voltage and frequency scaling options and runs up to 128 MHz (514 CoreMark) with dedicated 1 MB Flash and 512 KB RAM. The fully programmable, ultra low power network processor runs at 64 MHz (244 CoreMark) and includes dedicated 256 KB Flash and 64 KB RAM.
“The nRF5340 is the sole microcontroller, responsible for all operations on the robot, including communicating by Bluetooth with our Sphero Edu App, running the RGB LCD, controlling the motors, and operating the various sensors,” says Wiencrot.
“We also love working with Nordic in general. We’ve used Nordic products in nearly every Sphero robot for almost a decade now. The technical support, sales support and documentation are all excellent.”
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