The Sphero Mini is a tiny robot you can control with your face

We’ve had miniature versions of R2-D2 and Cars‘ Lightning McQueen, but Sphero’s latest invention sees it returning to its, well, spherical roots. No larger than a ping pong ball, the Sphero Mini’s teeny tiny form belies the tech hiding inside. Once you’ve paired your Mini (£49.99) with the Sphero app, you can use either the on-screen joystick or tilt controls to whizz the toy anywhere within a 10m range, as well as play a handful of pre-loaded games. The headline feature here, though, is undoubtedly Face Drive, which tracks expressions such as smiles, winks, head tilts and more to determine which direction the diminutive robot takes. We can’t wait to see what it makes of our very best grimace.

Matt Tate Contributor

About

I'm fascinated by all things tech, but if you were going to leave me on a desert island, I'd probably ask for my Nintendo Switch, a drone, and a pair of noise-cancelling cans to block out the relentless seagull racket. When I'm not on Stuff duty you'll probably find me subscribing to too many podcasts, playing too many video games, or telling anyone who will listen that Spurs are going to win a trophy this season.

Areas of expertise

Video games, VR, smartwatches, headphones, smart speakers, bizarre Kickstarter campaigns