The Tankbot sees, grabs and runs

TankBot is the latest in UBTech’s Jimu range, and we’re excited about it because, while the other ‘bots were equally cute – one was a penguin with a bow tie, for pity’s sake – their skills were limited to servo-based leggy wombling. TankBot (£145 at the Apple store) has tracks for scooting about on uneven floors, plus an IR sensor that enables it to sense and grab things with its clutching arms. Scoot, see, grab and drop – if that’s not an adequately fun scenario for learning to code, we’ll eat our PiHat. There’s an app that guides you through the building and the coding, and a big community of Jimu users out there for mod suggestions.

Fraser Macdonald consulting editor

About

Fraser used to wear a Psion Series 3 palmtop in a shoulder holster. Perhaps he still does.Either way, his lifelong mission - including fourteen years for Stuff - has been to see whether the consumer electronics industry can ever replicate that kind of cyborgian joy.So far: nope. Despite a plan to combine a action camera and Olympus Eye-Trek goggles to become Man Who Sees The Vision Of A Man Three Inches Taller Than Himself.He also likes mountain bikes, motorbikes, cars, helicopters. Still thinks virtual surround is witchcraft. Dislikes jetskis, despite never having been on one.