robotindex Sphero BOLT+
A sealed, ball-shaped coding robot from Sphero built around a 128×128-pixel color LCD screen (with 650+ built-in graphics/animations) and a full inertial sensor suite — gyroscope, accelerometer, magnetometer, ambient light sensor, and 4 infrared emitters/receivers for robot-to-robot awareness. Programmed via the free Sphero Edu app in Draw, Block, or Text (JavaScript/Python) modes, aimed at grades 3–10. The 2024 successor to the original Sphero BOLT, which Sphero still sells alongside it at a lower price.
sphero.com/products/sphero-bolt-plus →
Image: user-submitted
Specs
Battery
"All-day" (mAh unpublished)Sphero markets all-day life but doesn't publish a capacity figure; original BOLT was independently measured at 1,250mAh (~2hrs driving / ~5-6hrs light coding)
Dimensions
2.87in × 2.87in × 2.87in≈73mm diameter; same sealed polycarbonate shell as original BOLT
Connectivity
Bluetooth LEexact BLE version not published by Sphero for BOLT or BOLT+
Sensors
Gyro, accelerometer, magnetometerplus ambient light sensor and 4 IR emitters/receivers for ~4m robot-to-robot awareness; motion sensed via IMU + internal motor encoders, not wheel odometry (sealed sphere)
Software
Sphero Edu app (proprietary)Draw, Block (Scratch-style), and Text (JavaScript/Python) modes; includes an "Explain My Program" AI code-explainer feature
Display
128×128-px color LCDreplaces original BOLT's 8×8 LED matrix; 650+ graphics/animations; includes a matrix emulator for backward compatibility with old BOLT lessons
Processor
Single dual-core SoCreplaces original BOLT's separate drive/Bluetooth processors; Sphero credits it with better driving response and power management
Charging
Qi wireless chargingwith automatic shutoff; replaces original BOLT's proprietary inductive dock + micro-USB
Water Resistance
Marketed "waterproof shell"no certified IP rating published; an independent review of original BOLT explicitly notes "no IPX rating"
Age/Grade
Grades 3–10 (ages 8+)marketed as "scalable" from beginner block coding through Python
Reference Price
Sphero's list price for a single BOLT+ unit is $199.00 direct from sphero.com, with a classroom "Power Pack" of 15 robots running $3,499.00. The original Sphero BOLT remains available at a lower $179.00, with a trade-in program offering up to $70 off per BOLT traded in for classrooms upgrading.
Insights
This catalog applies no Open Source badge to BOLT+: its firmware, Bluetooth protocol, and Sphero Edu app are all proprietary and closed-source. Sphero does publish genuinely MIT-licensed SDKs, but only for its unrelated RVR/RVR+ robot line — not for BOLT or BOLT+ — and the closest open alternative, the community-built spherov2.py library, is unofficial and unconfirmed against BOLT+'s updated hardware.
Firmware & Community
Closed platform — SDK exists for RVR, not BOLT+
Sphero BOLT+ has not released a public SDK, firmware repo, or developer API — Sphero's genuinely MIT-licensed official SDKs cover only its separate RVR/RVR+ line. Not currently listed in Builds & Mods.
Specs and history compiled from Sphero's own BOLT+ and BOLT product pages, Sphero's official "BOLT+ vs BOLT" comparison and launch press release, Sphero support documentation, independent hands-on reviews (NYC Tech Mommy, NerdBot, The Geek Church, and earlier Tom's Hardware/Gadget Explained coverage of the original BOLT), Wikipedia's Sphero company history, and contemporaneous tech-press coverage (TechCrunch, AppleInsider, TechSpot) of Sphero's 2018 layoffs and 2020 leadership change. Several details are flagged as unconfirmed above: BOLT+'s exact Bluetooth version, its published battery capacity in mAh, a certified IP water-resistance rating, its independently-measured weight, and its exact announcement date (sources split between June and August 2024). This entry hasn't yet been cross-linked into the rest of the Classroom & Coding Kits subcategory or synced to the directory listing; that's planned for a later pass.