These tiny robots from DeskPets don’t look like much, but don’t be fooled: There’s a lot of technical sophistication under those candy-colored plastic shells. In autonomous mode, Tankbot uses infrared sensors to avoid walls and other obstacles while driving. The biggest draw, however, might be its remote control mode, which utilizes an iDeskPet remote you plug into the headphone jack of your iPhone or Android to control the robot via a downloaded app. The downside? You get only 15 minutes of playtime after 40 minutes of charging the robot through your USB port.
Price: $25
Programming Skills Required: None
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