Need some gift ideas for that special robot geek in your life?  We polled the Robohub team for their favorite ideas, from stocking stuffers to once-in-a-lifetime gifts. There’s something on this list for every budget! Don’t see what you’re looking for? See our gift list from last year, browse from our recommendations of 20 great books to hook kids and teens on robotics, or check out Ugly robot christmas sweaters and other bling for your robot wardrobe – Happy shopping!

Toys and Games

Who didn’t grow up wanting their very own R2D2 or C3PO? With the release of the latest episode of Star Wars, Robohub is shamelessly promoting BB-8 as the droid that will hook the next generation of kids on robotics. Ok, we might get one for ourselves too.

Recommended by Michael Savoie.

PS: If the $149.99 price tag is too much, or if you’re just looking for a stocking stuffer, check out the $10.99 BB-8 bobble-head figure by Funko, or this super awesome $18.99 BB-8 LEGO Minifigure.

Like Star Wars and LEGO, many of us grew up on Meccano, and it’s a great way to get school aged kids building on their own. 

The MeccaNoid comes in a 2-foot version and a 4-foot version (!), both of which come with voice recognition and can be programmed via learned intelligent movement (you move its arms, and it remembers and repeats the movement) or through motion capture (where it mimics your movements using a smartphone camera mounted to its chest). 

This is not your grandpa’s Mecanno set!

Recommended by Michael Szollosy, whose kids are desperate to get one.

If your RoboGeek is into racing, Anki’s Overdrive kit might be a good bet. It comes with 2 cars, 10 pieces of track, 2 risers and a charging station. Keep in mind you need a compatible iOS or Android device to play this game. As compared to the first generation Anki Drive, which only let you race people who were on the same device as you, Overdrive lets you race with people on other devices (ie. both Android and iOS users can play at the same time). Overdrive also introduces magnetic modular mats that let you easily reconfigure the track layout, which should help keep the game feeling fresh for longer, especially if you get the Expansion Track Corner Kit or one of the Expansion cars, each of which comes with its own unique mix of speed, defense and firepower.

This is a fair bit of coin to spend on a small child, but the makers of this interactive doll seem to have hit all the right buttons when it comes to early childhood role play. You can make the ‘boo-boo’ on her knee go away by putting a bandaid on it, and when you tickle her feet she tells you she’s going to pee (reallly!). The doll comes with a 150-word vocabulary and several accessories, including the aforementioned band-aid, a bear, a bowl and a spoon.

Boards, kits and learning

Great for kids who are ready to learn about circuitry but who aren’t ready for a soldering iron, the Snap Circuit kits are module-based and let kids easily connect components. The Motion set comes with 50 parts that are geared towards projects that move, including gears, pulleys, motion sensors and fans. The Extreme Electronics Kit comes with 82 components, including a solar cell, resistors, switches, and an FM radio module. All the Snap Circuit sets are compatible, so you can mix and match, and they come with lots of great projects to follow along with. There are also smaller kits, including a Junior version for just $20.99. Winner of the National Parenting Seal of Approval and the Creative Child Toy of the Year awards.

About 20,000 $5 Zeros — the smallest of Raspberry Pi’s offerings to date — were sold within minutes after being launched earlier this fall, so we are calling the Zero this season’s must-have item. The trouble is, where to find it? If you’re willing to shell out the big bucks, there are a few Zeros listed on Ebay, but somehow that seems, well, just plain wrong for an item that was purpose built to be ultra affordable. If you’re lucky enough to live in Chicago, Belway/Rockville, Brooklyn/Gowanus or Westchester Country (all USA), then you might be lucky enough to get your hands on one. We found a limited number of Zeros were available at these Micro Center store locations, but according to the website, they have to be pre-ordered and picked up in person after December 18th, and there is a limit of 1 per household. Or you could just wait until the next batch is ready.

Recommended by Yannis Erripis and Ron Vanderkley.

If you can’t locate Raspberri Pi’s Zero in time for the holidays, you can always try the Genuino Zero by Arduino — but aside from the name, these two don’t have much in common (not least of which is the price tag). The Genuino is a newly launched Arduino brand (in partnership with US based manufacturer Adafruit) that was launched after Arduino lost a trademark dispute to use the Arduino brand globally. You can read more about the drama here.

Recommended by Ron Vanderkley.

This kit contains a Raspberry Pi 2 Model B, Mathworks MatLab & Simulink Student Version, 8GB MicroSD Card, MicroSD card to SD Card Adapter, and a Universal Power Supply. The suite is makes it easy to model simulate and analyze your projects.

Recommended by Ron Vanderkley: “Nice learning kit!”

Great for novice (but interested) makers, this book has 33 projects that will get your gadgets talking to each other, including changing your home thermostat with your smartphone, or setting up a weather monitoring project.

Recommended by Ron Vanderkley.

According to the publishers, “An illustrated book aimed at students and professionals trying to enter the field of physical computing from the softwear perspective.”

Recommended by Ron Vanderkley.

Tools of the trade

Who wouldn’t want their very own mini metal lathe for machining small robot parts? If you don’t have space in your workshop for a full sized lathe, this could do the trick. If you can’t decide which one to buy, check out this handy comparison chart from the Little Machine Shop.

Suggested by Ron Vanderkley, who wants one of these for machining his own parts.

Great for general purpose electronic testing. Fluke is a premium seller of professional quality digital multimeters, and this one comes with a 3-year warranty.

Mitutoyo receives top reviews by machinists in the digital caliper category. You’ll find less expensive ones out there, but as with most tools, you often get what you pay for.

We all know that dust and equipment don’t mix well together, but it’s amazing how often people forget to keep their parts clean. An inexpensive aerosol duster from Maxell or Dust Off can help, or if you want something safer and more environmentally friendly than aerosol, you can try Metro Vacuum’s Electric Duster. This is not a vacuum, but an air blower than comes with several tools, including a pin-pointer, a concentrator nozzle a flare nozzle and a micro-cleaning toolkit. 120 volts.

Holiday reading

Get Nate in paperback!

“”Recycled is an anthology of the webcomic “Nate the Robot”. These comics were posted from 2009 to 2015. Many of these have been remastered and cleaned up for print. Additionally, this book includes 15 completely new comics, only available in print!”

Recommended by Jim Haas.

“Lem has created a curious world in which robots and rockets rub shoulders with kings, dragons, witches and pirates.” Lem is a Polish writer who is one of the most widely translated sci-fi writers and best known sci-fi writers working outside of the English language.

Recommended by Adriana Hamacher.

“In the first-ever history about the organization, New York Times bestselling author Annie Jacobsen draws on inside sources, exclusive interviews, private documents, and declassified memos to paint a picture of DARPA, or “the Pentagon’s brain,” from its Cold War inception in 1958 to the present … Jacobsen strikes a balance between lauding the technology leaps driven by DARPA and pointing out that the ultimate goal is to create wartime tools to guarantee U.S. dominance.”

Recommended by Yours Truly. I haven’t read this book yet, but it’s on my wish list this year.

“As robots are increasingly integrated into modern society—on the battlefield and the road, in business, education, and health—Pulitzer-Prize-winningNew York Times science writer John Markoff searches for an answer to one of the most important questions of our age: will these machines help us, or will they replace us?”

Recommended by Yours Truly. I spoke to John earlier this fall, so watch for that interview coming soon on Robohub!

“If data-ism is today’s rising philosophy, this book will be its bible. The quest for universal learning is one of the most significant, fascinating, and revolutionary intellectual developments of all time. A groundbreaking book, The Master Algorithm is the essential guide for anyone and everyone wanting to understand not just how the revolution will happen, but how to be at its forefront.”

Recommended by Ricardo Téllez.

“This profoundly ambitious and original book breaks down a vast track of difficult intellectual terrain. After an utterly engrossing journey that takes us to the frontiers of thinking about the human condition and the future of intelligent life, we find in Nick Bostrom’s work nothing less than a reconceptualization of the essential task of our time.”

Recommended by Ricardo Téllez.

“In 2009, internationally renowned game designer Jane McGonigal suffered a severe concussion. Unable to think clearly or work or even get out of bed, she became anxious and depressed, even suicidal. But rather than let herself sink further, she decided to get better by doing what she does best: she turned her recovery process into a resilience-building game. What started as a simple motivational exercise quickly became a set of rules for “post-traumatic growth” that she shared on her blog. These rules led to a digital game and a major research study with the National Institutes of Health.”

Recommended by Ricardo Téllez.

If you’re planning for some downtime this holiday, try curling up with one of these robot/AI-themed movies recommended by the Robohub team.

IMDB

Check out this review about Big Hero 6 and the current state of the art in soft robotics by Travis Deyle.

IMDB | Buy/Rent

See this review by Adriana Hamacher about how Automata is is set to put robot ethics into the spotlight.

IMDB | Buy/Rent

Check out this review by Mark Stephen Meadows.

IMDB | Buy/Rent

Check out this review by Andra Keay.

IMDB | Buy/Rent

Recommended by Sabine Hauert.

Download | DVD

http://youtu.be/naQB0aSPLk0

Recommended by Andra Keay.

IMBD | Buy/Rent

Recommended by Yannis Erripis:

“For those who haven’t seen it, I think it is an excellent view on very interesting and difficult to portray correctly in a movie, subjects, like AI, cyborgs etc. “

IMDB | Buy/Rent

Recommended by John Payne:

“While it features machines supporting telepresence (similar to that depicted in Avatar) rather than autonomous robots, the movie Surrogates is one of my favorites, and is lasting proof that Bruce Willis has the capacity to deliver a sensitive performance.”

IMDB | Buy/Rent | YouTube

“One of my favorite movies “Eva” – it really makes you ‘feel so many emotions,’ and think about what we are creating (love the cat! and emotional levels in the home help) and Eva is just magical, as is her ‘creator’.”

IMDB | Buy/Rent

Recommended by Jim Haas:

“Bicentennial Man is one of my favorites!”

IMBD | Buy/Rent

Recommended by Yannis Erripis:

“Maybe not the best movie, but still quite fun, it has one of the coolest robots in cinema: the deranged (and main villain unsurprisingly..) 4 legged AMEE robot with it’s coaxial drone.”

IMDB | Buy/Rent

Recommended by Yannis Erripis:

“Again, maybe not the best movie from a cinematic perspective but the design of everything on Tron is simply beautiful (it’s the work of Daniel Simon, he participated in many movies, ex Oblivion). Hardly any deep meanings and ideas, but robot and industrial designers could learn a lot from it.”

IMDB | Buy/Rent

Recommended by Yannis Erripis:

“The book is one of my favorites and the movie although much more concentrated and upbeat is a good representation. There are a lot of overly-futuristic references and most importantly Marvin, the paranoid android, a robot that suffers from depression and chronic boredom.”

Because you can never get enough of robots we compiled this list of fashion and accessories so you can show off your addiction. Ugly robot christmas sweater, anyone? 

t shirts $13.72 – $29.99

hoodies $27.99 – $34.95

ugly christmas sweaters $25.95 – $29.99

women $10.05 – $35.66

socks $4.50 – $14.99

bling $7.99 – $165.00

kids $14.99 – $46.95

babies $9.99 – $43.19

Robohub is an online platform that brings together leading communicators in robotics research, start-ups, business, and education from around the world. Learn more about us here. If you liked this article, you may also be interested in:

• 25 holiday gift ideas for RoboGeeks (2014)
• Holiday reading for robot fans: 24 books to inspire, educate and provoke
• 20 great books to hook kids and teens on robotics
• Still looking for last-minute holiday gifts? 15 ideas for robot fans (2013)
• 8 Robotic Gifts for the 2013 Holiday Season

See all the latest robotics news on Robohub, or sign up for our weekly newsletter.

Kids love robots! And they love reading too. Ranging from preschool to teen, this selection of books includes fiction and nonfiction, activity books and maker manuals, all to help inspire the kids in your life to get into robotics.

“On the ground and in the air, Robots, robots everywhere! . . . Up in space, beneath the seas, Robots make discoveries . . .” A nice little board book for little kids.

A sweet story about a boy and his bot – a great bedtime story for little ones.

Robots build the alphabet! Featuring hilarious robots making goofy noises, this book is perfect for young readers.

When this robot goes out of date, a child helps him find a new lease in life. From the award-winning author of Corduroy.

A girl and her mother turn a simple cardboard box into the robot of their dreams. Half story book, half activity book, this is perfect material for a fun family activity day or a kids workshop.

Simple descriptions and designs for creating your own Lego robots.

Photo-packed book showing kids real robots, and the science behind them.

How to make ten different robots—that move—out of the most ordinary things from around the house.

LEO the Maker Prince teaches children (both young and old) about 3D printing.

Learn about incredible space robots and the amazing things that they have discovered about our solar system.

Sammy’s mother is an inventor, and their house is filled with her robots, which do everything from housework to tutoring. Plenty of humor of the same genre as Diary of a Wimpy Kid.

Fifteen colorful punch-out robot designs with interchangeable parts make a great rainy day activity.

A mystery story that contains the blueprints to build five different robots projects. Make bristlebots that buzz, hoverbots that float above the ground, battlebots that duke it out, and more! Can Nick and Tesla catch the criminal mastermind—and foil his army of rampaging robots—before it’s too late?

Step-by-step instructions for building real robot models using ordinary craft materials and parts salvaged from recycled toys and other household devices. Kids will learn how to create working robot hands, hydraulic arms, sensors, solar-powered robots, light-seeking robots and more.

A collection of hundreds of working examples of simple Technic models of gears, shafts, pulleys, turntables, connectors, that you can build based on their pictures alone.

A look at the early visual development of the Pixar film Robots. If you loved the movie, you’ll love the book.

Who could be more inspiring to a budding young roboticist than sociable robotics expert Cynthia Breazeal? Though this book was written in 2005 and looks at her earlier work, Jibo’s emergence is bound to make this book resonate once again. If you’re looking to inspire a girl, check out also Dazzling Women Designers by Jill Bryant.

A classic introduction to building robots – now in its 4th edition. Well organized, easy to understand and fun!

An easy and fun introduction to building Arduino by the author of the classic Robot Builder’s Bonanza – no special tools or knowledge required!

Caleb-Seven isn’t just another robot, he’s been created to be given to the king, who is childless, and who wants this robot to be blank slate that can be molded into a surrogate son. But Caleb is bent on escaping his fate.

Robohub is an online platform that brings together leading communicators in robotics research, start-ups, business, and education from around the world. Learn more about us here. If you liked this article, you may also be interested in:

• 25 holiday gift ideas for RoboGeeks (2014)
• Holiday reading for robot fans: 24 books to inspire, educate and provoke
• Ugly robot christmas sweaters and other bling for your robot wardrobe
• Still looking for last-minute holiday gifts? 15 ideas for robot fans (2013)
• 8 Robotic Gifts for the 2013 Holiday Season

See all the latest robotics news on Robohub, or sign up for our weekly newsletter.

Recommended by Sabine Hauert, who also suggests Robopocalypse (2012)

“I read both books from cover to cover. Daniel Wilson is a roboticist – which makes his creations in the science fiction world that much more entertaining.”

Recommended by Frank Tobe.

Tom Clancy has the ability to fictionalize the complex network of integrated networks and algorithms that make up our communications, satellite and power systems and show them all working together. In this chilling novel, he shows how it could all come apart.

Recommended by Jim Haas, who also suggests Father Robot – Kristopher White & Sam Garland (2014)

“If you like comics, these are some great ones!”

The quintessential story of AI and the three laws of robotics.

Recommended by Frank Tobe.

With an eye toward encouraging high school students to follow a STEM curricula, this book shows how a passionate teacher engaged his students to dispel social stereotypes, overcome adversity and become cool.

Recommended by Frank Tobe.

What can account for Japan’s unique relationship with robots as potential colleagues in life, rather than as potential adversaries? This book attempts to answer this fundamental query by looking at Japan’s historical connections with robots, its present fascination and leading technologies, and what the future holds.

Recommended by Giulio Sandini:

“If you are interested in an up-to-date and accessible introduction to cognitive robots and systems, this is the book to read. In addition to presenting an overview of the main paradigms of cognitive science and architecture, the book also focuses on aspects of cognitive systems that are very close to robotics, such as embodiment, autonomy, memory and prospection. These topics are becoming of paramount importance to robotics, specifically in those application areas that address human-robot natural interaction and robot companionship.”

A practical introduction to industrial automation.

Recommended by Giulio Sandini:

Developmental robotics is a collaborative and interdisciplinary approach to robotics that is directly inspired by the developmental principles and mechanisms observed in children’s cognitive development. It builds on the idea that the robot, using a set of intrinsic developmental principles regulating the real-time interaction of its body, brain, and environment, can autonomously acquire an increasingly complex set of sensorimotor and mental capabilities. This volume, drawing on insights from psychology, computer science, linguistics, neuroscience, and robotics, offers the first comprehensive overview of a rapidly growing field.

This book also made our book list for kids: who could be more inspiring to a budding young roboticist than sociable robotics expert Cynthia Breazeal? Though this book was written in 2005 and looks at her earlier work, Jibo’s emergence is bound to make this book resonate once again. If you’re looking to inspire a girl, or just yourself, this is the perfect read.

Recommended by Andra Keay, who also suggests Dazzling Women Designers.

In The Glass Cage, best-selling author Nicholas Carr digs behind the headlines about factory robots and self-driving cars, wearable computers and digitized medicine, as he explores the hidden costs of granting software dominion over our work and our leisure.

“A pretty good read. A whole load of discussion on the jobs topic in there too.”

Superintelligence asks the questions: What happens when machines surpass humans in general intelligence? Will artificial agents save or destroy us?

During the eighteenth century, the inventor Jacques de Vaucanson created a mechanical duck that seemingly could digest and excrete its food. A few decades later, Europeans fell in love with “the Turk,” a celebrated chess-playing machine built in 1769. Thomas Edison was obsessed for years with making a talking mechanical doll, one of his few failures as an inventor. In our own time, scientists at MIT are trying to build a robot with emotions of its own. What lies behind our age-old pursuit to create mechanical life? What does this pursuit tell us about human nature? Gaby Wood traces the history of robotics, from its most brilliant inventions to its most ingenious hoaxes. Joining lively anecdote with literary, cultural, and philosophical insights, Wood offers a captivating and learned work of science and history.

A look at robotics and AI within the defense/security sector and including the workings of DARPA and other directed research facilities. Recommended by Frank Tobe.

“It provides an interesting (and sometimes fun) look at how great minds have grappled with applied problems and scientific experiments – what you see is not always all there is!”

“The author, Randall Munroe, a former NASA roboticist, is the creator of the hugely successful (and fun) webcomic www.xkcd.com”

Recommended by Andra Keay:

“Scenarios from the future looking at the potential impact of some of the emerging technologies. Like what happends when you have a lot of very cheap, very small solar powered robots… with no off switches.”

How do we separate science fact from science fiction? Mark Meadows uses fact, humor and pop culture to examine our favorite sci-fi robots – and to see which ones have come true today, and which ones will come true tomorrow. Along the way he raising important questions that robot-makers often ignore.

When have you gone into an electronics store, picked up a desirable gadget, and found that it was labeled “Made in Russia”? Probably never. Russia, despite its epic intellectual achievements in music, literature, art, and pure science, is a negligible presence in world technology. Despite its current leaders’ ambitions to create a knowledge economy, Russia is economically dependent on gas and oil. In Lonely Ideas, Loren Graham investigates Russia’s long history of technological invention followed by failure to commercialize and implement.

Recommended by Hallie Siegel.

Would-be startups and entrepreneurs should not miss out on the advice from Peter Thiel, the founder of PayPal, Palantir Technologies, and partner of the Founders Fund, a Silicon Valley venture capital firm that has funded companies like SpaceX and Airbnb.

The Robohub team has been reading this – you should too!

In 1995 Don Tapscott wrote The Digital Economy: Promise and Peril in the Age of Networked Intelligence. 20 years later, in this anniversary edition, he offers his insight on what he got right (it turns out, quite a lot!) and what surprised him. Check out also this CBC interview.

Resource Revolution shows how to take what is being seen as a worldwide crisis and turn it into the biggest business opportunity of the past one hundred years. The rapid urbanization of a new 2.5-billion-person middle class in Asia will create an unprecedented demand for oil, steel, land, food, water, cement, and other commodities over the next two decades. Heck and Rogers explore the ways in which innovators, including startups and global leaders from Cree to GE, have answered the challenge with practical steps to guide managers everywhere.

Robohub is an online platform that brings together leading communicators in robotics research, start-ups, business, and education from around the world. Learn more about us here. If you liked this article, you may also be interested in:

• 25 holiday gift ideas for RoboGeeks (2014)
• Ugly robot christmas sweaters and other bling for your robot wardrobe
• 20 great books to hook kids and teens on robotics
• Still looking for last-minute holiday gifts? 15 ideas for robot fans (2013)
• 8 Robotic Gifts for the 2013 Holiday Season

See all the latest robotics news on Robohub, or sign up for our weekly newsletter.

Need some gift ideas for that special robot geek in your life?  We polled the Robohub team for their favorite ideas, from stocking stuffers to once-in-a-lifetime gifts, so you’ll be sure to find something for every budget. Don’t see what you’re looking for? See our list from last year. Happy shopping!

These “fish” come to life in water and swim, dive and explore their environment. You can buy two versions of the fish in 10 different colors. You can also buy an acquarium or make your own. Recommended by Frank Tobe.

This robotic pet responds with barks, tail wags and head tilts when you talk to her. She’ll sit when petted. Her leash has a controller so that you can take her for a walk. With a free app, you can watch her interact with the app activities as you play. The pup will respond to the bubbles and hair dryer in one of the apps. Recommended by Frank Tobe.

A pioneer in duplicating the human parent motions of rocking, dancing, cradling and driving, the mamaRoo robotic rocker sets the standard for smart baby swings. Competitors are adding smart features to their baby swings to catch up but 4moms is definitely the leader of the pack in their use of robotics and slick engineering. Even has built-in nature sounds but can also use any MP3 player as a plug-in. Recommended by Frank Tobe.

The Fridge Rover climbs up your fridge or magnetic surface when wound up. A fun little science gadget that will make a great stocking stuffer. Measures about 2 by 2 1/2 inches. See it in action on Youtube. Recommended by Kate Darling.

OK, maybe not exactly robotic, but what RoboGeek wouldn’t be into this? A BBC production since 1963, Doctor Who is the most successful and longest running science-fiction TV series.

This chatty Gabby has a vocabulary of over 300 unique words and phrases and over 25 games and activities triggered from interactive accessories such as smoothie, cupcake, eye shadow compact, lipstick and mobile phone. At 11 inches tall, she talks, dances and plays games and activities through her touch-enabled eyeglass frames. Her eyes are animated and light up in different colors as she chats. Her glasses are touch sensors and if you tap on a corner you can answer her questions or give her makeovers. You can even text her! Recommended by Frank Tobe.

This robotic dog moves and gyrates to the beat of any connected music device (iPod, tablet, smartphone). Simple but with an expressive face and 7 different multi-color lights and also an audio speaker. Recommended by Frank Tobe.

Teachable puppy, rewarded with belly rubbing, can learn its name and responds to that name, plays and chases and not always obedient. He will sit, lie down, play dead, protect you and even “pee”.. Recommended by Frank Tobe.

This fast-moving floor robot can spin, flip and perform app-powered tricks. Can conquer most indoor and outdoor terrains. Takes some time to figure it all out but Ollie is more durable, faster and robust than a remote-controlled car. Recommended by Frank Tobe.

This is small (9″ high and 14″ long) two-legged balancing mobile interactive dinosaur with sounds and responsiveness and a trainable personality. You can use the controller or your hands to direct the robot. You can train him to dance, chase, chomp and roar. It has a proximity sensor to detect when you’re nearby. Recommended by Jim Haas and Frank Tobe.

This is a fascinating robotic achievement. It is equipped with gesture sensing technology: any hand motion controls MiP. MiP is short for “Mobile Inverted Pendulum.” It is controlled from its app on smartphones or tablets. It also has an immersive personality and responds to praise or mistreatment. All the while this 10 inch little robot is balancing on two wheels. It has a game mode as well as dance, boxing, battle and stack modes. Recommended by Frank Tobe.

This construction system lets you quickly play and experiment with robots. Use the steel spheres to create simple motion primitives, combine joints, hinges and rigid construction to build wonderful kinematic creations. The Zombonitron 1600 includes 16 robot blocks that combine to create hundreds and hundreds of robots. Recommended by John Payne.

Snap together an endless variety of robots without programming and watch the behavior emerge like with a flock of birds or a swarm of bees. Includes 6 Cubelet modules, charger, and batteries for an endless variety of robots.. Recommended by John Payne.

This educational robot can speak, hear, be emotional and see. It’s primary goal is to teach programming from scratch. It’s neck, eyelids and eyebrows move and are able to express emotional reactions to various sensor stimuli. It can be purchased as a kit or fully assembled. Recommended by Frank Tobe

Easily snap together together components to configure arms, legs and more, and then program movements and interactions with the EZ-Builder software. Revolution Six comes with a camera, so you can track objects, faces, colors, and motion.

This is one tiny quadrocopter!! Measuring just 2 1/4″ X 2 1/4 “, Cheerson claims to be the world’s smallest. Watch it zip around on Youtube. Recommended by Markus Waibel: “We are having a lot of fun around the lab with these lately!”

Assemble and program your own robot bug. Includes one micro controller and two servos. Check out this review by Jaidyn Edwards.

This mini quadcopter is a low-cost palm-sized drone that has blue lights as it flies. It uses a joystick and has an acrobotic mode for doing flips. It has a camera that transmits a real-time video signal to the user. This makes it possible to fly by first-person-view (the FPV in its name). It runs for 7+ minutes on a 30 minute charge. Recommended by Frank Tobe: “There are many providers of mini’s but I like this one.”

Parrot Flower Power is a sensor that can be “planted” close to a plant, indoors or outdoors, in a pot or in open ground. It precisely measures, in real time, the parameters that are crucial for the growth and good health of plants: soil moisture, fertilizer, ambient temperature, and light intensity. Plants have vital needs, and Parrot Flower Power uses advanced sensor technologies to monitor the plants’ welfare through a range of parameters. Using the data gathered every 15 minutes by the four sensors, users are able to understand the exact requirements of their plants. Bluetooth monitoring to your iOS or Android device. Recommended by Hallie Siegel.

An update to Parrot’s successful AR Drone, this drone can roll and fly anywhere including across your ceiling! Performs acrobatics; rolls anywhere including up walls. Has an embedded mini-cam and, with a connection to your smartphone or tablet can record your flights. Recommended by Frank Tobe

Fully functioning gesture-based programmable universal remote control, compatible with almost all home entertainment equipment, such as iPod docks, TVs and Blu-ray players. Teaches you how to use it with spoken prompts. Recommended by Ron Vanderkley.

This robot jumps over 2-1/2 feet and always falls back on its wheels. Controlled via your smartphone or tablet, this jumping Sumo has a wide angle camera and streams live views on the pilot’s screen. The software enables programming a travel plan with tricks and sounds to liven up an already fascinating minidrone. Wheels can be pushed in for navigating in tight areas and pulled out for a wider base. Recommended by Frank Tobe.

For robot enthusiasts with a technical bent, this EV3 kit is the latest version of LEGO Mindstorms. It contains motors, sensors and LEGO parts and plans to build and program a variety of robots. At it’s core is an ARM9 processor. It has a remote control device or can be controlled from your smart phone or tablet. You can program and control these versatile productions. Recommended by Frank Tobe

Digital Inverter Technology creates suction power up to 60 times that of conventional vacuums, and cylcone technology prevents filters from clogging. Comes with an enlarged brush to cover a wide area. A suit of sensors helps minimize blind spots to keep the Powerbot from getting stuck in tight places, such as underneath chair legs. Comes with a remote control that lets you direct the Powerbot to especially dusty locations.

NAO Evolution is a fourth generation robot and comes with enhanced audio and video capabilities, more than natural motion and more computing power. NAO is open source, fully autonomous and is available for education, research, companies and hobbyist developers. The Essential Bundle is available for special order, and comes with 1 NAO humanoid, 1 software suite license, exclusive “NAO plays football” behaviour, 1 year warranty, and a 1 year subscription of the Apps Validation Service.
NAO Next Gen now available for a wider audience.

Robohub is an online platform that brings together leading communicators in robotics research, start-ups, business, and education from around the world. Learn more about us here. If you liked this article, you may also be interested in:

• Holiday reading for robot fans: 24 books to inspire, educate and provoke
• Ugly robot christmas sweaters and other bling for your robot wardrobe
• 20 great books to hook kids and teens on robotics
• Still looking for last-minute holiday gifts? 15 ideas for robot fans (2013)
• 8 Robotic Gifts for the 2013 Holiday Season

See all the latest robotics news on Robohub, or sign up for our weekly newsletter.

Romo App-Controlled Pet for iOS Devices

Romo by Romotive, includes face detection, telepresence/remote control and training, at Brookstone, $149.99

WowWee RoboMe Robot Kit for iPhone

RoboMe by WowWee has face detection, voice recognition and speech synthesis,  at Amazon, $129.99

Sphero App-controlled Wireless Robotic Ball

Sphero by Orbotix, a robotic ball you control from a smartphone or tablet, at Brookstone, $129.99.

iRobot Roomba 880, Vacuum Cleaning Robot

Roomba 880 by iRobot, new cleaning system and sensors for improved cleaning, at iRobot, $699.99.

Modular Robotics’ Cubelets Kit

Cubelets by Modular Robotics, a different cube for different sensors and functions, at Amazon, $159.95.

Leap Motion Gesture Motion Controller for PC or MAC

Leap Motion Gesture Controller by Leap Motion, enables one to interact with your computer with your hands and fingers, at Leap Motion, $79.99.

LEGO Minstorms EV3 Robot Construction System

Mindstorms EV3 by LEGO, processor, instructions, sensors, servo motors and ports to build different robots, at Amazon, $349.95.

Hexbug Spider by Innovation First Labs

Innovation First Labs’ Hexbug Spider, a controllable creature with a remote controller which can control 2 Spiders, at Amazon, $23.61.

And 2 that won’t be available until early next year: Play-i and ATOMagic

ATOMagic Set by myATOMS and Play-i’s Bo and Yana won’t be ready in time for the holidays. Check their websites for details of what’s to come.

 

 

… Canadian EZ-Robot is the first to the gate with 2013 Christmas gifts: 3 modular robot kits and a software interface using simple “drag and drop” methods to make teaching the robot behaviors and commands simple and intuitive. Prices start at $219 and the JD humanoid-looking robot goes for $469.
… Cute video shows all three new robot toys and the EZ-Builder software.
… DJ Sures is the inventor and company CEO. He’s the Canadian roboticist who gained fame from his 2011 YouTube video about how to turn a Wall-E toy into a functioning robot. He’s developed quite a community: 116 posts each day to the forum; residents in 118 countries; 2.1 million views of EZ-Robot YouTube videos.
… Included with the software is the ability to share apps with other EZ-Robot owners through the cloud.