Sphero indi
VP PRODUCT, SPHERO
One of the things I’m most proud of during my time as VP Product at Sphero is establishing a user-centered approach to product development. As an engineering-forward company, it was impactful to introduce design thinking methodologies to uncover products that addressed both a user need and a business need.
Problem to Solve
Business Need
Sphero’s products all focused on the 8-12 year old demographic and had begun to compete with one another. Sphero needed a product to open up a new demographic and revenue stream.
User Need
Through phone interviews with elementary school teachers, we discovered that they were looking for affordable ways to introduce concepts like sequencing, cause and effect, and collaboration through technology. Most importantly, they wanted something that worked without screens and that didn’t require reading. In one of our interviews, we discovered that a teacher would have kids make a peanut-butter and jelly sandwich to teach sequencing (teachers are very resourceful!)
Prototyping and User Testing
We began to explore the idea of leveraging the color sensing technology we had already developed and placing it within a speedy vehicle that could react to a squence of colors. Using components from our other products, we created a bare-bones version of Sphero indi that operated well enough to get in front of kids.
We brought groups of 5-8 year olds into the office to test our fragile prototype. Right out of the gate, we knew we were on to something. In all of the user-testing we’d done, kids had never reacted so positively to a product. Time would slip away and kids didn’t want to stop playing. The play pattern was simple; different colored cards meant different things to indi when it drove over them. Having that kind of agency over a speedy robot was incredibly rewarding for the kids and they quickly began creating obstacle courses and mazes.
From there, we realized that with just a handful of colors, we could create increasingly complex puzzles for kids to figure out, which only added to the fun. The form factor of indi began to take shape after the play pattern was established. For example, indi had to be skinny enough for little hands to pick it up from the sides, cute sounds were added to indicate indi turning and celebrating, and a light was placed on top to indicate that a color had been recognized. Note: Prototype images cannot be shared.
Today
Sphero now has a product line that has opened up a new demographic and introduces kids to Sphero at an early age. As promised, this is also the first Sphero product that does not require a screen.
Additionally, indi was named to Time Magazine’s Best Inventions of 2021 and is featured on the cover.
What I’m most proud of is that Sphero indi is the outcome of following the design thinking process. From start to finish, we observed user input and behavior to drive the direction of the product.
