Tickle is a very cool app that lets you create code to control the Sphero Robotic Ball
The app uses a similar structure to Scratch – simply drag and drop the modular blocks to make your Sphero roll around a maze or your parrot drone to flip about in mid air. You can even use it to program an Arduino wirelessly and build custom robots!
Tickle can also be used without these devices to program interactive stories and games using a library of animated characters and sounds.
All the devices, Arduino, and virtual characters work seamlessly with each other. For example, you could hold a Sphero in your hand and use it like a Wii controller to fly a drone!
Tickle is easy to learn, yet incredibly powerful. Children (and teachers) that are familiar with the basics of Scratch, would be able to pick up Tickle very quickly.
If you’re looking for interesting ways to teach coding, then this is definitely worth a look. If you’ve already bought some Sphero or Ollie devices then this app would make a good addition to your iPad. You can download Tickle for free here.
Hat tip to Brian Aspinal who wrote about Tickle in action here.
Also check out this blog post from Futurform ICT with a nice video of their first drone flight!
