Cue

© 2017 Wonder Workshop
$200, iPad, iPhone, Android, Kindle
Teaches: coding, STEM, robotics
CTR Rating: 80%

CTR Review

What's fast, talks a lot, and can be programmed? This new rolling robot follows in the tradition of Dash from Wonder Workshop. It rolls faster and knows more words, but it's also harder to setup and use, due to frequent updates and the need to register. Cue is the star of three new "CleverBots" from Wonder Workshop, each for a different age group.  After you charge Cue via USB you download the free controller app (for iOS and Android) and select one of four modes: Chat (send and receive text messages with 30,000 possible responses with a vocabulary of 170,000 words); Control (an auto modes that lets Cue seek, avoid, and explore to navigate obstacles); Create (discover a freestyle environment to program adventures using Cue’s proximity sensors, encoders, gyro, accelerometer and microphones) and Code (build your program with blocks or toggle to JavaScript text mode).   As with Dash, there is no camera in this edition. Objects and walls are sensed via IR (infrared) receivers and transmitters, microphones and a speaker, voice triangulation (so it can look at you) and personalized recording and playback. Cue supports Apple’s Swift, and can be customized by assigning up to four Avatars (personality profiles) sold for $4.99 each, as an in-app purchase. Our testers downloaded "Smirk" and were sorry -- they thought thought this personality talked too much. They wanted to reset the robot to one of the "less chatty" personality. Sadly this is not possible -- once your robot is imprinted, there's no turning back -- unless you pay $4.99 as an IAP for another test. Need to know: Skip all the chat and go straight to the movement controls and coding features -- that's where this robot ads the most value. Wonder Workshop is also announcing a partnership with Microsoft. Cue’s coding experience was built upon Microsoft’s open source platform, MakeCode. Cue comes in two colors: white or black. See also the Dot Creativity Kit is $80. Need to know: Testers were disappointed to wait up to 15 minutes while the robot "updated." In addition, the app requires registration first before you can simply drive around.