Following in the digital footsteps of Play-i, Kibo and Hackaball, is Vortex, a friendly Arduino-based bot that can connect to iOS and Android devices, play games, and be programmed by children as young as six-years-old.

Currently looking for funding on Kickstarter, Vortex is the latest product from DFRobot. It's aimed at children aged from 6 years and upwards, and has been designed to be fun out of the box. The bot comes ready to play a number of games including Bumping Fight (a sumo-like game for multiple Vortex robots), Golf, Driving, and Soccer. Fugitive, an augmented reality game which sees kids chasing after the bot with their smart device, will be available later in the year.