Hexbugs...

The other night while I was in Target, I found these cool little robot bug things.

They're called Hexbugs Nano. I didn't end up getting one, because I wanted to see what they did before I spent $8 on one, or $12 on the little habitat thing for them.

So I went home and started looking around online. Apparently they are little robot things that supposedly act like bugs. I imagine that they aren't actually robots at all, and more just little vibrating motors with rubber legs that cause them to act erratically.

Either way, everything I read about them seemed like they were pretty cool. Most of the reviews online mentioned that kids who got them for gifts quickly lost them to their father, because it seems to be such an interesting little gadget.

So I went back to Target tonight and got a set that came with some spots for them to "run around" in and two of the little bugs. I put it all together, and it's actually pretty entertaining. The bugs run around and move on their own. They turn when they run into a wall or each other, and sometimes just generally turn on their own. They flip themselves back onto their feet if they manage to get knocked on their sides. They run into each other, follow each other around, and just generally act like real bugs. It's pretty cool to watch them interact with each other, even if they aren't really doing anything at all other than moving around.

For the set that I got it was about $30. But you can get just a single bug for $8. I think they'd be a great thing to give to someone that loves gadgets.