Legos, drones, robots come alive with Swift Playgrounds

Learning to code with Apple's Swift Playgrounds gets even better with real-world toys.

James Martin

James Martin is the Managing Editor of Photography at CNET. His photos capture technology's impact on society - from the widening wealth gap in San Francisco, to the European refugee crisis and Rwanda's efforts to improve health care. From the technology pioneers of Google and Facebook, photographing Apple's Steve Jobs and Tim Cook, Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg and Google's Sundar Pichai, to the most groundbreaking launches at Apple and NASA, his is a dream job for any documentary photography and journalist with a love for technology. Exhibited widely, syndicated and reprinted thousands of times over the years, James follows the people and places behind the technology changing our world, bringing their stories and ideas to life.

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James Martin

June 1, 2017 8:00 a.m. PT

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Apple's updated Swift Playgrounds app will let kids code for robots and drones.

"It combines coding with robotics in the physical world, which is something that's very different from what we've been able to do before," said Cheryl Thomas, Apple's vice president of software engineering operations.

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The software teaches kids (and adults) how to code for iPhones and iPads. And starting June 5, it will work with third-party drones, robots and electronic musical instruments, too.

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"Education's in our DNA," said Susan Prescott, Apple's vice president of product marketing for apps, markets and services. "Those aren't just words to us. It's really been important to us to figure out how technology can transform teaching and learning in the classroom."

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With some quick programming that took less than an hour to compile, this little robot started dancing to Psy's "Gangnam Style," mimicking motions displayed on the iPad's screen.

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Companies working with Apple on Swift Playgrounds includes Lego with its Mindstorms Education EV3 robots; Parrot's Airborne and Rolling Spider drones; Skoogmusic's Skoog tactile cube that lets kids create music with their hands; Sphero's SPRK+ rolling ball robot; and Wonder Workshop's Dash robot.

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One of Parrot's Rolling Spider drones alongside an iPad running Swift Playgrounds that will be used to make it fly.

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Apple's updated Swift Playgrounds app will let kids code for robots and drones.

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Swift Playgrounds version 1.5 marks the first time Apple has worked with third-party device makers for the app.

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Some device makers -- like Parrot and Wonder Workshop -- previously made their own experimental activities that Swift Playgrounds users could download from their websites or via Twitter.

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Used by more than a million unique active users, according to Apple, Swift Playgrounds is now available in English, French, German, Spanish, Japanese and "simplified Chinese."