10. Orbotix
For rolling out new robotic toys that dart between the digital and the physical. Sphero the robotic ball is so addictively fun, even President Obama has taken it for a spin. But last year, the Boulder, Colorado–based Orbotix wowed kids and geeks everywhere again with the Sphero 2.0, an upgraded, smartphone-controlled orb that moves twice as fast and has double the Bluetooth range as the original. The Sphero 2.0, which interacts with almost 30 smartphone apps that treat physical objects and digital obstacles, helped Orbotix more than double its revenue in 2013. Not one to be stuck in one form factor, Orbotix evolved (again) in January and announced the Sphero 2B: a tubular, two-tired robot that can tumble across rough terrain and leap from steep inclines.




