A new way to think about thinking Robots are an exciting way to learn engineering, but writing your first lines of code can drain out the fun. Fortunately, SpikerBot from Backyard Brains makes it incredibly easy to give a robot life-like behaviors, and learn valuable neuroscience while you do. We met with Co-Founder & CEO Greg Gage and Designer Alex Hatch to learn about the new bot. Alex Hatch explains the basics behind SpikerBot. Instead of learning about computer logic and if-then statements, SpikerBot’s app builds sketches entirely out of virtual neurons. As they say, “there’s no code, no LLMs, just neurons, synapses, and behavior emerging from a circuit a kid designed.” If you’re familiar with the book Vehicles by Valentino Braitenberg, then you’ll have some understanding of the philosophy behind this bot. The bot responds directly to sensors, and lifelike behaviors emerge from the simplest sketches.…