Remember when electronic pets were all the rage? Kids up and down the country had their own egg shaped keyrings containing an odd Japanese creature which required constant care and attention to prevent it's unexpected demise? Once the novelty wore off, thousands of unwanted pets were consigned to a digital graveyard, some even attracting the tears of their young owners.

Apparently the desire for electronic pets never went away (they are an awful lot cleaner than "real ones" for a start), but here in 2011 they are much more advanced. Tankbot is a sturdy, resilient little beast, which just like a real tank has caterpillar tracks.

Although each App Control Desk Bot can operate autonomously (that's "on it's own" in plain English), running around your desk or floor banging into stuff as it feels the need, each Bot can also use optical navigation technology to get around. What? The Bot can "see" obstacles and learn which way to go when faced by a wall, which means you can build a maze and watch your bot work it's own way through. Pretty clever huh?

But wait there's more! Because, as the name suggests, each App Control Desk Pet also comes with a nifty remote control unit which plugs into the headphone socket in your smartphone. Then using the relevant App, you can take control of your Bot and steer it wherever you like. Simple, intuitive controls mean the Bot follows your every direction and you don't need a degree in robotics to get started.

Each Bot is fully rechargeable via USB which makes the App Control Desk Bot a fantastic addition to any office, and the colour range should allow you to seamlessly coordinate with your decor. Maybe. If you can get a couple together, their impressive 1 foot per second speed allows for many an amusing coffee-break race. Technical, nifty and above all, fun.