AnimaLand
By Alexis Lloyd, Ana Velez, and Dave Pasquel
Welcome
to AnimaLand. This wireless plush toy allows children ages 3-5 to interact with stuffed animals and an amimated screen-based environment
in order to learn about animals.
This is how it works. Within each plush animal there is an
RFID card. When the animal is placed on the gaming platform, the RFID
card reader that is within the platform reads the RFID card tag of the
plush animal. This card reader is attached to a computer via USB where
it interfaces with a FLASH application to control a screen-based
character and environment.
For example, when the lion plush toy is placed on the
platform, an African safari landscape is illustrated on the computer
screen and the sound of a lion roaring plays. Then the animated
narrator asks you what the lion eats. If you then put the steak plush
toy on the platform, the narrator acknowledges that is a correct choice
and shows a photograph of a lion eating meat. If you put any other
food toy on the platform, the narrator responds that this is an
incorrect choice and prompts you to guess again.
This toy is to help children learn about animals and their
environments, and to create associations between animals and their
eating habits. The toy is modular, so it could include more animals or
be expanded to teach children about other subjects as well, making the
possibilities of this platform nearly limitless.
Sketches
Fabric Patterns
Plush Toys
Technology: RFID Tags and Reader
Flash Interface
Video
Hey, where are the video? I´m very interested in this tangible interface experiment.
Posted by: Frederick van Amstel | 01/08/2007 at 01:34 PM