Augmented Reality has
become a new trend in the world. With its many prodigious uses, It has become
one of the main applications in the toy industry. More and More toymakers have
been developing AR toys. Here, we are not talking about PokemonGo or Zombies games
but, a gameplay that bridges the gap between virtual play and tangible toys.
So, what does this mean for toy industry?
Contrasting the virtual
reality, augmented reality doesn’t fully engage its users in a digital world.
It adds computer generated elements in real-world setting and that is why it is
perfect for the toy industry. There are a number of AR toys in the market today
and they are guaranteed to enliven you with its unique features. Many of these
toys are not just AR infused, but injected with a lot of educational value; it
means their owner can get smarter & knowledgeable while having insane fun.
“Studies from 1989
shows that children learn the most when they are doing it themselves rather
than just seeing, hearing or reading”.
Amalgamation of education
and virtual play enables toymakers to stimulate their creativity without
getting them hooked on screens. Moreover, Kids can spend their time in playing
with AR toys while learning. So, AR games are meant to enhance children’s
engagement in this golden age.
And since parents are
always on the hunt for educational toys for their kids, let’s explore some of
the popular ones:
PlayShifu
An Augmented Reality based
educational toy, PlayShifu is revolutionizing the world of tomorrow by
providing educational play experiences for kids today. With a huge variety of
products that offer unique play experiences for ages 4-12, kids build STEM and
other foundational skills such as analytical thinking, logical reasoning,
creativity and more.
Made in
In just three years,
PlayShifu has become a multimillion dollar company and their flagship products,
Shifu Orboot and Shifu Plugo Series have won the hearts of parents, educators
and kids all over the world. They have a wide variety of educational toys
like:
Carvaan Mini Kids: A Bluetooth speaker, with no
internet to play has dedicated modes for Rhymes, Stories, Learning and Mantras
for children.
Orboot World of
Dinosaurs: An
Augmented Reality globe which offers an interesting phygital experience with
lands and dinos from 60 million years ago. A combination of beautiful globe
with lands & dinosaurs makes an interactive companion app.
While nobody has claimed
that traditional toys will ever be irreplaceable completely by AR toys that
facilitate learning, the share of such toys is expected to drive the market
worldwide.
The Kano PC kit is a great launchpad that
can get kids ages 6 and older interested in computers and software coding. The
kit contains the hardware components you need to create a working Windows
10 tablet — including an Intel Atom x5-Z8350 quad-core processor clocked
at 1.44GHz, 4GB of DDR3 RAM, and 64GB of storage, as well as a MicroSD card
slot and detachable keyboard.
You connect
everything together by following storybook instructions. Projects include
coding and making art, music, and games and kids will learn about the inner
workings of a PC and how to code through onboard apps. Your DIY tablet will
also work with Windows apps such as Word and Excel, along with many others. And
you can visit Kano World online to safely share projects with the
Littlebits
The LittleBits Code Kit is
designed to be used in educational settings to introduce kids from third to
eighth grades to programming principles, by creating games through coding.
LittleBits encourages parents to urge their schools to buy the kit. But if you
really want to get your kids involved in coding and are willing to take an
active role in the process, you can purchase the kit yourself. It may be
overkill for some, but it’s a robust solution and an effective tool.
WonderWorkshop
Amid other online resources like websites and video
tutorials, one mobile application that has been in the spotlight is ‘Wonder for
Dash & Dot Robots.’ Created by Wonder Workshop, a
California-based robotics
company, this mobile app teaches robotics
to kids in a delightful way like finger painting. It acts as a coding tool that
lets kids of 8+ years have fun with robotics, all on their own. The app comes
with 300+ challenges that teach kids about robotics programming as well as
building robots. With this mobile app, kids can build their robots, update them
with different mechanisms, play challenges and test their simulations. This
application claims to provide an open-ended play and learning experience for
kids to develop problem-solving capabilities at a young age.
Osmo
Osmo
is an award-winning learning game that allows your child to interact with
tangible educational toys and an iPad, bringing their actions to
life.
Osmo kits are
electronic STEM toys that work with iPads or Amazon Fire tablets
to turn screen time into tactile time and they're on sale right now. These kits
use manipulables — numbers, shapes, coding instruction squares — that let kids
translate something they're doing in the physical world to action on a screen,
and back again.
To get
started, you'll need an Osmo base and a compatible tablet. Then you can choose
from a number of kits designed to teach different concepts. The more kits you
have, the more your child can do and learn.
The growth of the demand
for AR toys is driven mainly by the rise in disposable income among people and
technological developments in creative & interactive toys. Also, the
market’s growth is also driven by increased awareness of smart toys and the availability
of different types of smart toys for indoor & outdoor sports &
education purposes.
