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 the toy industry?
Contrasting virtual reality, augmented reality doesn’t fully engage its users in a digital world. It adds computer generated elements in a 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 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 India startup PlayShifu has a unique experience in three ways. One, the physical + digital aspect and interactive games ensure high engagement, which in turn helps children develop skills and retain knowledge longer. Two, visualization of realistic animals, cultures and food etc boosts imagination & attention in detail. Three, exploration of 500+ facts through a dynamic play method builds scientific thinking and persistence skills.
Kano
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 Kano community.
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.
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 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.
