PLAB: Kids’ Play Lab
Interactive Toy Kit
Award | The European Product Design Award 2021
A tangible, intuitive and fun toy for kids to explore, experiment, create and play, in a way that enhances their open-ended play and nurtures their creativity. Children could play together with found materials in daily lives, craft materials or LEGOs and create unlimited fun gadgets by their imagination, encouraging them to explore and experiment with how the modules could be used in their plaything designs. The modules also act as physical coding blocks for children to explore, and it builds the concept of coding before they learn actual coding in school.
2021
Play is a free process for children to explore the world and discover new horizons. It is important for innovation and because it is fun, children often become very absorbed with what they are doing. I believe play has inestimable value and involving more technology could take it to the next level.
Target Audience School-aged (6-12) Children
Objectives To (1) create possibilities to nurture students’ innovation and creativity
and (2) improve current STEM educational toys and involve more open-ended play
The Modules
Input Modules (1) Shake Sensor Module | (2) Push-button Module | (3) Microphone Module | (4) The Cube Controller
Output Modules (5) Spin Module | (6) Sound Module | (7) LED Module | (8) The Cube
The PLAB Cube acts as a remote control car and it is controlled with gestures made on the Cube Controller.
Connecting the Modules
The yellow and blue modules allow children to freely connect them by their choice. Simply press the button at the bottom of the input module and place the wanted output module together and they will be connected by NFC. A two notes sound emits as an indicator in response to this.
Interchangeable Plates
The plates include a creative plain plate, 4 patterned plates and a LEGO-compatible plate. As lots of handicrafts are required, LEGO would make it easier for smaller kids to start with. With different interchangeable plates that could be added to the Cube, children could create limitless crafts on top of it. They could also change their design by changing to another plate effortlessly at any time.
Make a hunting dinosaur with the Cube and the Cube Controller, make a sound-triggered ballet dancer with the spin module and the microphone module, or make a shake sensor triggered lightsaber with the shake module and the LED module. With PLAB, children could create any plaything entirely with their ideas.
Charging the Modules
Every PLAB kit comes with a charger that could charge one input module and one output module at one time. Expand the charging station by placing another charger together and charge up to 8 modules at the same time.
Awards | The European Product Design Award 2021, Winner in Toy Design/ Educational Toy
Business Cooperation | ramonashiu@gmail.com
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