“Bring your creations to life! Topobo is a construction toy with kinetic memory, the ability to record and playback physical motion. Snap together Passive (static) and Active (motorized) components to invent your own Topobo creature and animate it by pushing, pulling, and twisting its body. For example, you can make a dog and then teach it to dance and walk by twisting its body and legs. With the push of a button, the dog will dance and walk by itself. The same way children learn how buildings stand by stacking blocks, they can learn how animals walk by playing with Topobo.”
What’s interesting to me here is this idea of taking a kid’s toy - building blocks - that’s grown so complicated that young kids can’t be expected to use it effectively - Lego Mindstorms - and then brought it back. I hope it gives young kids a chance to really learn with their hands and develop an intuitive feel for working with technology. As a side note, Hayes Raffle is now teaching a great Stanford course on Human Computer Interaction Design.
Created by Hayes Raffle and Amanda Parkes.
