(Credit:
Screenshot by Leslie Katz/CNET)
If orangutans can post photos to Facebook, then toddlers can certainly Twitter.
And now they have a prototype gadget for doing that--the Twoddler, a tricked-out Fisher Price Activity Center with pictures of family members and friends attached and an Arduino board inside.
When a child presses a certain picture for a select amount of time, software captures sensor data from the activity center and selects and sends a predefined text related to that data.
For example, when Bobby plays with Mom's picture for more than three minutes, a Twitter message will post to Bobby's personal Twitter account saying, "@mommy_bobby Bobby misses mommy and looks forward playing with her this evening" (or as the messages get more refined and personalized: "@mommy_bobby Bobby is having a temper tantrum and wants mommy home now."
Twittering toddlers can also communicate with their social-networking peers by pushing buttons that generate effects, such as colored, blinking lights, on their friends' Twoddlers (a scenario that could easily turn day-care into a disco). Twoddler is connected to the Internet and to other activity centers using the home area networking standard ZigBee.
Twoddler emerged from a course on mobile and pervasive computing at Belgium's Hasselt University. Earlier this year, Twoddler beat out around 40 submissions for the top prize at the 09 Innovative and Creative Applications competition, where judges called it a "good, well-implemented idea, with a lot of potential that allows people/children that are not capable of verbal communication to communicate through an inventive combination of hardware and software."
As we mentioned, Twoddler is just a prototype for now, so don't expect to get an endless stream of tweets from your overexcited 3-year-old just yet.
INCA Award 2009 WINNER: Twoddler from IBBT on Vimeo.
(Via Engadget)
(Credit:
Koreannovation)
Whether they're riding Segways or cleaning buildings, some of the most aggressively animated robots are coming out of South Korean R&D labs. But they also have a softer side too--at least, that's what we hope.
The "Ringbo" is a robotic vehicle for children that can be steered with game-like joysticks sticking out of its head like a pair of antennae. It can run for an hour on a 6- or 8-hour charge, according to OhGizmo, which added that it's not exactly sure why. We're equally baffled, especially given that this is supposedly designed for kids who are 2 or 3 years old, with a 66-pound weight limit. (Would you let your toddlers drive anything on their own?)
Maybe it's some kind of scheme by the gaming industry to hook them on joysticks as soon as their motor skills are far enough developed. Or, if we're lucky, maybe a future version will teach them how to do the dishes.
(Credit:
Potty Time)
Maybe it's just us, but we've never had to force our kids to go to the bathroom. It's always been more of an issue having them not exercise their bodily functions at inopportune times, such as the middle of a movie, in the car on a road trip, or a downtown bus station where the last thing you'd want to do is set foot (or anything else) in the public restroom.
So were somewhat disappointed to learn that the "Potty Watch" is aimed at teaching tots when to go, rather than when not to. The toddler wristwatch is supposed to train them, Pavlovian-style, to use the facilities upon seeing its flashing lights or hearing the music that plays at programmed intervals. Yes, we understand that children might soil their diapers less frequently if they used the toilet more regularly, but we're skeptical about their ability to learn bladder control like this at an age when they're trying to eat spaghetti with their ears.
But the worst part, at least for the parents, is that we'd be forced to hear the same tunes every 30, 60, or 90 minutes, according to Slippery Brick. "Potty time lyrics are included," the product site says. Oh joy.
(Credit:
Grand River Toy Company)
It's depressing enough to think that parents need some sort of remote sensors to keep track of their kids--or are paranoid enough to think they need them, anyway. Making matters worse, most of the tracking devices we've seen have a clinical or Orwellian feel to them (often both).
So if we must resort to technology to raise our children, at least the "Giggle Bug Toddler Tracker" tries to make it a little less frightening for them by turning it into a toy of sorts. Rather than sound an alarm like an air raid horn, the bug blinks its eyes and emits a "child friendly" beep, according to Red Ferret. Once the kids are returned safely, you can then begin disciplinary procedures with the "Control-a-Kid" remote.
... or maybe a teether?
I'm not sure how comfortable I'd be handing over a 5.5G iPod to my child, but given the numerous Disney movie titles available in the iTunes Store, it might be a good way to occupy the little chipmunk while you're out and about. Good thing there's the Tadpole, a rugged, playful protective case with dual handles.
Available November 1 from iFrogz, the $20 Tadpole "engulfs the whole iPod while leaving open areas for the Click Wheel, iPod view screen, and various buttons and accessory points." Made of dust-, lint-, and Go-gurt-repelling silicone, the Tadpole is available in orange or purple, for either 30GB or 60/80GB iPods. For an added sense of security (as your kid drops the hard-drive device down a flight of stairs), iFrogz includes the adhesive plastic Screenz screen protector.
Source: Babygadget.net
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