Outcome
Process
I tried to draw inspiration from childhood experiences and think about what I may have found to be fun. I then thought about what the toy could teach a child and how it would allow a cooperative environment. Once I thought I had come up with a good idea, I would sketch it then explain what it is and try to explain how it would work.Red Light Green Light
Principle:This toy is based on the childhood game of red light green light. It will teach children how to listen and follow directions as well as the thought process of association of things to actions (in this case colors). It may also begin to teach kids what traffic lights are so when they seem them, they will connect the colors presented with going, stopping, or slowing down.
Interaction: The toy would work by utilizing accelerometers and randomness to change the lights and know how each participant is moving and when. When the light is green, the players would run toward the light, when yellow, they must significantly slow down or risk penalization, and when red, they must come to a stop. During red lights, there will be a secondary smaller light, when lit it signals that players may sneak toward the light but if they are caught moving when the light goes off, they will be penalized. First player to reach the light and touch the finish button wins.
Durability: The toy would be fairly durable as it would be a large square with the cloth flags directly attached. The casing would be made of some hard durable plastic which would be able to take a beating. The simple design means there are no small fragile pieces that can break off.
Safety: Since the game is fairly large with no small, fragile, or breakable pieces, there is a very low safety risk associated with this toy.
Manufacturing: This toy can be made of a case made of a two piece injection molded plastic. all electronics would then be able to screw into place inside the case.
Cost: The cost of manufacturing would be fairly low, I would say maybe between $10-$20 and then this could probably sell for $30-$40
Age Recommendation: 3 and up. Children can play together and even adults can join in and play with the younger kids.
Windmill
Principle: This windmill is based upon the principle of energy generation. It will teach kids that motion (angular in this case) can be transformed into electrical.
Interaction: when the child spins the propeller, some small time after it begins to spin, the light will go on. the faster the propeller spins, the brighter the light will illuminate.
Durability: Durability concerns would mainly come from the ability of the propellers to stand up to a child pulling on them. The rest would be fairly solid hard plastics.
Safety: Because of the propeller being thinner and less durable, there would be a choking hazard associated with it if it were to come loose or break off.
Manufacturing: It would be constructed with a base, sensor to detect motion, and light bulb. the base would be 2 pieces and then the generator could rest on top of the base with a cover going over that then the propeller would slip on the axle.
Cost: The cost to manufacture would be fairly cheap (estimated $2-$4) and so it would probably sell for around $9-$10
Age Recommendation: 4-10 due to choking hazard.
for construction, I would imagine the casing being 2 pieces with the internals inside and so the cost would be low. depending on the materials, it could be fairly durable and may pose some safety risk to smaller children if it were to break. Because of this, the recommended age would be around 5 to 10 or so.
Catapult
Principle: The catapult is based upon the concept that energy can be stored and then released. It also will teach kids about projectile motion.
Interaction: The child will be able to use different projectiles of different weights (not to heavy to hurt someone) and they will be able to change the launch angle and power. From this, they could see what optimizes the results they want (most likely distance) and learn about projectiles at the same time. Sensors would be able to tell the launch angle and power and use equations of motion to give information about the launch such as maximum height, distance, and time until projectile hits the ground. these equations would be displayed along with the launch info on a small lcd screen.
Durability: There would be a lot of links and pieces which could wear out or break if the toy is mishandled. Pieces used to store the energy could become worn over time and not store energy efficiently. If made of plastic, it would be more easily broken than if made of metal. however, it is not cost
Safety: With projectiles, there is always some risk, but if used as directed (with provided projectiles) the risk could be minimized. Consumers would be directed not to point at people or animals. The projectiles would also pose a choking hazard.
Manufacturing: This toy would have various parts that would have to be assembled in order to make the final product. There would not be a cost effective way to manufacture a single frame and then put on the moving parts, however, the toy could be cut into sections.
Cost: Given the difficulty to manufacture, if made of plastic, this toy would probably sell for around $40
Age Recommendation: Due to durability and safety concerns, the recommended age would have to be 8 and up
The cost for this would be medium as there are a bunch of parts that would have to be manufactured. depending on how the parts would be manufactured, the toy would have a medium durability. Springs could wear out and latches could break. As for safety, There would also be a choking hazard for the small parts and so the recommended age would have to be 7 and up.
Reflection
By thinking about childrens' toys, it is hard to come up with new and innovative ideas,especially ones that can effectively teach kids about the world around them. I think as a kid, it was the subconscious things I did not think about were the things I learned such as wheels roll and blocks don't. Things that you don't really think about. For instance with red light green light, it would be associating colors with actions. It has also showed me that it may be much harder to create these toys then one would think. They are much more complex than they seem and a lot goes into the manufacturing of toys.
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