At this year's New York Toy Fair there are many augmented reality toys that are helping to introduce the future of play, including the cubes from Chilean start-up PleIQ.
PleIQ offers sets of tangible cubes that resemble classic alphabet blocks. With a mobile device, kids are able to have the cubes come to life in AR with animations, sounds and playful characters.
These toys are meant to help kids between the ages of three and eight develop Multiple Intelligences, as defined by Howard Gardner of Harvard; these different kinds of intelligences include linguistic, logical, naturalistic, visual, kinesthetic, as well as intrapersonal and interpersonal. Over time, parents are able to track their child's development in different areas over time, which helps to identify where certain skills could be strengthened.
Cubic AR Toys
PleIQ Combines Tangible Cube Toys with Augmented Reality Interactions
Trend Themes
1. Augmented Reality Toys - Opportunity to create innovative toys that combine physical objects with augmented reality interactions.
2. Developmental Toys - Disruptive innovation opportunity to design toys that aid in multiple intelligence development in children.
3. Child Development Tracking - Opportunity to create tracking systems that help parents monitor and identify skill development in children.
Industry Implications
1. Education - Industry that can benefit from the development of educational toys that promote multiple intelligence development.
2. Technology - Industry that can capitalize on the growing demand for innovative augmented reality toys.
3. Parenting - Opportunity for the parenting industry to offer tools and systems that assist in monitoring and tracking child development.