Childsplay

Crayola art tools for toddlers

By Emily Clark

22:27 November 22, 2007 PST

November 23, 2007 Crayola has introduced a new line of art tools for toddlers that are ergonomically designed just for tiny hands. The egg-shaped crayons, markers and paints are completely washable and let children 12 to 36 months scribble and paint up a colorful storm. Read More

Kids rock on with their toothbrush out

By Emily Clark

16:29 November 22, 2007 PST

November 23, 2007 Getting kids to brush their teeth is no easy task, which is why Tiger Electronics has introduced a little fun to oral care with Toothtunes - a collection of musical toothbrushes that transmit music from the bristles, through the teeth into the inner ear. Songs last for two minutes, the amount of time generally recommended by dentists for a thorough clean. Read More

i-SOBOT: the smallest humanoid robot in production

By Darren Quick

20:51 October 30, 2007 PDT

October 31, 2007 TOMY Toy Corporation's i-SOBOT, has been certified as the “smallest humanoid robot in production” by Guinness World Records. Despite its diminutive 6.5 inches stature, the fully articulating and bipedal robot is endowed with 17 custom developed servo-motors, 19 integrated circuit chips, a built in gyro-sensor, 2 LEDs and a voice command recognition chip that can recognize 10 voice commands. i-SOBOT, which has just hit shelves in the US, can also speak over 200 words and phrases, features hundreds of preprogrammed actions including walking, dancing, martial arts, push-ups, soccer - even air guitar, plus over 90 kinds of sound effects and the ability to play five songs. Read More

Hot Wheels Designer’s Challenge: leading automotive manufacturers come out to play

By Noel McKeegan

18:00 October 30, 2007 PDT

October 31, 2007 Major automotive manufacturers recently showcased their visions for the automobile of the future as part of the LA Auto Show Design Challenge, but now comes a competition of a very different kind. Clean fuel and artificial intelligence take a back seat as speed, power, performance and attitude become the key criteria in Mattel’s 40th anniversary Designer’s Challenge™ in which leading manufacturers were invited to create an original vehicle for the company’s die-cast Hot Wheels® toy range… but there is one special requirement: each vehicle must be able to perform a loop on classic Hot Wheels® orange track. Read More

Meade mySKY: the personal, point-and-shoot, multimedia guide to the heavens

By Mike Hanlon

19:49 October 8, 2007 PDT

June 5, 2007 The US$400 Meade mySKY is a remarkable mash up of technologies that creates a very cool educational toy and the first of a new breed of augmented reality informational products. It is NOT a telescope! mySKY is an interactive, hand-held, point-and-identify multimedia guide to the heavens. It locates, identifies, and describes 30,000 celestial objects in the night sky – every object visible to your unaided eye, as well as many you’ll need a separate telescope to see. If you like this new “browse function for the heavens” ability, it has the added ability to control a Meade computerized telescope. No knowledge is needed - just turn it on and mySKY does the rest. It incorporates full GPS Auto Alignment using a 12-channel GPS receiver which aligns itself on the sky without any input from you. Read More

Real-world toys enter virtual reality

By Emily Clark

01:22 September 13, 2007 PDT

September 13, 2007 In days gone by the only virtual reality was the one we created in our heads. Before Atari and Space Invaders, and certainly before Tamagochi and Wii, kids had to rely on their imagination to generate fanciful worlds in which to play. Nowadays the imagination gets a kick-start from electronic gadgets, gizmos and games based on emerging technologies that are transforming the world of "playtime". Bratz dolls and MyPets are among the latest to embrace this idea with the launch of websites based on their respective toys that act as virtual worlds for kids to explore. Read More

New range of high-tech Lego Technic models

By Emily Clark

18:09 September 11, 2007 PDT

September 12, 2007 Lego is a household brand synonymous with childhood fun that also aides learning and motor skills. The toy giant has just announced its latest offerings in the Lego Technic range for 2007 with some notable improvements in technology including remote controlled functionality for models designed to replicate real-life vehicle movement and functions. Read More

New line of toys boost scientific learning

By Emily Clark

19:04 September 6, 2007 PDT

September 7, 2007 ToyQuest and Mad Science have developed a new line of science-based toys designed to combine learning with play. The range consists of five different toys for children aged six and up including a Hydraulic Robotic Arm which is powered completely by water. Read More

RipRoar Creation Station allows kids to create personal videos

By Emily Clark

20:22 August 28, 2007 PDT

August 29, 2007 This new video creation system designed for tweens enables the creation, editing and one-touch uploading of videos directly to YouTube. Toy manufacturer ToyQuest recently announced the release of the US$99.99 RipRoar Creation Station, which features the ability to shoot in "green screen" and drop in background animation. Read More

LeapFrog introduce ClickStart PC for preschoolers

By Noel McKeegan

20:00 August 3, 2007 PDT

August 4, 2007 From entertainment game play to information research and skill enhancement software, the computer is now firmly established as an essential learning tool for 21st century kids. Recognizing both the importance of acquiring these skills at an early age and the cost barriers presented by access to such technology, educational product developer LeapFrog has introduced the ClickStart My First Computer, an interactive system aimed at preschoolers that converts the humble TV into a kid-friendly PC and introduces basic computing skills without the need for an expensive desktop or notebook PC. Read More

Home Animation studio: create your own cartoons and watch them on TV

By Noel McKeegan

June 27, 2007 Fitting squarely in the “I wish they had these when I was a kid” category, this DIY Animated Movie Maker lets you create animated movies and cartoons at home using your own action figures, drawings, posters, toys… or anything that your imagination can come-up with. The Marvel Heroes themed “Ani-movie Studio” is an integrated movie stage and digital camera that enables creation of animated movies – including sound effects – that can be played back on your TV. Read More

The Ultimate Bubble Blowing League

By Mike Hanlon

June 24, 2007 Chewing gum of various natural forms such as tree sap has been a human pastime since at least the ancient Greeks, and most likely for thousands of years before that, though it was first patented in 1869. Blowing bubbles with gum appears to have begun with a 1928 patent for Dubble Bubble, though the inventor of this global phenomena is in dispute. Now Cadbury Schweppes is seeking to popularise its Bubblicious gum and own the category in the minds of the world’s children by creating the Ultimate Bubble Blowing League (U.B.B.L.) – a competition-based U.S. league to see which kids can blow the biggest and fastest bubbles, with the championship event scheduled for October in Los Angeles. Truth is often stranger than fiction! Read More

Study examines effect of removing TV, games and computers from young children

By Mike Hanlon

June 18, 2007 Turning on a television can turn a room full of interesting people into zombies and a ringing phone is perhaps the most effective method of coitus interruptus known to man, so it makes sense that computers, television and games consoles can have a significant effect on a child’s social development. Just how much effect? A BBC Panorama team recently conducted and filmed a very interesting study where a group of 7 and 8 year olds were deprived of the aforementioned devices for two weeks. The Panorama programme "Is TV Bad for my Kids?" screens on BBC One tonight (Monday June 18) at 8.30pm. For the 95% of Gizmag readers who don't live in the UK and can’t watch it tonight, read on for the results. Read More

Robots to help children to form relationships

By Mike Hanlon

May 30, 2007 The full extent of just what robots can do for humans is still unfolding, but with the Japanese robotics industry fully aware of the opportunities for caring for the world’s aging population, it’s fair to say that carer and companion robots will be one of the first commercial thrusts. Now a new project at the University of Hertfordshire (U.K.) is using robots to help children with developmental or cognitive impairments to interact more effectively. Read More

For the kid with everything: designer treehouses

By Loz Blain

May 28, 2007 For kids lucky enough to have one, a treehouse is a kids-only haven of secret club meetings and imaginary adventures. If the one your Dad built you in a hail of thumb-hammering profanity was a bit of an eyesore, take a look at these magnificent pre-fab treehouses from California, built around dead or recycled logs and delivered to your back yard in six weeks. Stunning! Read More

Wizzybug: a first mobility vehicle for disabled kids

By Loz Blain

May 15, 2007 Disabled children can now get their first taste of self-directed mobility with the Wizzybug, an affordable and fun electric vehicle that looks like a toy car, is happy indoors or in the garden, and is designed to suit a wide range of mobility-impaired children. Different types of controllers, from joysticks to hand and head switches, allow the children to drive and steer the bugs - and from the looks on the youngsters' faces, it seems like they're a lot of fun too! Read More

Barbie surfs the intertubes

By Loz Blain

May 1, 2007 Mattel has taken one of its oldest brands online with the creation of www.barbiegirls.com. The 48-year-old Barbie doll has been a fashion icon, a cartoon star, a feminist antihero, a pop culture stalwart, and frequently a torture victim. Now she's lent her name to a sort of scaled down Second Life, designed exclusively for young girls. Read More

Fuel cell kit for Hobby R/C Cars

By Mike Hanlon

April 13, 2007 Horizon Fuel Cell, creator of the H-racer, has unveiled an exciting new application for Radio Controlled, 1/10th scale model car enthusiasts. Named the “H-cell,” Horizon’s integration kit upgrades battery-electric R/C cars to next-generation hydrogen fuel cell vehicles. The H-cell kit is designed as a “drop in” system for the widely available TT-01 type chassis from Tamiya. The advanced H-cell kit is now being shipped, and a US$1500 refuelling system that uses industrial hydrogen gas is also available. Read More

The educational Hydrocar – US$79 reversible Polymer Electrolyte Membrane (PEM) fuel cell toy car

By Mike Hanlon

April 2, 2007 One of our favourite educational products, the H-racer fuel cell toy car, (additional stories here and here) is getting two stablemates with equally fascinating possibilities. With the hydrogen economy beginning to take shape and hydrogen fuel cells likely to play a major role in the future energy equation of the planet, educating our children about fuel cells is an investment in their future. Now the US$115 H-Racer (and Hydrogen Station) will be joined by the US$59 Fuel Cell Car Science Kit and the US$79 Hydrocar, which uses a next generation reversible Polymer Electrolyte Membrane (PEM) fuel cell Read More

TMX Elmo and SmartGlobe take top honours in Toy Of The Year Awards

By Mike Hanlon

February 22, 2007 Eleven of the most innovative toys were recognized at the seventh annual T.O.T.Y. (Toy of the Year) Awards ceremony, last week. The annual Toy of the Year award, representing the best toy of the year was won by Fisher-Price’s TMX Elmo and the Educational Toy of the Year, awarded to the toy that best helps children develop special skills and/or knowledge, went to the Oregon Scientific SmartGlobe. The SmartGlobe beat out a stellar field of nominees comprising the I Can Play Piano System, the Leapster TV Learning System, LEGO Mindstorms NXT and the V.Flash Home Edutainment System, all worthy of consideration next time there’s a birthday in this age range. Last year’s TOTY was the PenTop computer, and last year's winners which is also worth investigation if you have youngsters. Read More

FogScreen walkthrough screen used on Disney Enchanted promo tour

By Mike Hanlon

January 25, 2007 The new Walt Disney film Enchanted – released in November/December 2007 – has a promotional tour travelling to the main European cities of London, Paris, Madrid, Brussels and Munich in which the FogScreen walk-through screen is featured. One of the key features of the movie is an enchanted wishing well. The effects of which in the tour have been created by FogScreen walk-through screen (pictured). A Finnish invention, FogScreen walk-through screen uses ordinary water to generate a thin, dry fog upon which the image is projected, hence making it possible to walk through an image floating in mid-air without getting wet. Read More

The world's best selling fuel cell product - FUN!

By Mike Hanlon

December 8, 2006 Hobby R/C racing enthusiasts will soon operate 1/10th scale radio controlled competition grade vehicles on clean hydrogen fuel cell power. The innovative power unit created by Horizon Fuel Cell Technologies follows the commercial launch of its H-racer miniature fuel cell car and solar powered hydrogen refueling station in June this year. Recently named as one of the Best Inventions of 2006 by Time Magazine, the H-racer is now the best selling fuel cell product in the world, and Horizon’s first step in bringing the world a tangible vision for a viable hydrogen economy. Named the “H-cell”, the new R/C hobby power combines an ultra-compact air-cooled PEM fuel cell system with a scaled down fuel storage unit that can safely carry 20 to 40 liters of solid state hydrogen. Widely available 1/10th scale electric R/C cars will now be able to run on real automotive fuel cell power concepts at speeds reaching 35km/h, good acceleration, decreased hydrogen fuel consumption and increased power autonomy over conventional battery solutions. Designed to fit into the original 7.2V NiCad battery slot, the H-cell is designed as a futuristic power source using light emitting air cooling fans. Not limited to cars, the power unit will also be able to be used to power small boats, planes, and robots. Read More

The step2play and CyberBike promise exercise for overweight children

By Mike Hanlon

November 18, 2006 Civilisation has a problem - the number of obese children (Ages 6 to 11) in America has more than doubled, and the number of obese adolescents (Ages 12 to 19) has more than tripled in the last 30 years with both representing more than 15 percent of their respective age group populations. Whatsmore, the number of overweight children represents another 15 percent and growing, so the recent development of a novel way of incorporating exercise into the health regime of children bears some thought. A British children’s fitness specialist has developed Step2Play, a step exercise machine that links directly to a child’s Playstation. A rate of exercise can be set at the start of the child’s game and then as long as the child maintains a constant rate of exercise as they play their video game, the game’s controller will remain active. If the child stops, the game pauses and the controller stops working. Two players can use different steppers and controllers to play two-player games. There is also another product named CyberBike which is designed for children as young as four and achieves a similar result. Read More

Robotics used to create custom-themed interactive game park rides

By Mike Hanlon

November 13, 2006 As soon as you connect the two – robotics and theme park rides – it makes sense. Why build a one-off ride that will eventually lose its appeal when you can create an infinite number of rides by using a programmable industrial robot?

German company KUKA Roboter GmbH builds industrial robots for the automotive, aerospace and foundry industries, among others. Its fully-programmable 5- and 6-axis robots can reach of up to 3.7 metres with payloads of 570kg and are employed around the world for applications such as material handling and machine loading. Kuka has partnered with Canada’s Primal Rides to provide a new fully interactive amusement ride. The KUKA KR 500 robot will be used as the building block of Primal Rides’ new robotic gaming ride. The interactive ride can be designed to match customer’s requirements in theme, intensity and realism and to cost effectively change themes to adjust to rider appeal. Read More

RipRoar VideoFree – personal video player for tweens and below

By Mike Hanlon

November 1, 2006 Do you remember when you were a kid and someone asked your age? The answer was usually couched in terms of “I’m nearly X”, indicating that like all children, the privileges of age were obvious and you were keen to attain them. It seems that over the next few years we’ll see electronics developed specifically for particular age groups to appeal to this very human trait, and ToyQuest’s new multimedia gadget, the US$180 RipRoar VideoFree is such an animal. The shiny red-and-black, 512 MB portable media player stores up to five hours of television (music and pictures too), has a 2.5 inch color screen, rechargeable battery and built- in speakers. It’s programmable and can record up to eight TV shows at different times and channels and targets children ages 8 and older. “Our focus with RipRoar is to keep tweens in the toy aisle where retailers are losing them, and get them excited about the product,” says ToyQuest, a company which has long focussed on producing innovative toys for teen and tweens. Read More