We observed that recently the publishing industry for children is growing fast but it needs innovative changes to conform with new technologies. We also noticed that children need to increase their interest in reading and to be more involved in stories they read. So with Oz, a smart and interactive toy, we imagine the reading moment as a magical and immersive experience.
By involving different senses, view, hearing, and touch, kids (aged 6-12 years) are sorrounded by the story itself improving their abilities in imagination, creativity and increasing their interest in books. Oz is an innovative interactive toy, with physical user interfaces, no displays are involved to give priority to tactile and multi-sensory exploration of the agumented reading experience. It is composed by two parts: the head that is meant to be used as a puppet, and the base that contains all the hardware and works like a joystick.
Oz represents not only a reading friend but a new way of conceiving the world of smart toys for children. We hope for our project to be a new model for children-technology interaction.
Project in collaboration with Grecja De Stefani.