How Android is Transforming Learning & Playing Infographic
Smart toys are already here! A smaller Android OS, tiny open-source development platforms, 3D printers and innovative creators will change everything we know about storytelling, user interface and player engagement. The recent 4.4 Android KitKat has made the operating system ideal for developing interactive, smart toys that not only change the way we used to play, but also foster interactive learning like never before. The How Android is Transforming Learning & Playing Infographic presents how Android powered toys are changing the way play and learn.
Why is Android OS ideal for smart toys?
The new OS has smaller footprint:
- Google shrank the operating Systeml by 16% in Android KitKat 4.4
- Runs with only 512MB of RAM
- June 2014 - Worldwide KitKat 4.4 distribution jumped 5% in one month!
New Android focuses on “Material Design”
- New interface with 3D rendered Material Design
- OS, will be embedded in cars, wearable computing and television
- ART, or Android Run Time, greatly improves performance by compiling apps at install time instead of run time
How Android is Transforming the Way We Learn
Android is being used to develop educational environments that use:
- Location aware learning
- Sensors for behavioural learning
- Gaming
- Near field communications
- Context-aware ubiquitous learning
- Simulation
- Augmented reality
An Innovative Smart Toy of Today: The Sphebo 2.0 Robotic Ball by Orbotix
Outside the ball:
- Fast rolling, water-resistant, glow-in-the-dark robotic ball
- Plays augmented reality (AR) games
- Programmable, encourages kids to learn coding
Inside the ball:
- Complete system with wireless battery charging
- Microcontroller
- Bluetooth classic wireless interface
- Second ARM process to run Bluetooth stack
- Colored LEDs
- Motor driver
- Gyroscope sensor
The Toys of the Future: Android Powered AI
These open-source platforms with boards as small as matchboxes will provide more intelligence, wearables and robotics to create multi-format smart toys. Running android inside these toys makes them more self contained. You don’t need a phone to control them!
The RloTbhoard
2D & 3D graphics accelerator
HDMI 1080p video
WaRP board Wearable Reference Platform
Open-sourced hybrid architecture for wearable computing
Freescale provided controllers, sensors & wireless charging
BeagleBone Black
Community-supported development platform
Provides stable Android base port
Android, Robotics & Cloud Computing
Cloud robotics uses massive storage and provides more memory while using less battery power. This makes robots less expensive with added cloud enhancements like:
- Mapping
- Voice
- Text
- Optical Character Recognition (OCR)
These, along with other applications and enhancements, could create robots that can learn.
5 Great Things about Android-Based Toys
- Easier to program - focus is more on the intelligence than on the mechanics
- Fully self contained - you don’t need to have a phone, tablet or computer to control it
- Very advanced sensor framework already built in - leverages the camera/gyroscope/accelerometer and other sensors to introduce awesome interactions
- Vast pool of developers who can innovate and add personalities to toys - think of the toy as a platform as well as an end product
- The latest and greatest connectivity stacks are already built in - BT-LE, WiFi Direct, WiFi, cellular stacks, and much more!
How Smart Toys Promote Smarter Learning
- Multi-literate activities
- Interpretation of complex, 3D visuals
- Reading text on & offline
- Processing auditory information
The role of technology in children’s lives cannot be overlooked.This generation is using technology as their coming-of-age play source, as past generations have done by moving to other items or methods of play as they aged.
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