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Summary of BabyTech products found at the Tokyo Toy Show 2019

The Tokyo Toy Show 2019 is being held again this year at Tokyo Big Sight. In recent years, not only so-called game toys but also a wide range of items have been converted to IT. We will cover toys that fall into the category of BabyTech's "Learning and Play" field,Papa Smile TwitterThis article is a summary of that report. This article is a summary of that report.

All information was obtained at the June 14 Corporate Day, and does not include information that was made available to the general public on June 15 and 16.

Sony Interactive Entertainment "toio

SIE, well-known for its PlayStation® products, has released toio, a robot device for learning programming, as well as a number of learning kits.
Among them, "GOGO Robot Programming - Secrets of Logibo" seems to be a good introduction to programming for young children, as they program the behavior of a robot called "enta" by arranging instruction chips and completing the tasks in the booklet.
Although the manufacturer's official target age range is 6 years old, "we have heard that even children as young as 4 years old are enjoying the game with their older children and parents," according to the manufacturer.
The booklet, which serves as the actual text, was designed with an easy-to-read font size and total kanji ruby, so that the story would allow the reader to grasp the world view and issues without difficulty. It may be difficult for preschoolers to learn by themselves, but if they work on it with their parents, they are likely to be absorbed in it.
Also, the robot's movements are very cute and popular among girls.

BabyTech.jp is considering holding events such as parent-child robotics program introductory lectures and parent-child robotics hackathons for infants and their parents, using toio as a teaching tool.

 

TOMY Ibis and WAO Corporation "FamilyApps

1This work experience app is similar in form to GokkoLand, the grand prize winner in the Learning and Play category of the TP3T Award Japan 2019, with work experiences from 11 sponsoring companies, as well as work experiences without sponsorship. It is interesting from an adult's perspective that competing companies sponsor GokkoLand and FamilyApps respectively, and that the same company provides jobs for both. (MUFG and SMBC for each, JAL for both, etc.)

 

TOMY "Hey UchiPika", "Shogakukan's Illustrated Book NEO Globe", "Sumikko-Sagashi".

Takara Tomy had a variety of interesting challenge products.
Hey UchiPika is a Pikachu-shaped learning remote control that can control home appliances like a smart speaker with voice commands. This product does not support the Internet and does not have any information-related functions, but it learns the infrared remote control of home appliances and enables voice control of home appliances.
There are many examples of smart speakers that can be controlled by voice, even by 3-year-olds, so it is likely that this product will allow toddlers to talk to Pikachu and turn on lights.

Shogakukan's illustrated book "NEO Globe" has been available in two tablet versions: "Shogakukan's Illustrated Book NEO Pad" (ikimono version and norimono + kurabu version).
This time it is a smart globe with a pen touch globe, information display, quiz, and games. The pad can be taken out and used by itself.

Sumikkosagashi" is a small game-like game in which users can search for "Sumikko" hidden in rooms using the camera mounted on the back of the device in an AR-like manner. As a simple photo game, it seemed to be popular with young children.

 

Joy Palette "Anpanman Sports Nurturing Brain Mat

This is a sensory manipulation game in which the Anpanman characters, an ironic IP for infants and toddlers, play against each other in a sport. While the operation of moving the body and stepping on the mat is simple, it was a product that I could enjoy with my little ones, as they had to step on the correct buttons while examining the screen, and the presentation of the game unfolded in a way that would make them feel nervous in their childlike minds. I experienced a PK showdown between Anpanman and Baikinman, and felt that the game screen, presentation, and operability were all well done, more than enough for the need.

 

Sega Toys "Anpanman Drive Car" and "Wonderful Channel

Sega Toys is a manufacturer that also consistently plans tech-like products.
The "Anpanman Drive Car" is a programming learning program for children as young as 3 years old! The program was touted as a "fun and educational experience. The content of the program is to program a car with Anpanman on it, placed on a field map that is arranged in a grid, to drive to a destination written on a question card.
The way it is programmed is to press the direction-of-travel buttons on the Anpanman car in sequence. Even before the focus of programmed learning, there were toys that could be specified in steps for this kind of driving.
I am concerned that it may be difficult to debug if the ampanman car moves incorrectly.

Wonderful Channel" is a Kinect-like camera-type experiential manipulation game that also claims to be an introduction to English language learning. The physical play is dynamic, and the children who experienced the game seemed to enjoy working on it. The game was being demonstrated in which the color of the balloon is displayed in English and spoken when the displayed balloon is broken by hitting it with the body, and the balloon is shown in purple! Purple! Green! Light green! It was quite lively. The system seemed to be very well developed, with smooth recognition of the body and processing of hit judgments.

We believe that many more internet-linked and pad-type devices will be released in the future. We will continue to watch for baby tech products that even preschoolers can enjoy playing and learning with.