IoT educational toy "Koropiuta" that combines analog "wooden warmth" and digital "smartphone

With the spread of the new coronavirus, many of you may be spending more time at home with your children. One item that may make such time spent at home more enjoyable is the "Koropiuta" introduced here. This IoT educational toy allows children to enjoy picture books and games on their smartphones by rolling "cylindrical blocks with hiragana written on them" down an attached slope. BabyTech.jp editorial staff interviewed Mr. Yokota, Mr. Nagashima, and Mr. Kato (titles below omitted) of T.D.S., the company that developed "Koropiuta," to learn about the product, its development, and future plans.

Mr. Yokota on the left, Ms. Nagashima on the upper right, and Mr. Kato on the lower right.

(We spoke to...)

T.D.S. Corporation　Replug Division
Chiaki Yokota
Kuniko Nagashima
Takehiro Kato

What if the old-fashioned "wooden block rolling toy" merged with a smartphone!

Editorial:Could you give us an overview of "Koropiuta" and its features?

Yokota: The name "Koropiuta" comes from the image of a "wooden hiragana computer. When a wooden block with hiragana written on it is rolled on the attached slope, the reader reads the RFID tag embedded in the block. The reader reads the RFID tag embedded in the block, and if the user rolls the same block on the slope as the characters in the picture book displayed on the smartphone, the story moves forward, and so on. We have created a dedicated app for "Koropiuta," and at this point, the "picture book" and "simple games using letters" I mentioned earlier are installed in the app. We developed this app in the hope of making the initial opportunity for children to learn hiragana and words more enjoyable than ever before.

Appearance of "Koropiuta

Editorial:This is interesting!　Do we need a Wi-Fi environment in the home?

Kato:The specifications of the application we are considering now require a network environment. So, it seems that Wi-Fi is recommended. Considering the case where a smartphone that is no longer in use is used for "Koropiuta," a Wi-Fi environment is required when installing the application and actually using it.

Yokota:This is a sample of a picture book that can be played with "Koropiuta. As the smartphone automatically reads the story out loud, the picture scrolls little by little on the screen, and "words" such as items and creatures that appear in the story are displayed. For example, on a page that says "Let's go down this road," the word "michi" appears, and if you roll the "mi" and "chi" blocks, you can go to the next page.

Picture book screen playable with "Koropyuta

Editorial:Simple, but this is fun!

You can also create new games and share them with other users!

Yokota:In releasing "Koropiuta," we are considering a system that allows users to create original games using the "Koropiuta" system and then share them on the accompanying application.

Editorial:Is it possible to create games with the app that comes with "Koropiuta"?

Kato:No, you cannot create games with "Koropiuta" or the accompanying application. It is assumed that users will create their own games by programming. The "Koropiuta" application will have a platform called "Koropon" that will allow users to share their games with other users. So, "Koropiuta" is not a teaching tool for learning programming, but rather a toy that provides an opportunity to learn programming. I think this feature will make "Koropiuta" much more expandable.

Editorial:It is very unique that you can play with games that you have created yourself!

Yokota:Some engineers share their self-made games with the community. So, we thought, "Some of you might like to make games that are useful for child-rearing and children's play! We thought that there might be some people who would like to make games that are useful for child-rearing and children's play. We think that if we can share our home-made games on "Koropiuta," it will be a hook to get engineers interested in the game. In fact, when we unveiled the product for the first time, engineers responded well.

Editorial:Do I need advanced programming knowledge to create a game?

Yokota:With programming education starting in elementary school, some children and parents want to use "Koropiuta" as an opportunity to study programming and create simple games. Therefore, we are considering whether we can create and share games using open source programming software that requires hard work but does not require such advanced skills.

A new idea born from the collaboration of "analog" and "digital" development teams.

Editorial:Could you tell us how you developed "Koropyuta"?

Yokota: For more than 10 years, we have been planning and selling stationery and calendars under the "Replag" brand of stationery and miscellaneous goods. One of the reasons for the development of this product was that we wanted to create something new by combining the "hand-touch analog product" technology we had cultivated with digital technology. Originally, we were a company specializing in advertising design, and some of our employees were in charge of digital development, such as planning websites and applications. So the team that had been developing analog products for "Replug" and the team that had been involved in the digital field came together to start development.

Stylish Replag Stationery

Nagashima:The idea for "Koropiuta" was born from the idea of using "words" and what if we combined digital and wooden items that can be touched by hand, which is the exact opposite of the image of digital. We started with the question, "What can we do?" We started with the question, "What kind of things can we make? For example, I wanted to make the beauty of hiragana typefaces more widely known, and the development team on the digital side wanted to make the digital world more accessible.

Editorial:That is why you have created something so unique.

Yokota:Customers who use "Replag" products are men and women in their 30s and 40s who have always been particular about their lifestyles. Many of them had small children, so we thought this would be a good proposition for them as well. That is why we created a new line of brands called "Replag Kids. Our ideal was to develop children's creativity for a better future, and to create products that nurture their "zest for life," which is an exaggeration, and we believe it suited our customer base as well.

New brand "Replug Kids" for "Koropiuta

Editorial:What were some of the difficulties in developing the product?

Nagashima:It took us a very long time to develop the product because there are both digital and analog aspects in one product. The RFID tags we used for the blocks were very difficult to adjust in terms of quality and price, and we cut the wooden blocks ourselves, one by one, by hand. Although the appearance has not changed much from the prototype, there are countless small adjustments. For example, when we increased the thickness of the bottom of the wooden block, the RFID tag did not read properly, so we had to cut out the block by hand to restore the original thickness and repeat the process at .......

Editorial:I see that there were still various difficulties in the details to fuse digital and analog.

Engaging in play naturally brings out children's creativity and abilities.

Editorial:What are the impressions of children and parents who have actually played with "Koropiuta"?

Yokota:We exhibited an early prototype of the Koropyuta at the Maker Faire Tokyo2018 exhibition held in August 2018. This was slightly larger than the current one, but the shape and playing mechanism were the same. Children and parents who visited the exhibition had a chance to play with it. First of all, the children really got into it. They seemed to enjoy rolling the blocks on the slope and played with them endlessly. They were also fascinated to put the blocks away in the case that has letters written in the hollows.

Nagashima:At Maker Faire Tokyo 2018, we exhibited another digital toy, but "Koropyuta" was by far the most popular. Even when we told the children that this toy was free, they kept waiting in line for the "Koropyuta". No child got bored during the game.

A child playing "koropiuta

Yokota:The rolling of "Koropyuta" has been a particular area of improvement. We made prototypes by calculating the angle of inclination, rolling speed, smoothness, etc. over and over again. This is because it is important for children to be able to "play instinctively and intuitively. Another feedback we received from parents was that they greatly appreciated the fact that the toy was made of "wood. Many of these toys with digital elements are made of plastic, so the fact that they are made of wood with a good feel to the touch was appealing to them. Parents who are particular about their lifestyles also said that the natural color and warmth of the wood fit comfortably into their living space and made them want to keep it in their living room.

Editorial:What is the target age range for "Koropiuta"?

Yokota:Our main target is preschoolers from 3 to 6 years old. When we showed "Koropiuta" to nursery school teachers and preschool teachers, they said that having hiragana around triggers an interest in words, so having toys like these toys helps hiragana naturally enter their brains. Also, the act of picking up a block and rolling it down a slope requires fine finger movements, which nurtures the "dexterity" of the hand. They commented that the many stimulating movements for such children are an interesting element of the program.

Crowdfunding in collaboration with "Tsutaya Appliances + (Plus)" and the development of options

Editorial:Finally, can you tell us about the future development of "Koropiuta"?

Yokota:We will start crowdfunding on April 21, and will actually install "Koropiuta" in a showroom called "Tsutaya Appliances + (Plus)" at Tsutaya Appliances located at Futakotamagawa Station in Setagaya-ku, Tokyo (Editor's note: The above schedule has changed due to the declaration of an emergency situation caused by the spread of coronavirus infection. (Editor's note: The above schedule has been changed due to the declaration of an emergency situation caused by the spread of the coronavirus). The general sales price is planned to be 50,000 yen per unit, but those who participate in the crowdfunding campaign will be able to purchase one for about 37,500 yen, a maximum of 251 TP6T off. We plan to deliver the product to those who purchase it around the end of 2020. (Editor's note: Subject to change due to the impact of the spread of coronavirus infection, according to the company.)

Editorial:Will they then be available at toy stores nationwide?

Yokota:For now, we plan to handle it on our own e-commerce site. Since the product is quite heavy, we thought that it would not be casually purchased at toy stores. The initial lot will be limited to 500 sets.

Editorial:If the 500 units are sold out, please contact ......?

Nagashima:Some of you have mentioned that you would like to have alphabet and number blocks, so we would like to consider whether they will be mass-produced in the same form or in a new version.

Editorial:With alphabets and numbers, we can aim for global expansion. And smartphones are the same all over the world.

Nagashima:That's right. Our dreams are big, and we are aiming for global expansion (laughs). If the response is positive, we are thinking of making it possible to purchase only the alphabetical columns as optional items.

Case for "Koropyuta" character blocks

<After the interview

Although this interview was conducted remotely via the Internet, "Koropiuta" was such an interesting product that I almost rubbed my nose against the screen. The tactile experience of the wood, the fun of rolling things, and the sequence of events that lead up to the desire to create one's own game greatly support children's growth, and I have a feeling that it will bring out their various abilities and potential. Due to the declared state of emergency caused by the coronavirus, the crowdfunding for "Koropiuta" has been postponed, but we will announce the new date on this website as soon as it is announced. We hope you will be able to get one as a Christmas present this year!

Koropiuta" Official Web Site
https://www.replug.jp/coro-puter/