One problem with what claim to be education robots is that they don’t get more advanced as a child grows up, but Photon changes this, claiming it’s a robot that grows as your child grows.
“Children love to learn by experimenting,” the company said. “Acquiring logical thinking ability is the key to success in their future life. Playing with most of educational toys feels like a chore and gets boring quickly. And that’s why we decided to build Photon.”
It uses storytelling to help teach children about their world, which helps keep them engaged at all times. It gives them daily programming-related challenges, which again ensure they don’t get bored easily.
When they complete these tasks, they are awarded experience points, which can be used to ‘buy’ more senses for the robot to boost its skills. This teaches them about earning points and then make the best decisions with what to do with those points. It also means each robot is completely individual to the child, so they can truly make it their own.
The programming elements work via a drag and drop interface via a smartphone. It’s inspired by Scratch and Blocky, making everything completely intuitive.
“The robot develops along his owner by gaining new abilities, senses and functionalities with each programming related task completed,” the company continued.
“Completing a quest to create a simple program may let the kid pick some sort of upgrade for Photon, like the ability to see or detect obstacles. This way, progress is visible right away and works as wonderful motivational tool. It’s not just another toy, it’s a true friend and companion.”
Photon has recently surpassed its funding target on Kickstarter, raising $45,000 with almost two weeks still to go on its campaign.
